On June 28, 2022, in a called special session, The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved the allocation of $16.5 million over the next five years to focus on student mental health across all the UT system schools. The funds will be used to augment existing services and to create new services.
This initiative will offer supplemental support to the services already offered at UT Health San Antonio, including mental telehealth services, after-hours crisis line, the UT Thrive App and Title IX training and education.
The Student Counseling Center (SCC) after-hours crisis line has allowed students to access care after the SCC’s hours of operation. With the new funding from UT System initiative this service will be extended for another five years. This service is available to all students including those who travel abroad, have internships/rotations or are away from the university. The crisis line satisfies the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation standard to provide services to distance learners.
Another current service that has been extended by the UT System initiative is the UT Thrive App. This is an interactive app, available for free on iPhone and Android devices, that helps busy students make small changes in their routines to make powerful impacts on their daily life. The app teaches users core skills related to emotional intelligence, mental health and well-being, and sends messages to remind them to practice and integrate the concepts.
Online training for sexual assault and harassment prevention and other relevant topics will also be extended five more years by this UT System initiative.
The funding will also allow for two new training programs offered to faculty and staff. The first is a scenario-based online training for recognizing and responding to students exhibiting concerning behavior and are in distress. The second program will be an in-person suicide prevention training program.