MINDful College Connections (MCC) announced the addition of Butler University as its newest member. MCC was established in 2022 through a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. and is a shared-resource consortium for student mental health with DePauw University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College as the founding members.
Curtis Wiseley, Psy.D., executive director of MCC, is excited about the expansion. “We finished the first year fully staffed and operational across our consortium and then began searching for new partners to scale up our services to benefit new member institutions. The objective of MCC has been to show that the consortium model of shared resources works and that we can offer services to other institutions at substantial cost savings. MCC creates a greater efficiency of resources for members, generating savings and allowing institutions to provide expanded mental health services to their students,” explained Wiseley.
Studies have shown a steady increase in the demand for mental health services among college students over the past decade. As the stigma of mental health continues to diminish, a more significant percentage of students have engaged in counseling services in high school and seek to have that support continued into their college experience. Institutions are seeking new and innovative ways to address the increased demand. As prospective students and parents search for colleges, mental health service offerings have become important as a recruiting element and a factor in college student success.
“Student safety and well-being will always be Butler University’s top priority, and joining the MCC consortium will elevate our current mental health support and services in a significant way,” Frank E. Ross, III, vice president for student affairs at Butler University, said. “I’m grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc. for funding this important initiative and to the founding member institutions for their vision and for allowing Butler University to join the consortium.”
Through the consortium partnership model, MCC can offer member institutions overall cost savings of up to 40% on a package of mental health services and resources, including:
- One full-time clinical counselor for their counseling center provides additional counseling services.
- One full-time mental health and wellness educator for their campus provides educational and prevention programming.
- Mantra Health, a clinically informed telehealth provider for college students, offers additional access to counseling, psychiatric and 24/7 crisis services.
- Togetherall supports students’ mental health by creating a sense of belonging and connection through an online peer-to-peer support community monitored by licensed clinicians 24/7.
- Nearpeer is a leading technology that helps to improve human flourishing and well-being by supporting greater community, connection and belonging.
- Titanium Schedule is a fully integrated electronic medical records system designed specifically for use by college and university counseling centers.
- The Center for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State University is an international practice research network of over 750 colleges and universities dedicated to researching college student mental health. Its mental health database serves as a primary resource for college student mental health.
Wiseley is enthusiastic about the future of MCC and the consortium’s ability to offer affordable options for additional student mental health services to other institutions like Butler University. “From the inception of MCC, the objective was to build a model of shared student mental health resources to expand to other institutions. It is so rewarding to see our consortium’s expansion beginning to happen now and to know that more students will be helped with the addition of Butler University,” Wiseley said.
The Presidents of the founding institutions—DePauw University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College—have also expressed their excitement about Butler University joining the consortium, seeing it as an essential step in enhancing mental health support for students and expanding the positive impact of MCC’s services.
About MCC
MINDful College Connections (MCC) is a shared resource consortium for student mental health with the collaboration of DePauw University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and Butler University. MCC’s primary goal is to improve the capacity of member institutions to meet the growing need for mental health care services for their students.
About Butler University
Based in Indianapolis—one of the heartland’s largest and most dynamic cities—Butler University is a nationally recognized comprehensive university encompassing seven colleges: Arts, Business, Communication, Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Founder’s College. Approximately 4,500 undergraduate and 1,100 graduate students are enrolled at Butler, representing 48 states, two U.S. territories and 31 countries. A Butler education is focused on giving students the tools they need to excel personally and professionally, as demonstrated by the University’s 98 percent placement rate within six months of graduation. Butler University is the No. 1 ranked regional university in the Midwest, according to the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings, in addition to being included in The Princeton Review’s annual “best colleges” guidebook. Learn more at butler.edu
About DePauw University
Founded in 1837, DePauw University is a liberal arts college located in Greencastle, Indiana. Through an uncommon commitment to the liberal arts, DePauw develops leaders the world needs. With a distinctive three-school academic model incorporating the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Business and Leadership and the Creative School, DePauw prepares graduates who create positive change in their communities and the world. Learn more at depauw.edu
About Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is Indiana’s oldest Catholic college, established in 1840. SMWC is listed among the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest and Best Value Schools in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report. SMWC was the second institution in the nation to add distance education programming in 1973. To learn more, visit v-lanterna.com
About Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Founded in 1874, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is dedicated to preparing its students with the world’s best undergraduate science, engineering and mathematics education in an environment of individual attention and support. The Institute is consistently recognized nationally as an elite STEM college for distinctions that include faculty excellence, return on investment, value-added and career services. Career placement is nearly 100 percent year after year. Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Rose-Hulman has an enrollment of more than 2,300 students. Learn more at rose-hulman.edu.