Would a 'Designated Advocate' Help Students in Crisis?

The proposed policy, which the parents have named “Katie’s Save,” would allow students to choose a “designated advocate” who would be notified by their college if they are facing “challenging circumstances,” including physical injuries, mental-health problems, disciplinary issues, and more. ‘Processes Already Exist’ Many mental-health professionals share the goal of notifying people of issues whenever possible, said John Dunkle, a senior clinical director at the nonprofit JED Foundation and former executive director of counseling and psychological services at Northwestern University. What Katie’s Save is proposing is nothing new, said LeRoy Rooker, a senior fellow at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and former director of the U.S. Education Department’s Family Policy Compliance Office. Since the inception of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or Ferpa, Rooker said, students who are 18 and older have had the right to choose which records their college can disclose to others.