A 2024 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed, conducted by Generation Lab, found that students’ top stressor wasn’t anything happening in the classroom or directly related to the college experience, but rather the pressures of balancing school with other priorities. Almost half of respondents (48 percent) say managing responsibilities such as work or family is a top stressor, and adult learners and students at two-year institutions are even more likely to say that is true (60 percent and 54 percent, respectively). In seeking to support students’ mental health, holistic systems at the college level can address all of students’ lived experiences and how they intersect. At Seattle Central College, an open-access institution that’s part of Seattle Colleges, students can visit the counseling center to discuss mental health issues, academic stressors or their career goals because of the office’s centralized counseling offerings.