MUSings
Monday
Aug. 24, 2020
GUEST COLUMN
Betsy Asserson, PhD
Director, Counseling and Psychological Services, MSU
MUS Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Task Force
As we at Montana State University and campuses across the Montana University System begin the Fall 2020 term, we are facing head-on the immense challenges brought on by COVID-19, not the least of which is mental health.
The psychological effects of COVID emerged almost as quickly as the virus took root in the United States last spring.
MSU and other campuses across the state responded swiftly and thoughtfully. Counseling centers shifted to telemental health appointments, staff were retrained to deliver online counseling, and virtual outreach and wellness programming was added. At MSU, while students reported that they still preferred in-person counseling, 95 percent of student clients surveyed reported that they were satisfied with telemental health services.
As spring turned to summer, and as we transitioned from emergency response mode to long-range mitigation and safety planning, the MUS Healthy Fall 2020 Task Force asked campuses to develop targeted mental health and wellness supports for students.
The MUS Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Task Force responded. The team met throughout the summer to identify the most pressing mental health issues facing students as they cope with COVID-19. Today the team is pleased to release the MUS COVID-19 Mental Health Toolkit to help mental health providers, faculty, staff and administrators recognize and respond to these needs.
I can’t overstate the importance of taking advantage of these resources. Even prior to COVID, we knew that college students as a group were experiencing high levels of mental health concerns. The pandemic has only exacerbated these issues, adding new challenges such as social isolation, more financial strain and anxiety about oneself or a loved one getting sick.
As instructors, counselors and staff, we must equip ourselves with all the tools we can to help students cope with this challenging time. I invite you to explore the toolkit and dig into the resources we have compiled and developed.
You’ll find guidance on how to identify students who may be in distress and ways to encourage them to care for themselves. The toolkit also offers administrators resources for supporting mental health services and efforts. University counseling staff will find best practices for providing telemental health services.
Users also will learn everyday approaches to supporting the mental health needs of our students. This includes recognizing the stress everyone is experiencing and acknowledging that these are difficult times. Meanwhile, we must watch for signs that students, peers, colleagues or friends are struggling and may need help seeking counseling or other resources. This can be challenging in a remote learning environment, making ongoing communication and check-ins key.
Finally, we must not lose touch with our own emotional well-being. In the same way we attend to our sleep, diet and exercise, we must also check in on our own emotional well-being and that of those around us each and every day. And remember that it's OK if things are a bit more challenging right now, given everything we are all balancing.
Be well,
Betsy
Betsy Asserson, PhD
Director, Counseling and Psychological Services, MSU
MUS Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Task Force
MUS COVID-19 Mental Health Toolkit
Subscribe to MUSings at: https://mailchi.mp/montana.edu/musings
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Montana University System News
Taking 10 minutes today to fill out the 2020 Census will
help our campus communities for 10 years
Only 37 days left to make a difference for Montana!
Find more information, including FAQs, at the UM and MSU Census pages
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University of Montana
MUSpectrUM awarded $671K for hands-on
STEM education across Montana
 MISSOULA — The University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area has received a $671,000 National Leadership Grant for Museums from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
During the three-year project, the science education center will develop a mobile making-and-tinkering exhibition, as well as an education program that will travel to rural and tribal Montana communities to engage K-12 students and educators with hands-on problem solving and design.
One of 12 projects selected from a pool of 61 proposals nationwide, the project is titled “Making Across Montana” and addresses a critical need within the museum field for replicable, sustainable approaches to serving rural and tribal communities – particularly in large, sparsely populated states like Montana.
“We’re thankful that spectrUM’s leadership was honored for co-designing innovative, hands-on STEM experiences with Montana communities,” said spectrUM Director Jessie Herbert-Meny. “This award will allow us to develop a replicable model for rural and tribal engagement that will benefit museums and K-12 educators far beyond our state.”
Read more
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Montana State University
MSU receives $1.3 million grant to
help first-generation students succeed
 BOZEMAN — Montana State University student Faith Droszcz calls the TRIO Student Support Services program at MSU her lifeline, one that has provided a number of tools to help her succeed.
“To me, TRIO is a lot of things,” said Droszcz, a sophomore from Sacramento, California, studying agriculture education and broadfield teaching. “It's stopping for a quick snack in between classes and work and saying hi to a few familiar faces for a pick-me-up. It’s sitting down and asking questions about absolutely anything – financial aid, classes, mental health, life. The list goes on.”
Now, MSU has received a five-year grant worth at least $1.3 million to continue the program, which helps first-generation college students, low-income individuals and individuals with disabilities stay in school and graduate.
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MSU-Northern
And ... turf!
Visit the MSU-Northern Alumni Foundation Facebook page
to watch crews roll out the green carpet
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University of Montana Western
Experience One works for students in all stages of life
DILLON — At Montana Western, a flexible schedule and focus on learning through experience is centered on students.
Experience One, where students take one course at a time for 18 days and then move on to the next course, is designed to work for students, whether they're on campus, close to home or earning a degree while working or raising a family.
