University task force to tackle policies on mental health

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University is taking another step towards promoting healthy living for their students. Not just for the body, but also for the mind.

NMU is creating a task force to review the university’s policies in regards to the mental health of their students.

VP of Enrollment Management and Student Services Dr. Steve Neiheisel says, “There have been concerns raised about how we serve our students with mental health issues on campus, and so we saw this as an opportunity to take a more comprehensive review of our services, and so that’s the primary focus is to make sure we are doing the best we can on behalf of the well being of our students.”

The task force is still in its infant stages and not much has been set in stone.

He says that the task force will tackle to improve any policies that aren’t doing enough for students when it comes to crisis areas like suicide prevention and self harm.

Neiheisel says that while the university is still determining membership, it will include students, members from the counseling center, community professionals, and employees from student services and housing.

“At this point with the end of the semester coming up, identifying the membership is really the key before we all go on break,” Dr. Neiheisel added, “I would expect we would convene sometime in January, early January, and begin meeting and figuring out schedules, and formalize the charge and move forward next semester.”

For more information you can contact the office of Enrollment Management and Student Services. Click here to find out how.