Resources are plenty for students, but slim pickings for our professors.
De Anza hosts events and provides resources to promote students’ mental health all the time — DASG’s quarterly De-Stress Week with puppies and boba, Mental Health Awareness Week in May and 24/7 on-demand mental health counseling.
Students have so many resources that the college created a resource to connect them to resources — it’s called CONNECT, and it’s like a personal shopper for mental health and basic needs resources.
On the other hand, our professors experience the administrative stressors of higher education and do not reap nearly the same institutional benefits as students.
De Anza employs 236 full-time and 400 part-time faculty, according to the most recent employee demographics from 2023, but not all are eligible for college-subsidized health insurance.
Full-time faculty’s cheapest option for healthcare, Western Health, costs $137 per month and $343 if instructors want to insure their family.
The most affordable insurance option is also the least feasible for our instructors — its nearest hospital is over 80 miles away in Fairfield, California. It only insures its patrons’ behavioral health or substance abuse services if they are “medically necessary.”
The district provides a free Employee Assistance Program, offering counseling services, child and elder caregiver referrals and legal advice. However, it does not include long-term counseling.
These services fall short for professors experiencing burnout, depression or continuous mental health concerns.
We all know the instructor that stays on campus beyond their office hours, answers emails quickly and connects students with their professional network. Who’s keeping track of their countless unpaid hours?
Many of our professors, both full-time and part-time, volunteer in college shared governance such as the Academic Senate that is responsible for approving educational curriculum in the interest of students’ success and planning our graduations.
Mental health struggles can keep you from being your best self — so how can we expect staff to keep showing up?
De Anza needs to support everyone on campus — not just those in the classroom seats, but those standing at the front as well.
