Supporting Struggling Students: Key Strategies for Mental Health Support

A new college semester is exciting for students who wish to further their education and careers. There are new courses, class materials, and unique opportunities to explore. However, as the semester progresses, it’s easy for some students to slide from “on top of it” to “struggling student.” And, if those struggling students do not receive the support they so desperately need, they may end up with a new title– college dropout. 

As a campus leader, you and your team can do several things to help students get off the struggle bus. In this post, we’ll discuss some common challenges students face throughout the academic year and strategies you can implement to help them succeed. 

College Life and Academics Can Be a Challenge for Students

Hundreds of thousands of college students walk on campus each year, ready to start their academic journey as new or returning students. The first few weeks of a new semester are an exciting time. Still, they can quickly present a challenge for students who might not be equipped to handle new academic challenges or are juggling multiple other commitments and responsibilities.

A full course load is demanding on its own. Depending on the course, students might be enrolled in multiple labs or required to attend outside events, as outlined in the syllabus. Numerous courses, each with its own requirements and demanding assignments, can be tough for students to manage time-wise and can strain their mental load.

When you add campus transitions, jobs, challenging course material, and finances together, it’s no surprise that some students struggle or wrestle with mental health challenges like anxiety or depression. Unfortunately, some struggling students are forced to choose between competing priorities, and their academics quickly fall to the bottom of the priority list.

Offering dedicated support to these students often alleviates some of their stress and encourages them to get on the right track with their studies. Usually, it starts with a simple conversation.

How to Support Your Struggling Students and Promote Their Success

Conversational platforms, like Mongoose platform, can help you reach your students and support them throughout their time on your campus. An excellent conversational platform combines the expertise of your team, your existing student management system, and AI to offer multiple communication channels to get in contact with your students. 

Plus, it can help you uncover valuable insights to help you better understand your students, their struggles, and how you can help them overcome their challenges. Here are three ways to use a conversational platform to support struggling students. 

1. Offer 24/7 Availability and Assistance

Sometimes, it can be the most minor thing, like needing an answer to a simple registration question, that sends a student over the edge. While the question’s answer might not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it can become a full-blown crisis when an answer is needed, especially during off-hours. 
Implementing live chat and AI chatbots on your campus website is an excellent resource for students to find answers to their questions. During working hours, your advising team can monitor the live chat to support students in real time. During off hours, an AI chatbot can answer. AI chatbots are intuitive and can suggest the best, most appropriate answer using your student management system’s database data. Plus, they can collect vital information or schedule follow-ups for your team so that they know which students need immediate support.

2. Create and Promote Peer Mentor Programs

Some students struggle because they lack genuine connections with their peers. Just 59% of students feel connected to their classmates, and that number drops even lower for part-time students. While some students struggle with connections, others struggle with understanding the rigorous course material. By creating and promoting peer mentor programs, you can solve two problems simultaneously— create connections and learning opportunities.

Peer mentor programs are a great way to introduce shy students to one another and offer a supportive environment for students to learn to work together. But don’t rely on word-of-mouth to get the word out about these opportunities. Consider using a WhatsApp or SMS Texting campaign to remind students about study group meetings and encourage them to attend.

3. Promote Mental Health and Well-Being

9 in 10 students who face academic challenges say those challenges affect their mental health. As a campus leader, the last thing you want is degree programs causing undue mental stress for your students. 

You and your team can help alleviate these challenges by promoting your mental health services. Often, students are unaware of the resources available to them. An SMS campaign to remind students of their options is an excellent way to keep your available resources front and center. 

You can take it a step further by using Cadence to understand student sentiment and text encouraging advice to your students based on their current needs and feelings. Helpful, encouraging texts can help motivate students and keep them on track.

From Struggling Student to College Graduate: Support Your Students with Cadence

College can be overwhelming and challenging for many students, and extra support and guidance are always needed. Using a conversational platform like Cadence, you and your team can gain insight into the areas struggling students find challenging. Then, using those valuable insights, you can form a game plan to help them in their academic efforts, whether that’s sending a follow-up text to check in with them or offering frequent reminders of the resources available to them. 

If you’re ready to learn more about bringing Cadence to your campus, schedule a demo with our team today! 

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