Policy

In the 2020 joint report, In It Together: Foundations for Promoting Mental Wellness in Campus Communities, Ontario’s Universities, Colleges Ontario, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) and College Student Alliance (CSA) put forward their recommendations for helping meet the growing challenge of student mental health.

Peter Lake and Victor Schwartz, MD (Chief Medical Officer at The Jed Foundation), present on various topics including (a) privacy and confidentiality (including FERPA and medical records privacy), (b) disability law, (c) legal principles of delivering mental health services on campus, and (d) the potential liability of colleges and universities for student suicide and violence. Presenters also discuss how JED’s recommendations have shaped today’s mental health law, as well as future legislation that might impact campus mental health.

A new youth-led report released by Jack.org outlines how adult allies can better support and promote youth mental health across Canada.

Published by the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), this policy paper discusses what mental health currently looks like on post-secondary campuses in Canada, and describes steps the federal government can take to improve the lives of those struggling.

The Equity in Mental Health Framework (EMH Framework), developed by The Jed Foundation (JED) and The Steve Fund, aims to help colleges and universities support and enhance the mental health of students of colour.

Not by degrees: Improving student mental health in the UK’s universities, a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research provides insight into the state of postsecondary student mental health in the UK.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) hosted the first Canadian Consensus Conference on the Mental Health of Emerging Adults: Making Transitions a Priority in Canada in 2015. This conference aimed to create an open dialogue and generate a broad consensus on the unique mental health needs of emerging adults. Facilitated by the MHCC Knowledge Exchange Centre, this conference brought together 200 emerging adults, their families and caregivers, service providers, and policymakers from across Canada to develop a consensus statement with recommendations to advance policy and services for emerging adults in Canada.

This online, interactive inventory is designed to help colleges, institutes, and universities self-evaluate and plan action systemically supporting mental health on campus.

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Mental Health Innovation Fund, OCAD University and Ryerson University conducted a scan of current policy approaches to post-secondary student mental health with a special focus on postsecondary mental health policy development, service and system design approaches to student-centered care, and the application of design and visual thinking to campus mental health.

OCAD University and Ryerson University have embarked on a creative partnership together, collaborating around the development of best practices in campus mental health strategy. OCAD U is using design thinking as a participatory process to gather input and to understand students’ experiences with mental health on campus in order to inform the mental health strategy. OCAD U is also using art as a community engagement tool to raise awareness about mental health and to reduce stigma on campus.

he Balancing Safety and Support on Campus: A Guide for Campus Teams, was developed by the Higher Education Mental Health Alliance (HEMHA) and led by The Jed Foundation. The aim of the project was to develop a resource that would help both existing and new teams make informed decisions about their structure, scope, functions, and day-to-day operations.