Courtney Blackett

Following a recent suicide attempt by a student, the Oakland University Counseling Center (OUCC) is now seeking funding to address a long-standing staffing shortage during a semester with high demand for services.

Last semester, the OUCC’s singular dedicated administrative position — which handles the front desk and office management — was cut with little consultation. To rectify this, a bell was placed at the desk for students to ring to receive assistance.

Dr. David Schwartz, director of the OUCC, said this position was critical for students seeking assistance.

“It was really great to have someone up front that could do an initial [screening] with [students],” Schwartz said. “Having a front desk person is really important because you need somebody to be able to greet people, to make sure they’re put on a waitlist, that there isn’t anything more urgent.

“Imagine being in a situation where you’re reaching out for help, and you’re in crisis. It takes a lot of courage to make that decision to go to the counseling center and ask for help,” he added. “I just can’t imagine how utterly defeating and frustrating and just disappointing it could be to come in that moment and all of the sudden be greeted with a sign.”

Schwartz’s concern was that students in crisis may not be thinking clearly enough to follow the steps on the sign on how to reach out.

These concerns became a reality the week of Sept. 18 when a student came in seeking help, attempted to follow the steps provided on the sign and was unable to receive support. Later, that student made a serious suicide attempt.

This garnered attention across campus, including from the Oakland University Student Congress (OUSC), which put out a statement on Sept. 22 via Instagram regarding the issue.

“The Counseling Center has reported that students in crisis are needlessly suffering (with increasing severity) during a semester where there has already been an increase in students in crisis seeking help,” OUSC said. “OUSC calls on the University to immediately hire additional staff for the Counseling Center to fulfill current demand and implement unlimited free counseling sessions.”

Although Schwartz said he was happy to see the quick response from administrators — he was invited to present at the Faculty Senate and immediately granted permission to hire graduate students to staff the front desk part-time — it is a temporary fix to a grander problem.

The staffing shortage is nothing new — the OUCC has the highest staff-to-student ratio of any other college counseling center in Michigan, with nearly double the number of students per full-time staff member that the state averages.

To rectify this, Schwartz has submitted a proposal to “ambitiously” increase the size of the OUCC.

“This is a three-year proposal. Right away, we would be hiring a full-time attendant, and over the course of three years, we would be adding two or three positions a year,” Schwartz said.

Despite the proposal’s $830,000 cost, Schwartz’s calculation of return on investment through the University of Michigan yielded savings of $2.1 million through student retention and recruitment. However, Schwartz’s focus isn’t on the monetary component — his focus is on saving lives and contributing to student success first and foremost.

“Mental health is a critical, necessary component in a successful student,” he said. “Students that have support on campus…they are much more likely to be involved on campus, engaged and successful. And hopefully, go on to lead a happy and healthy life.”

Overall, Schwartz asks all campus community members to express their support for the proposal and share their suggestions on how the OUCC can best support the community.

“We’re always open to feedback if people have any ideas, feedback, ideas, questions, or suggestions,” he said. “We’re willing to think outside of the box and be creative with our efforts.”