D2 was just admitted. Can anyone comment on their experiences with disability and mental health services at Vassar? Thanks!
I know they took steps to help the mental health services:
(from the dean of students)
"To support the mental health needs of our students, the College has taken steps towards meeting the goals for the Counseling Service outlined in the President’s letter to the community.
Wayne Assing will take his role as the new assistant director of the Counseling Service beginning August 2015. Mr. Assing has worked in college counseling for 25 years, 15 as a director. A generalist in college mental health, Mr. Assing also specializes in mindfulness meditation. Mr. Assing’s experience as an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago and as a first generation college graduate has inspired his interest in multiculturalism, educational access, and support for all students.
Jennica Karpinski was recently hired as a psychological counselor and will begin her role at the Counseling Service in August of 2015. With 9 years of experience in college mental health, Dr. Karpinski is a feminist therapist with a passion for outreach and social justice, and specialization in working with diverse communities, particularly with the LGBTQIA community.
The Counseling Service is currently engaged in a search for a post-doctoral fellow for the 2015-2016 academic year. This search should be concluded within the next two months.
The College recently contracted with Protocall, an off site on call service that will support the Counseling Service in providing after hours service. Protocall is staffed by masters level clinicians who are well versed in Vassar’s culture, policies and procedures. This service, in collaboration with the Counseling Service, will provide care to our student body evenings and weekends during the academic year, supporting our counselors in providing more sustainable and quality care during day time hours.
The College established a mental health and wellness fund to support students with financial need in accessing off campus care. The fund assists students in paying for medical and therapy co-payments and transportation to appointments. Students are currently accessing this fund through the Financial Aid office, in collaboration with the Counseling Service, Health Service, and Office of Health Education.
We invite members of the community to contact us with any questions or concerns and we look forward to our ongoing collaborations with the community."
A website was also created:
“The college has created a new website ( http://president.vassar.edu/strengthening-vassar/) to inform you of our progress on the commitments that we made in December to strengthen our community, as well as recent events and those planned for the spring that focus on dialogue across differences. We will use this as a way to continue to communicate with our community and report on progress as the semester goes on. There will be lots of opportunities for continued discussions about how we can create a more inclusive campus, where all members are and feel valued and listened to. The timing and details of many of these events sponsored by faculty, administrators, and students are available at http://president.vassar.edu/strengthening-vassar/dialogue.html”
Another point to note is that they have a note at the bottom of every event flyer stating that individuals with disabilities needing acommodations should contact an office (can’t remember its name right now) for help.
@AkLvKk thanks for the info. Think we’ll arrange to speak with folks on accepted student day.
For future readers, we visited today and met with the disability director. Very impressed with her and the services they offer, including weekly coaching.
There are plenty of students getting accommodations. As with any college, you have to get a report into the Accessibility Office (which I think is what they now call the Disability Office) and the student has to submit a form each year etc. They also have a Writing Center to get help with papers (as does virtually every college these days, I think). There is also somebody who does academic coaching (I forget her name but her office is in the library). Basically, once you’re in, they want you to succeed, and they will help you in a number of ways to do so.