The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) recently released a list of recommendations to improve student health and wellness on campus.
OUSA researchers found many Ontario universities need to improve in areas such as mental health care, nutrition, campus security, and campus wellness centres.
Rodrigo Perez, OUSA Steering Committee member and vice-president (education) of the McMaster Students Union (MSU) said many universities aren’t providing appropriate counselling services.
Perez said there are “not enough counsellors to deal with the student demand,” after looking at campus counselling services and wellness centres in Ontario.
Perez noted some students wait up to six weeks for counselling appointments at universities.
“They might need the counselling right away,” he said. “They might need constant counselling.”
OUSA recommended universities set aside more funding for student wellness programs, and that counselling, health, and accessibility services be connected, instead of in separate offices.
“If you have to go to a counselling service office that is completely separate from your health and wellness, [it] can really detract people from going,” Perez said. “We’re looking at how we are taking care of student wellness and student health to ensure that anyone can go to those centres.”
OUSA researchers also found that university courses are structured in ways that promote unhealthy lifestyles. According to OUSA’s Student Health and Wellness Policy Paper, assignment deadlines and large workloads cause high amounts of stress for students.
OUSA recommended that all universities in Ontario have a fall and winter reading break to reduce student stress.
“Research is slowly coming out and universities are acknowledging that this is important,” said Danielle Pierre, an OUSA research analyst.
Pierre said OUSA’s recommendations are based on student input. Adding a fall break to all Ontario universities is something “students think will facilitate their health and wellness,” she said. “In terms of the benefits of the fall break, the evidence is quite anecdotal and coming from the universities that have already instituted this.”
Jessica Mullin, a fourth-year legal studies student and teaching assistant at Carleton, said a fall reading week is necessary.
“I had about 30 assignments this semester and was able to complete two of them over the break, in addition to marking 60 of my students’ papers . . . [Reading] week is definitely not wasted by me,” she said.
However, Coco Sultana, a second-year Carleton psychology student, said she thinkgs a fall reading break isn’t enough to effectively lower student stress.
“If [universities] really want to reduce student stress, they should start by not having students write two exams on the same day,” Sultana said, adding that universities need to address student loans and high textbook prices to help students cope with financial stress.
Pierre said OUSA works closely with students to “research, write, and ratify [their] policies and recommendations.”
“We take the policy and get in discussions with the provincial government and support our student leaders to do the same,” she said, adding OUSA also works with the Council of Ontario Universities to address student wellness on campus.
Universities are willing to make changes to meet student needs, Pierre said.
“I think the thing to remember is that universities want to help their students, so by giving students a mouthpiece, [OUSA] can give their recommendations a little bit more weight,” she said.
