Mental health accommodations remain unstandardized, impractical and unclear for Carleton student, The Charlatan reports for December’s print issue – all about mental Health and Wellness
With exam season stress ramping up, some may rely on accommodations from the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) or educators at Carleton to complete the term.
Despite the PMC helping students receive mental health accommodations, there is no mention of mental health in the academic accommodations for students with disabilities section found in every Carleton course syllabus.
Although each instructor must list the existence of academic accommodations in the syllabus, the accompanying text to describe the disability accommodation changes depending on the professor.
In order to receive academic accommodations, the student must submit an application including a documentation of their disability that is “current and provided by a regulated health practitioner (e.g. physician, a medical specialist, psychiatrist, psychologist),” according to the PMC website.
Academic accommodations may take the form of due date extensions for assignments, writing the final exam under different conditions than the rest of the class, or missed classes not affecting participation grades.
Students discuss possible accommodations with a PMC co-ordinator and their professor, after submitting their application to find a plan that works for them, said Larry McCloskey, director of PMC.
However, the conversation about what a student needs is not limited to the student, professor, and the PMC, but can also include a teaching assistant (TA).
“I’ve had four students who have reached out to me for mental health reasons,” said Tyla Betke, a TA for a first-year history class.
“[Accommodations are] a top priority for me as a TA, I think it’s necessary that they’re available for students, but also that TAs and profs follow them—whether that’s through the Paul Menton Centre or accommodations in class,” Betke said.
“We wouldn’t hesitate to give accommodations to a student that broke their leg and was having surgery . . . Mental health is equally as important.” — Tyla Betke, history teaching assistant
Betke said she tries her best to accommodate students, but it can be difficult because TAs are not told by the PMC when a student requires accommodations.
“I don’t get the emails from the Paul Menton Centre as a TA, it’s just the professor,” said Betke. “That would be something that I would recommend, that they do get sent to the TAs because sometimes it’s up to the professor to pass those along.”
While some professors decide to keep the discussion of accommodations between themselves and the student, Katharine Bausch, an instructor in the women’s and gender studies department at Carleton, said she does include the TA of the student in the process of deciding mental health accommodations.
“If presence isn’t possible [the student] can do reading responses or something that makes sense for their learning style,” Bausch said of possible academic accommodations offered to students.
Although absences may not be planned, McCloskey said the PMC can help with mentioning absences in the Letter of Accommodation issued at the beginning of the year.
However, McCloskey added there needs to be discussion around absences and extensions for assignments, so that students are maintaining some degree of meeting deadlines.
Betke said although she understands the reasoning behind having doctor’s notes, they aren’t always feasible.
“Sometimes requirements for doctor’s notes aren’t really practical because if you’re having a mental health crisis on a Tuesday, I can’t really expect that I would have a doctor’s note by the Wednesday to excuse the absence.” — Tyla Betke, history teaching assistant
Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) president Lily Akagbosu also said doctor’s notes may not be accessible for all students.
“There’s room to implement a more equitable system where you’re not demanding doctor’s notes from students, which are expensive to pay for,” she said.
Doctor’s notes in Ontario cost $20 on average per note.
Akagbosu added a system where students are able to present their mental health needs without documentation “is only fair, especially if those students have shown a track record of succeeding in that course.”
Beyond financial barriers, Akagbosu said international students can be especially hesitant to ask for doctor’s notes regarding mental health.
“There’s definitely people who might feel more stigmatized getting an official documentation . . . For folks such as international students, sometimes they’re very wary of having certain things on their files.” — Lily Akagbosu, CUSA president
“I’m an international student myself and I know how stressful immigration processes are, so you want to ensure that you’re putting your best self out just because you don’t want to have any sort of information that might compromise your future opportunities,” she added.
Akagbosu also said although many professors are accommodating with self-diagnosed mental health issues, “that is not all professors.”
In addition to the absence of standardization for mental health accommodations, Bausch said stigma and a lack of awareness are also issues that should be addressed.
“I worry that some students don’t go to the Paul Menton Centre, and so it’s not the Paul Menton Centre’s failure, but it’s more that there are students who don’t feel that it applies to them or that they don’t have the proper documentation that is required,” Bausch said. “I do worry a little bit about that.”
Despite administrative issues regarding mental health accommodations, Evening Knecht, a second-year cognitive science student who registered with the PMC after getting eye surgery, said her experience was positive.
“It was really good, they were very responsive,” Knecht said.
Although Knecht’s accommodations went smoothly, she said she recognizes it may be more difficult for students seeking mental health accommodations.
“Mental health issues do sometimes get treated differently than physical ones, especially in an academic setting because they might be seen as not up to university level, whereas physical, we’ve grown to understand [how] to accommodate,” Knecht said.
The last day to request formal exam accommodations was Nov. 8, according to Carleton’s website.
But Carleton doesn’t say requests are prohibited after the submission deadline, just that “it may not be possible to fulfill accommodation requests.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, contact:
- Mental Health Crisis Line: 613-722-6914 (within Ottawa) and 1-866-996-0991 (outside Ottawa)
- Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region 24-hour line: 613-238-3311
- Youth Services Bureau 24/7 Crisis Line: 613-260-2360 or 1-877-377-7775 (toll free for eastern Ontario).
- EmpowerMe 24/7 helpline: 1-844-741-6389 (anywhere in North America)
- Good2Talk helpline: 1-866-925-5454 (anywhere in Ontario 24/7)
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT-686868 (available anywhere in Canada 24/7)
Students who require counselling support can go in person between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, to Health and Counselling Services at the CTTC Building, Suite 2600. Students may also call 613-520-6674 or walk in to schedule an appointment.
Carleton employees can access the after-hours Employee Assistance Program (EAP) by calling 1-800-668-9920, or during regular business hours at 613-725-5676.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
