Development and Pilot Study of the Campus Assessment Tool: Student Survey

The Campus Assessment Tool (CAT) was created to support post-secondary student advocacy through systematic data collection of mental health resources and students’ needs for services. The purpose of this study is to describe the derivation and pilot study of the CAT: Student Survey (CAT:SS), which is a novel tool designed to explain mental health service use patterns on post-secondary campuses. The survey was tested at five participating post-secondary institutions across Canada between 2022–2023, with 4/5 institutions implementing a 25% population random-sampling approach. A total of N = 3,320 students responded to the survey. To evaluate students’ perceptions of their campus, an 11-item Campus Mental Health Service Quality scale was created. This scale was significantly predictive of using campus mental health services (OR = 1.05, p < .0001), along with anxiety (OR = 2.00, p = .0001), depression (OR = 3.32, p < .0001), and ADHD (OR = 1.99, p < .0001) diagnoses, anxious symptoms (OR = 1.29, p = .0002), sleep difficulties (OR = 1.18, p = .004), poor self-rated mental health (OR = 1.18, p < .0001), willingness to seek help (OR = 2.26, p < .0001), and perceived benefit of treatment (OR = 1.95, p < .0001). Gender, ethnicity, number of years enrolled, and graduate student status were also significant. Altogether, the CAT:SS is a useful quality monitoring tool for evaluating post-secondary student mental health needs, service use patterns, and satisfaction with care.