Other emerging strategies to tackle mental health include:

Reduce stressors associated with students' learning, testing, and the classroom environment
Mentoring and coaching
Post-crisis intervention
Prevent discrimination and micro-aggressions
Increased financial aid packages

How can your institution begin developing evidence-backed strategies?

ACE recommends that the strongest way to develop a no-nonsense package to alleviating student mental health concerns is collaborating with policymakers, foundations, philanthropists and even the private sector; it takes a village. With that in mind, here is their blueprint.

Develop and maintain a centralized database of evidence.
Provide active support for decision-makers such as campus leaders and administrators.
Enhance incentives for using evidence to inform practices.
Invest in innovative research to address the evidence gaps.
Develop and strengthen the networks of practitioners and researchers.

Overall, ACE posits that developing students' mental health with scientifically backed strategies not only strengthens the community, but it also reverberates back to the institution and community. Colleges and universities earn more tuition revenue due to increased retention, and more graduating students increases the skilled workforce, bolstering the U.S. economy.

Which mental health strategies should be embraced—or avoided? Check the data

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