By Sarah Kuta, Boulder Daily Camera
Citing unexpected levels of demand for counseling and psychiatric care, the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus wants to double the student mental health fee that helps fund those services.
Students currently pay a mental health fee of $21.77 a semester. In return, they get six free counseling or psychiatric care visits at Wardenburg Health Services.
CU began charging students this fee, which was proposed by student government leaders and approved by the CU Board of Regents, in the fall of 2015.
When they first calculated the fee, Wardenburg leaders initially estimated that students would make 9,400 total counseling or psychiatric care visits per year.
As it turns out, they vastly underestimated the demand for mental health services — students made 15,200 visits in 2015-16.
By the end of 2016-17, health officials estimate that students will make more than 16,000 mental health visits during the year.
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