Florida International University in Miami is lagging behind other public universities in an effort to hire more mental health counselors, according to a recent report.
Universities should have one counselor for every 1,000 to 1,500 students enrolled, according to the International Association of Counseling Services. In recent years, the State University System’s board of governors has asked the Legislature for money to help schools meet this standard. Lawmakers haven’t specifically funded the request.
So the board directed Florida’s dozen public universities to find the money in their existing budgets to hire them anyway. Last week, a report was presented to the board showing schools’ progress so far.
According to the report, FIU has the worst ratio in the system — 2,216 students for every counselor. All of the other universities reported fewer than 2,000 students per counselor.
Read more: Why Are University Students Flocking To Psychological Counseling?
FIU President Mark Rosenberg said the school has hired additional counselors that were not reflected in the report. Further, he explained that the university has a large enrollment enrolled in online courses and degree programs, and virtual students have access to mental health services but don’t have to pay the fee that supports counseling centers.
“The ratio is still high,” Rosenberg said.
“I'm not satisfied,” he continued. “I mean, I don't like the notion that we have a high ratio, and we're going to have to be more responsive — clearly, clearly.”
Rosenberg said students who need to see a counselor get in right away. But they sometimes have to wait two or three weeks to get a follow-up appointment because there aren’t enough counselors to meet the demand more quickly.
Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton is near the internationally accepted standard, with 1,564 students per counselor.
Read the report here.
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