AUCCCD endorses AUCCCO's Impact Statement on COVID-19 | March 2020
As President of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), I am writing to you today in light of how the current COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the ability of colleges and universities to serve the mental health needs of college students. In order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, many colleges have moved to distance learning as an avenue for students to continue their academic studies. However, this move means that many college counseling centers will utilize telemental health services in order to provide much needed psychological care to already vulnerable students who are likely experiencing increased anxiety and social isolation. This includes students who live in another state rather than where their college is located. In most states, mental health professionals are prohibited from practicing across state lines.
The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) strongly supports the “Threat Assessment, Prevention, and Safety Act of 2018” (H.R. Bill 6664). As a leading voice for college student mental health, and the largest organization of campus mental health leaders in the country, AUCCCD is actively involved in efforts to reduce the risk of violence to self and others.
The Clery Act requires all institutions of higher education to collect crime reports from a variety of individuals and organizations that Clery considers to be Campus Security Authorities (CSAs). In its 2016 Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting, the U.S. Department of Education identified two types of individuals working in specific roles who are not CSAs under the Clery Act: Pastoral counselors and Professional Counselors (this includes counselors-intraining working under the license of a professional counselor). Furthermore, directors of campus counseling centers were classified as people who generally meet the criteria for being campus security authorities (CSAs).
The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), a professional association for the higher education leaders for college student mental health representing over 800 institutions in the United States and internationally, seeks to advance the cause of collegiate mental health through innovation, education, and advocacy. As an organization committed to inclusive excellence and the promotion of social justice, AUCCCD strongly speaks out against racism, discrimination, oppression, and violence in its many forms. On Friday, August 11, 2017, and Saturday, August 12, 2017, several White supremacist hate groups gathered on the campus of the University of Virginia and elsewhere in Charlottesville, purportedly to protest the removal of a Confederate general’s statue. The weekend was marked with violent clashes between various hate groups and anti-racism groups, leading to property destruction and the needless death of a young woman who was there to protest against racism and bear witness. Several other people were injured, some seriously. Two law enforcement officers who were there to keep the peace also lost their lives when their helicopter crashed.
