Researchers have long warned of a growing mental health crisis on U.S. college campuses, with students increasingly likely to report problems with depression and anxiety1 and demand for campus counseling services rising past the capacity of many schools to keep up with it.2 The situation was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which isolated students at a time when social relationships are particularly important to their ability to manage the stress of college life.

However, results from the Lumina Foundation-Gallup State of Higher Education 2022 study show that even with pandemic-era restrictions lifted and concerns about COVID-19 receding, students in associate or bachelor’s degree programs were no less likely in 2022 than they were in 2021 to have considered stopping their coursework prior to completion. “Emotional stress” remains by far their most commonly cited reason for thinking of stopping out. Stressed Out and Stopping Out: The Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education draws on data collected in the fall of 2022 for the Lumina Foundation-Gallup State of Higher Education 2023 report.

Download study here.

Read the full higher education study here.

Watch CBS report on mental health and higher ed here.