Up to 82% Of Students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute Have Reported Too Much Academic Pressure

82 percent of students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have reported too much academic pressure, according to the report of WPI’s Mental Health and Well-Being Task Force.

The task force of more than 35 university students and employees was commissioned in September 2021 and published in January 2022, Erudera.com reports.

One-third to half of WPI students have reported low resilience, according to the report, while two-thirds have reported long-term mental health issues.

Many students have expressed frustration with the current restrictions at the university and the long-term COVID-19 impacts.

As per graduate students, the report notes the following:

• Up to 65 percent of WPI graduate students have reported a fear of failure
• 57 percent of graduate students expressed concerns about their future plans
• 58 percent of PhDs have mentioned mentoring issues
• Half of graduate students have reported long term mental health issues
• 66 percent of graduate students struggle to balance multiple commitments
• 1/2 of graduate students gave themselves failing grades regarding knowledge of mental health and well-being resources
• 62 percent of master’s students are concerned about their finances
• Five percent of graduate students had issues with COVID-19 rules but had a big impact on social connections

Back in December 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory highlighting the mental health crisis among youth and calling for systematic change.

 “It would be a tragedy if we beat back one public health crisis only to allow another to grow in its place…This isn’t an issue we can fix overnight or with a single prescription. Ensuring healthy children and families will take an all-of-society effort, including policy, institutional, and individual changes in how we view and prioritize mental health.”

Six students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have died since July last year. The university is not able to provide details on one student’s death, while three deaths are reported to have been suicides, one occurred due to medical issues, and one death remains under investigation.

Data indicate that between 2006 and 2021, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute saw two deaths by suicide.

“Prior to 2006, when many of WPI’s most effective suicide prevention efforts began, the university’s suicide completion rates were on the national average (6.5–7.5 per 100,000 students, which translates to one every three years). Up until this year, that rate dropped to well below the national average,” WPI report notes.

According to the 2021 Healthy Minds Study, 41 percent of students nationally reported symptoms of depression and 34 percent anxiety during the 2020/21 academic year.