A comprehensive student health program can include more than an insurance plan. Most insurance plans already include benefits such as telehealth and nurseline solutions. What else could your students need? How about a student assistance program?
Meriam-Webster defines well-being as “the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous.” When we think of well-being, we almost immediately associate it with being healthy. What about happy and prosperous? Here’s where a Student Assistance Program (SAP) comes in. You may have heard of an employee assistance program, a common value-added benefit that many organizations offer to their employees. Well, a student assistance program can be described as an employee assistance program for students. Benefits include an additional level of physical and behavioral health benefits, such as health risk-assessments, counseling and individual crisis intervention. They also offer more unique benefits such as legal, financial, and identity theft consultations for students.
Legal Consultation
Perhaps a student needs to file a suit in small claims court and doesn’t know where to start. Google can be unreliable and hiring an attorney likely isn’t within a college student’s budget. Through legal consultative support, a student can obtain legal advice from licensed attorneys to help guide them on the right path. Student’s will also be able to hire attorney’s through the program at a discounted rate.
Financial Consultation
Successfully managing personal finances can be a challenge, and unfortunately, this life skill isn’t typically on a college’s list of required courses. Available financial services include tax planning, debt counseling, budgeting, college funding, and saving for retirement.
Identity Theft Consultation
According to research from Javelin Strategy and Research, 22% of college students have been a victim of identity theft. That is three times more than average. Identity theft counseling can provide students with the knowledge of how to avoid having their identity stolen as well as how to handle theft after it occurs.
Although these services do not directly target an individual’s physical and mental health, they can have an effect. Financial and legal issues can drastically increase stress which can trigger episodes of mental illness and a decline in our physical health. That’s why it’s important to target a student’s well-being from all angles.
Interested in learning more about what a student assistance program can offer? Download our flyer.