Most college presidents say that providing mental health support for students is a priority, but an overall unfamiliarity with identifying mental illnesses can keep learners and educators on campus from accessing the resources needed during trying times.

The Mental Health Association in New York State and the ACHA Gun Safety Task Force at Midwestern State University are working to change that reality—and provide institutions with a better understanding of the supports that can keep college campuses healthy and thriving through the darkness.

Photo: Scott L. Hall

For-profit colleges have faced scrutiny for decades, including over their predatory practices and targeting of veterans, abuse of public funding, and high percentages of students who leave unable to pay off their debt. 

But little has been done to hold the colleges' executives accountable for their behavior. Now, leaders at the U.S. Department of Education say it's time for the people who run predatory institutions to pay up.

As a student from a working-class background, success in college did not come easy to Brandi Perri. No one, including Perri, could have predicted that she would one day complete a doctorate degree and become a college professor.

Perri credits community college for giving her the confidence to be a successful college student. Today, she is hopeful that her state of Massachusetts will take steps to help other students like herself by making a community college education free.