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Harrisburg Area Community College announced it is contracting with a third-party counseling services provider, after cutting its on-campus counseling services in September.
HACC, the largest community college in Pennsylvania, will direct students seeking mental illness support to Mazzitti & Sullivan Counseling Services Inc., the college said in a press release Thursday. During the one-year contract, students can receive up to three counseling sessions per semester in person, virtually or via phone with the company’s licensed therapists, and the cost will be covered by the college, HACC said.
Three free sessions is “considered standard” across higher education, according to HACC. The college noted that on average, HACC students who sought out counseling services when they were located on campus had one to two sessions, and only 1 percent of enrolled students used the services.
Directing students off campus for mental health support will cost less than what HACC was spending on counseling staff housed on campus and will contribute to the college’s goal of saving money. HACC faces a $9.7 million budget deficit for 2019-20 fiscal year.
But in an interview with Spotlight PA, President John Sygielski said HACC will not save money from cutting mental health counseling services this year because counselors will be employed through October 2020 for academic and career counseling. Before HACC partnered with Mazzitti & Sullivan, Spotlight PA reported that the college was distributing outdated information about local mental health services providers to students.
