This information can then be used to treat applicants unfairly or steer them toward programs that aren’t as desirable as other future career options. But this flies in the face of special laws designed to protect potential students from such discrimination.

The fact that the application process may ask for this information and that testing may be required can cause stress, making it hard to do well on tests and worsening existing health problems.

The student may have a lower chance of getting into the college of their choice if they don’t do well on standardized tests and meet other requirements. Rejection is never easy for anyone to handle, but in the face of mental health issues, it can prove to be devastating. One answer to potential future rejection lies in multiple applications to colleges.

Many students apply to multiple colleges as their “fall-back” choices if their first choice doesn’t accept them or if they’re placed on a waitlist, which means passing up other college acceptances. But this requires money to afford all the application fees.

Students with mental health problems can face different kinds of bias when they apply to college. Colleges and universities can help in this area by getting rid of the requirement that applicants tell them about any mental health problems they may have had, making it easier for accepted students to get help and resources for mental health, giving students with mental health problems more options for accommodations, and coming up with and putting into place plans to reduce stigma at the institution level.

Schools must re-evaluate their programs if they don’t have the resources to properly care for and help admitted students with mental health problems. Today, there is no legal reason to fail to assist these students. There could be a drop in academic performance, a rise in the number of students who drop out, and other problems.

What Can Colleges Do to Help?

Institutions do have ways to assist these students. They can help students prepare for college by giving them resources and information.

Students may have access to counseling services, classes on dealing with stress, and other support programs to help them respond to the pressures and stresses of the application process and being a college student. It does take a bit of change in many ways.

When a student goes to college, they may have better access to mental health care and counseling. In terms of their mental health, therapy and peer support groups are important for many college students to adjust well.

Many adjustments can be made to improve a student’s performance on standardized exams, such as longer testing times, different testing environments, or even different means of testing. One student I had in a class required that all his tests be recorded, and he also responded to them on a digital recorder.

Plan and implement strategies to reduce prejudice against students with mental health issues. Putting in place procedures for dealing with complaints of discrimination and teaching staff how to help students with mental health problems may be steps that need to be taken in this direction.

An example of a potential lack of sufficient mental health care for one university student resulted in her setting herself on fire in her dorm room and dying. Her parents sued the university for a lack of acting in loco parentis.

Providing tools and support for applicants’ mental health during the college application process can help alleviate stress and pressure. As a result, the student’s grades may improve, making it easier to get into the school of their choice. Parents play an important role in alleviating this stress. But there is also legal help for them.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says that postsecondary schools must make “reasonable accommodations” for students with disabilities, especially those related to mental health.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 also makes it illegal to treat students with disabilities differently. Like the Americans with Disabilities Act, the law says that schools must adjust for students with special needs.

However, schools only have to look at student requests for accommodations and make them if they are reasonable or would place an undue burden on the school. So, the results for the student are questionable if the school can show proof of an unfair burden.

In addition to ADA and Section 504, The FERPA law says students can keep their educational records private. The law also indicates how educational institutions can store and share these records.

A disability attorney may also help outline the actions that can be taken for any student with a mental health issue applying to a college. They will be able to tell them their rights and help them get any accommodations they need.

There are resources to help screen colleges for their ADA admissions and assistance policies. In addition to housing, potential students should consider test accommodations including alternative test formats and locations and more time to take tests. Students can also request extra time to complete coursework and fulfill graduation requirements. Again, if a student’s believes their rights have been violated, they can file a complaint.

When a student files a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), they investigate it. If the student is correct in their allegation, the court may order the school to change its policies and procedures to stop discrimination from happening again and make the correct accommodations.

The application process is stressful, but if a student or parent thinks they are being treated unfairly for whatever reason, there are ways to deal with this and things they can do. There is hope.

The post College Applicants Do Have the Means to Fight Mental Health Discrimination appeared first on Medika Life.

Cornell University plans to require vaccination for students for the Ithaca, Geneva, and Cornell Tech campuses for the fall semester.

President Martha Pollack and provost Michael Kotlikoff issued a joint April 2 statement outlining the plans and the rationale. Like Texas and many other states, New York plans to reduce the age of Covid-19 vaccine eligibility starting April 6 to those 16 years and older.

Cornell college officials believe enough students and faculty will be fully vaccinated, allowing a safe return to in-person classes.

Cornell University’s proactive stance is in line with other colleges, such as Rutger’s Univerity in New Jersey, requiring staff and student vaccination. Cornell plans to help students qualify and schedule appointments through its vaccine support program. The school is also working to find a solution for enrolled students coming in from other states who have not been vaccinated.

Based on current data, the academic plan is to continue current Covid-19 mitigation strategies. Students and staff are required to wear high-quality mask-wearing. Classes are arranged with special seating to allow social distancing. The campus has worked to improve classroom ventilation.

Current Covid-19 surveillance testing will continue. This data tracking will Cornell to track campus immunity through the Daily Check tool. All faculty and students and faculty must register on the app by April 15th.

The University will monitor the data to determine when the campus reached 50% herd immunity. The leadership anticipates meeting this threshold allowing the camping to return to all in-person learning. If herd immunity is not reached, then the campus will reopen with a remote option.

Cornell University’s decision is in line with the March updated guidance for College campuses from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC recognizes people attending school in congregated settings are at an increased risk for catching and spreading Covid-19.

The CDC asks each institute of higher learning to implement a Covid-19 screening strategy before the beginning of each term. The CDC asks each school to work with local public health authorities, so that campus policy fits with the disease prevalence in the surrounding area. A universal screening strategy is recommended if sufficient testing capacity is not available for SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19.

Many campuses are implementing rapid testing protocols. Rapid antigen testing detects the fragmented pieces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that trigger an immune response. Like PCR testing, antigen testing detects an active infection but can be done much faster.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has approved rapid antigen testing. These FDA-approved tests are a highly accurate way to detect Covid-19 in patients with symptoms. Symptomatic individuals have high viral loads allowing rapid tests to accurately diagnosis Covid-19.

Rapid antigen testing is not as accurate in asymptomatic individuals or those with very low viral loads. The CDC has published a protocol on how to interpret test results.CDC recommends the use of the rapid antigen algorithm.

There are three FDA-approved vaccines for Covid-19. The two messenger RNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer offer 95% protection against Covid-19. The Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna use messenger RNA (mRNA). A single strand of mRNA delivers instructions to human cells to produce an antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

The Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccine offers 72% protection against infection and 86% against severe disease. The Janssen vaccine uses Adenovirus 26 (AD26) as the vector to deliver DNA material into our cells to provoke an immune response.

The Moderna and Janssen vaccines are approved for those 18 years old and up. The Pfizer vaccine is approved starting at age 16.

All three vaccines are highly effective in preventing death.

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