Counseling and Wellness Services has changed their policy for their service fee for the upcoming school year.
The new semester fee is $20 and if students opt out of paying this semester fee then there will be a fee of twenty dollars each time Counseling and Wellness Services is used.
“Having a system in place that forces students to pay $20 for each visit if they didn’t sign up before school started for the single $20 is counter productive in helping the issue of college mental issues. Depression, stress, and anxiety or losses can happen at any given moment that might need multiple days of counseling but paying $20 for each session, sends the message to not go get help. Instead, make the first session $30 instead of $20 if they didn’t pay that at the beginning of the year and make the rest of the session free. This way students feel like they can get help and afford having their issues heard and helped,” said Mason Koster, a freshman at Wright State.
Robert Rando, the director of Counseling and Wellness Services says the reason for the fee is to increase funding for student needs.
“The goal of the fee is to increase funding so that we could better meet the needs of students. This includes the addition of a new Life Coaching service at CWS. The Life Coaching service will provide an opportunity for students who have issues that they are struggling with but are not in need of therapy to receive assistance in solving problems and/or improving their academic, artist, or athletic performance,” Rando said.
Counseling and Wellness Services provide psychological assessments, life coaching, group therapy, and individual therapy for students, according to their website.
The department has offered psychological assessments and therapy in the past, but the life coaching program is new this semester.
Students have mixed reactions to the new fee though.
“When a student lives on campus their priorities change and the stress created by school and other students have a higher impact on their mind. I believe students living on campus shouldn’t have to pay for therapy due to this exact reason,” said Zack Corbean, a freshman at Wright State.
Bailey Wyan, a freshman at Wright State believes the system isn’t for students.
“I think it is a system that favors the university’s well being over the Student’s,” Wyan said.
Counseling and Wellness Services is located in the Student Union. Their services has a 24-hour crisis hotline available for students.
“I think counseling and wellness is very important especially in the lives of high school and college kids. High school and college kids are bombarded with class assignments and studying while trying to balance working, friends, and family in between,” said Morgan Fleenor, a Wright State freshman.
The new fee will benefit students by allowing Counseling and Wellness Services to provide higher quality services for students but some students still have questions and differing opinions.
