Columbus State Community College

The Cougar Courage Campus Suicide Prevention project at Columbus State Community College has an overall goal
to develop and implement a comprehensive, inter-departmental, campus-wide strategy for supporting student mental
health at both the individual and environmental levels. The Counseling Center has observed a 60% increase in students
attending appointments from the 2016 spring semester to the 2017 spring semester. Of the students that have utilized
the Center in academic year 2017, 46% were diagnosed with depression and 44% were noted as suffering from alcohol
and/or drug abuse. Strategies and interventions developed through the project such as Fresh Check Day, hosting an
Alive Campus Tour, implementing the Just in Case app and ULifeline tool, in addition to providing QPR and MHFA
trainings will enable a support infrastructure for the mental health of Columbus State students. Columbus State is the
largest community college in Ohio with semester enrollment of over 27,000 students.

The College has a diverse student population, 73% of which are enrolled part-time, 53% are female, 19% are African American, and 31% are between the
ages of 20 and 24. The project will serve the entire student population with a special focus on the veteran and LGBTQ
populations. The project will implement a long-term, multi-phased continuous improvement model with specific goals:

• Goal #1: Increase institution-wide preparedness for mental health crises through coordinated response plans
• Goal#2: Build institutional infrastructure to meet increase in help-seeking behavior
• Goal #3: Strengthen service network infrastructure through streamlined referral process
• Goal #4: Establish tools and resources for students, faculty and staff for suicide prevention in a formal, coordinated effort
• Goal #5: Increase utilization of services by student with substance abuse disorders
• Goal #6: Build a support network with both internal and external resource partners to serve LGBTQ and veteran specialized populations
• Goal #7: Increase attention to mental health as an institutional priority through highly visible and repeated messaging by the president and senior administrators
• Goal #8: Increase awareness and prevention services at CSCC community locations beyond Columbus campus 
• Goal #9: Develop suicide prevention resources for College Credit, plus students, teachers, and parents