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Montana Tech
Fasten your seat belts for a drone flight with
geological engineering interns
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Great Falls College MSU
Facilities worker Ben McKinley's ingenuity helped keep
Great Falls College's dental students on track
 GREAT FALLS — Ben McKinley likes to put smiles on people's faces.Perhaps that is why the facilities worker at Great Falls College MSU was champing at the bit to figure out a way to fully open the college's dental facility.
It was closed from mid-March through May because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so Great Falls College dental hygiene and dental assisting students were behind in their clinical hours.
At first, it looked as though the dental facility would not be able to open more than half of its 18 operatories since they are in such close proximity to one another, ensuring the students would remain behind.
"This would have extended the clinic operations to 11 hours a day four days a week and most of the didactic coursework would have occurred on Friday," said Julie Barnwell, dental hygiene program director.
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Montana State University Billings
MSUB to increase student resources
with five-year support grant
 BILLINGS — Montana State University Billings recently received funding for two five-year grants through the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Support Services (SSS)/TRIO Program. Funding for the MSU Billings university campus is $362,740 and City College is $261,888 annually for the next five years, totaling over $3.1 million.
The purpose of the SSS/TRIO Program is to provide academic and person-centered services to low-income, first-generation, or disabled college students to increase student retention and graduation rates and foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of these students.
Program services include instruction in basic study skills, tutorial services, academic counseling, financial literacy, assistance in securing admission and financial aid for enrollment in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, and guidance on career options and peer mentoring.
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Helena College
Community course to examine historical legacies
of anti-black racism in the United States
 HELENA — What have I gained from white privilege when I don’t feel any of its benefits? What does de-funding the police actually mean? How can I help create an anti-racist future?
If you have asked yourself one of these questions this course may be for you.
In this four-week course, entitled Understanding Anti-Black Racism and the Limits of Allyship, participants will examine the historical legacies of anti-black racism in the United States in order to contextualize the current racial justice movements taking place across our country. Together, we will identify and unpack the mechanisms of structural and institutional racism as well as evaluate the roles that non-Black people can enact as we imagine and work towards anti-racist futures.
Learn more
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Gallatin College
Gallatin College continues to serve community 10 years later
BOZEMAN — Sophie Varnum was sure of two things after graduating from Wibaux High School – cooking was her passion and four-year colleges weren’t for her.Since her freshman year of high school, Varnum had been interested in cooking and loved the cooking classes Wibaux High School offered. To her, food was an important way to connect with people and build relationships. While her friends were off attending four-year schools, Varnum instead enrolled in the culinary arts program at Gallatin College Montana State University, where she found the type of education, hands-on work and individuality she desired.
“We had a lot of creativity in the classroom and got to experiment in the kitchen,” Varnum said. “Not everything turns out the same in the kitchen, and we just went with the flow, tried new things and were able to test our own skills and branch out.”
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Missoula College
Missoula College: Invest in you
Learn more
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City College at MSUB
The "She Shed"
Just one of the many student-built projects for sale through
the City College Construction Program
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Highlands College
Highlands College AS degree offers
transfer flexibility close to home
 BUTTE — The Business Technology program at Highlands College provides student with the communications, technical and problem-solving skills to become and stay employed in an ever-changing business environment. The program works to instill students with life-long learning skills and is dedicated to accommodating non-traditional students as well as students with special disabilities.
Learn more
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Dawson Community College
Anyone can code Part 1
GLENDIVE — Dawson Community College invites all to take in its new video
series, "Anyone Can Code!" Throughout this series Full Stack Web Development Instructor Lillian Dixon will share previews of topics students will learn
in the college's coding program.
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Flathead Valley Community College
FVCC offers courses that lead to careers
 KALISPELL — With over 100 academic programs to choose from and vibrant student life, Flathead Valley Community College offers an outstanding education. Cameron Clarke landed a competitive summer job with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks thanks to the knowledge, skills and connections he gained from taking natural resources courses at FVCC. Cameron is pursuing an Associate of Science degree at FVCC and plans to transfer to the University of Montana to earn a bachelor's degree. His summer job offered a great opportunity to explore various possible career options in natural resources. "I have met so many people at FVCC who have helped propel me toward my goals," he said.
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Miles Community College
MCC, Montana Farm Bureau and Montana Meat
Processors Association develop Meat Processing Program
 MILES CITY — Miles Community College and Montana Farm Bureau have teamed up to offer a meat processing certificate/degree. For the past several years, MCC has been working to develop plans for a certificate that can offer a journeyman certificate in meat cutting.
“The recent disruptions in the livestock product supply chain due to COVID-19 raised awareness of the American public to the importance of the local food supply chain,” said MFBF Executive Vice President, John Youngberg. “Montana Farm Bureau has been in discussions with the Montana Meat Processors Association and ascertained that there was no training available for meat cutters either through private programs or the university system. MFBF has been working with Miles Community College and the Board of Regents on a program that could be implemented to alleviate that situation.”
Learn more
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