2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Action Plan: Mental Health Supports

2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Action Plan | Mental Health Supports

The rise of mental health challenges in higher education is increasingly impacting students, faculty, and staff, affecting academic success, job satisfaction, and the overall campus climate. Mental health supports are essential for fostering a thriving educational environment in higher education, benefiting students, faculty, and staff alike. As mental health challenges rise across campuses, institutions are increasingly called on to develop comprehensive wellness strategies that address the diverse needs of their communities. By focusing on strategic actions to build supportive, responsive, and well-resourced environments, higher education institutions can create a foundation for sustainable mental wellness that enriches the entire academic experience.

Building on the trends, technologies, practices, and scenarios described in the 2024 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition, an expert panel was charged with envisioning the preferred future of mental health supports in higher education and creating an action plan targeting that future.

 

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Goals for Our Future State

Goals

Asked to describe the state of mental health supports that they would like to see in higher education 10 years from now, panelists collaboratively constructed their preferred future.

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Actions

Linear steps from Individuals to Units and Departments to Multi-Unit Collaboration to Multi-Institution Collaboration

Panelists generated a list of actions that individuals, units and departments, and multi-unit or multi-institutional teams can take to arrive at this preferred future in 10 years.

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Planning for the Road Ahead

Chart illustrating to describe your preferred future and then work backwards from long-term milestones and activities (easy and hard) to mid-term milestones and activities (easy and hard) in order to get to short-term milestones and activities (easy and hard).

Envisioning the future we want to see is important and exciting work, but real progress can only be made when individuals like you create change. Use the recommended activities to solidify your vision of the future and make plans to take action.

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Expert Panel

The 2025 Horizon Action Plan panel comprised nine higher education experts.

See the Expert Panel >

 



 

EDUCAUSE Horizon Report is a registered trademark of EDUCAUSE.