This will fund more positions and resources at the Carruth Center.
From The Daily Athenaeum (WVU Student Newspaper):
West Virginia University will charge students a $12 mental health fee for the first time this fall semester. The money will fund additional positions for therapists and counselors at the Carruth Center, according to school administrators.
Last month, the WVU Board of Governors approved a $24 per semester university fee increase for students, including the fee for mental health services. Board members also approved just under a 2% rise in tuition costs for students.
April Kaull, executive director of communications, said the mental health fee will be used to support increased Carruth staffing, including three new positions.
The fee, she said, will also increase the University’s “ability to retain high-quality counselors” and expand virtual support options for students.
With just under 29,000 students currently enrolled at WVU, the campus-wide mental health fee will provide approximately $348,000 of additional mental health funding.
According to Kaull, the mental health fee will not be used to directly fund Healthy Minds University—an on-campus, long-term mental health clinic launching in the fall. Healthy Minds will be a collaborative approach between the Carruth Center, WVU Behavioral Medicine and other support services across campus
“Students who are seen at the Carruth Center, at WVU Medicine and/or are a new student who already receives mental health care at home may be referred to Healthy Minds U for psychiatric and psychological services,” said Carruth Center Director T. Anne Hawkins.
Hawkins said almost all of the $2.5 million Carruth Center annual budget is allocated to services that provide direct support to students—counselors, care managers and programming. A small fraction of the center’s funding is spent on operating costs like utilities, training and professional development.
In the last two years, Hawkins said Carruth had added six new counseling positions and introduced the Crisis Text Line and My SSP—a free program that provides WVU students remote access to mental health services all across the world.