ICO hopes to give every student access to the resources required to succeed. Over the past several months, a Task Force led by Beth Karmis, MA, ICO’s Senior Director of Student Development, has been working diligently to tackle any barriers students may face on the path to graduation. November 2018 marked the official launch of a new campus resource called the Student Success Center.

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Early identification is the key to addressing many success barriers. To improve ICO’s ability to act quickly, we have assembled a group of administrators from Student Affairs and the Academic Program named the Student Success CARE Team. The group meets every other week to identify any potential concerns or barriers to success that students may be experiencing. The team assesses each issue and determines the appropriate course of action. For example, the ICO tutoring program has been folded into the Student Success Center.

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One identified challenge is the presence of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Historically, mental health conditions have been poorly understood, under-diagnosed, and even stigmatized in our society. However, there is increasing evidence demonstrating a rise in the prevalence of these conditions, especially among college and graduate students.

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ICO began a contract relationship with the company Sankofa Psychological Services to open up a professional counseling center for students on campus. The group operates independently of ICO, so students can take advantage of mental health services while maintaining full patient confidentiality.

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As the project evolves in the coming months, the Student Success Center plans to create online content, host live workshops, and offer other programming related to promoting student success. We will continue to share new developments as they arise.