Date Approved

5-23-2022

Embargo Period

5-25-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. Higher Education

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Stephanie Lezotte, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Tyrone McCombs, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

Andrew Tinnin, Ed.D.

Keywords

College Students, Counseling Services, COVID-19, Mental Health

Subject(s)

College students--Mental health

Disciplines

Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this research study is to address the increased need for mental health support among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-May 2021), and to ensure students are getting the full mental health support that they need from their campus counseling center. The study will include residential undergraduate and graduate students from Rowan University who have utilized the university's Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) office. Mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative data will be used to collect student responses and answer the research questions. The first step will include participation in an online survey that collects student demographic information and asks students to indicate the type of experiences they have had with the CPS office using a five-point likert scale. Following this data analysis and research, students who expressed interest in participating based on self-identification within the survey will be randomly selected to participate in semi-structured interviews where they will be asked to reflect more on their personal experiences with the office and express any impacts they believe COVID-19 may have had on their experience. To analyze the data, I will compare the overall experiences of the students who took part in my quantitative survey to determine whether or not the Counseling and Psychological Services office has shown significant support to students with mental health disorders. I will then use the qualitative information I gathered from my interviews in the randomly selected subgroups to further interpret why students did or did not feel supported by the Counseling and Psychological Services Office, and what support (if any) may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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