Of all 14 schools in the Southeastern Conference, The University of Alabama is one of two that charges full-time students for mental health counseling. In a 2020 article from the student-run newspaper, The Crimson White, many facts regarding this issue were brought to light: 

At The University of Alabama, full-time students receive a free screening appointment through the UA Counseling Center, however, a $15 fee is charged for each following session. Some students have stated that this fee is one reason why they do not seek counseling. Another problem we face is the fact that UA students are limited to 15 counseling sessions per academic year. This may deter students from seeking counseling in order to "save up" their visits for a later time. 

According to a 2019 survey conducted by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), the median salary and benefits budget for a counseling center at a college of UA's size was $2.41 million. This was more than twice the amount of the UA Counseling Center's budget of $1.06 million for that year. Greg Vander Wal, Executive Director of the UA Counseling Center, says that the Counseling Center currently employs 19 counselors for 38,000 students. The current student to counselor ratio is 1 counselor per 2,000 students, when the "ideal" ratio should be 1 counselor for every 1,000-1,500 students. 

With the increasing demand for mental health services on college campuses, the UA Counseling Center has much room for improvement. In order to encourage students to seek counseling and make it more accessible, counseling should be free of charge for full-time students, and the appointments limit should be discarded. With a $1.5 billion endowment, The University of Alabama has the power to make these changes and has no excuse for the Counseling Center to be underfunded.

Please sign and share this petition to help enhance the lives of our students and make a change on our campus!

Also, here is the link to The Crimson White article that was referred to above if you would like more information: https://cw.ua.edu/66168/news/data-uas-counseling-center-understaffed-underfunded-compared-to-sec-peers/