Mental Health Snapshot for Faculty and Staff

This is a resource to inform staff and faculty on student’s mental health and recommend ways to manage conversations. Below are tips and examples of common conservations that may arise with students. There is information surrounding the mental well-being of students and policies for flexibility to consider when making decisions regarding the structure of the class or personal circumstances.

UC Davis Student Health and Well-Being Data 2025

  • Approximately 1 in 3 experienced serious psychological distress
  • 65.5% experienced academic challenges or problems in the last 12 months
  • Approximately 1 in 3 experienced high stress in the last 12 months
  • 38.6.3% reported anxiety negatively impacting their academics

Learn more about this health and well-being data.

National Mental Health Data

  • Students in pursuit of secondary education have increasingly become a high-risk group in regards to mental health crises.
  • There is an increase in reports of:
    • Overwhelming anxiety
    • Depression to point student could not function
    • Mental health concerns from political stress and social unrest

Academic Indicators of Distress

  • Repeated Absence from class, section, lab or employment
  • Sudden decline in quality or quantity of work
  • Multiple requests for extensions
  • Bizarre content in writings or presentations

Signs and Symptoms

  • Inability to perform daily tasks like studying, commuting to campus or taking care of daily responsibilities
  • Unusual withdrawal or animated behavior
  • Unusual or disproportional emotional response to events
  • Implying or making a direct threat to harm self or others

Tips for Communicating with Students

  • Be Clear in Expectation to Students
    • Students feel more at ease when they know what is expected from them from the start and help them make their own choices
    • Clear expectations can be groundwork for building mutually beneficial relationships
  • Use Reflective Listening
    • When student is expressing concerns or potentially sensitive information, listen first
    • Avoid being dismissive even if you believe the concerns are unfounded
  • Use understanding language when turning down a request (examples below)

How Staff and Faculty Can Help

  • Use your best judgment to give a one-time extension or add a automatic “drop” policy to lowest few quizzes or assignments
  • Preventing added stress
    • Reduce competition between students
    • Provide correct timeframes for assignments and tests
    • Give feedback and grades in a timely manner
  • Offer alternatives if you turn to down student’s request
    • Taking a different version of a test
    • Suggest taking the course at a different time and reassure that one rough quarter doesn’t make or break your academics during college (example #3 below)

Sample Faculty Responses to Student Extension Requests

The following examples provide language faculty can adapt when responding to student requests for deadline extensions. They model clear, empathetic communication while upholding course expectations, offering alternatives when appropriate, and reserving course withdrawal recommendations for extreme circumstances.

  • Example #1
  • “I am sorry (insert student’ situation). Based on the (provide reason) expectations outlined I am unable to accept that request.”

    Example Reasons:
    — Explicit deadlines on syllabus
    — Affects the deadline of a following assignment/is a prerequisite for another assignment
  • Example #2
  • “Thank you for sending me an email about (insert student request/situation). I am unfortunately unable to offer an extension (insert reason). While I am unable to offer this request, I am willing to (offer alternatives).”

    Example Alternatives:
    — Use the average of two previous tests or assignments as a grade
    — Opportunities for late submissions with slightly reduced grade penalties (5% for every day late)
  • Example #3
  • “I am sorry to hear about (insert student situations). Based on the weight of the assignment or test, I am unable to offer an extension or an alternative. I want to support you during this time and do not want this class to be the cause of any additional stress. I suggest taking this class during an alternative quarter. I want to emphasize that this short setback is momentary, and I want to ensure that this will likely not affect your academic journey in the long run.”

    We suggest professors use this option sparingly, for extreme situations where a student will not have the ability to complete the class

Items to Consider when Requiring Proof for Flexibility

  • SHCS cannot give a student a letter of support for missing classes. Appointments made for this reason reduce the amount of appointments available for students who need medical care more urgently. Using this policy in the classroom will disproportionately affect students who use SHCS exclusively.
  • Students may not have a documented diagnosis yet and are unable to work with the Student Disability Center until they obtain one.
  • Office of Student Support Case Managers typically do not provide letters of support for students they have not previously worked with. Their role involves meeting with students to understand their concerns and then referring them to appropriate campus resources, such as Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS), Aggie Compass and others.

Faculty and Staff Response Protocol for Students of Concerns

Is the student a danger to self/others and/or do they need immediate assistance?

  • Yes
  • The student’s behavior is clearly and imminently reckless, dangerous or threatening and is suggestive of harm to self or others in the community.

    Call 911 or UCD police emergency line at 530-752-1230 AND contact the Office of Student Support for case manager follow up.
  • Unsure
  • The student shows signs of distress (e.g. sadness, anxiousness, anger, etc.) but I am unsure how serious it is. My interaction has left me feeling uneasy and/or concerned about the student.

    Submit a Student Support Referral form or call either the Office of Student Support at 530-752-1128 or Health 34 at 530-754-3434.
  • No
  • I’m not concerned for the student’s immediate safety, but the student is having significant academic and/or personal issues and could use some support or additional resources.

    Report concerns to the Office of Student Support by submitting a Student Support Referral form and/or call 530-752-1128 for a case consultation.