Universities Face Challenges in Collecting Student Suicide Data

In 2018, the Associated Press found that of the 100 largest public universities in the United States, tracking student suicides was inconsistent across state lines and even within school systems. 

The University of Texas at Austin was one of only ten Texas colleges to consistently keep track of suicides. Within the UT system, other schools that collected this data included the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso campuses, according to the AP, while UT San Antonio (UTSA) was one of the schools that did not consistently record these deaths. 

The issue is that if suicide deaths aren’t reported to the school, universities have no way of knowing or recording them as such. Though younger generations appear to be more willing to talk about topics like mental health, depression and suicide, it can still be difficult for families to open up about such a personal loss. 

Universities don’t know what they don’t know, said Sara Kennedy, spokeswoman for the Office of the Dean of Students at UT Austin, and it’s difficult for colleges to be fully accurate with suicide tracking when they don’t know what information they’re missing, she noted. 

“We only record what we are told,” Kennedy explained. “If we are notified that a death was caused by suicide, then we will record it as such, but we don’t have any other way to verify that type of information.” 

UTSA, which updated its record-keeping to include tracking of deaths by suicide in the spring of 2018 according to LaTonya Robinson, dean of students, reported similar challenges. Even with their efforts to collect data, not every suicide gets reported to the school, said Melissa Hernandez, interim associate dean of students for Wellbeing Services at UTSA. 

“We will inquire about the cause of death, but it could be that families are reluctant to share details because of stigma, shame and other implications,” said Hernandez. “The number of deaths by suicide that we are aware of are extremely small, even over multi-year periods.”

Although limited, that data is important for targeting preventative efforts, said Justin Carter, UT Austin’s Suicide Prevention Coordinator, in a previous interview. The Counseling and Mental Health Center uses what information they do have to pinpoint what demographic groups need more mental health support and allocate funding accordingly. 

Hernandez mentioned that UTSA uses its data similarly, as they participate in the National College Health Assessment every two years to survey students’ health behaviors and concerns. The data from those surveys are used to inform their prevention efforts, and UTSA has also begun to gather data on self-harming behaviors as well. 

UT Austin had not yet provided data on student suicides in response to a filed request by time of publication, but that information is available through open records requests. UT El Paso and UT Arlington, two other schools listed with varying degrees of tracking consistency in the report from AP, did not respond to requests for an interview. 

Organizations such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) are dedicated to destigmatizing those conversations and providing support for those affected by suicide. They’re the largest nonprofit funder for suicide prevention research, and they have advocated for prevention training in schools and for the suicide hotline to be changed to the now three-digit 988 number, among other things. 

On Saturday, Oct. 29, AFSP held their Out of the Darkness Walk in front of the Texas state capitol, attracting nearly 1,000 participants and over $150,000 in donations. The walks, available in cities and campuses across the nation, are meant to bring together those affected by suicide. 

Amy Grosso, Director of Behavioral Health at Round Rock ISD and an AFSP volunteer, knows how difficult it can be for those affected by suicide to speak out and feel like they have support from their communities––but she also understands the hesitancy some universities may have in discussing student suicides publicly. 

Aside from only being able to record information when they’re explicitly informed by friends or family that a student died by suicide, universities also have to abide by HIPAA and FERPA laws to protect student privacy. There’s also a fear that openly talking about the numbers can reflect poorly on the school, but just because there's no data, doesn’t mean that the problem doesn’t exist. 

“If we don’t have accurate data, we don’t know how often [suicide] is happening or if the efforts we’re doing are working. It goes both ways," said Grosso. 

AFSP provides various suicide prevention resources for universities, including campus walks and “It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health,” a documentary to raise awareness about common mental health issues among students. Their focus is to make sure people know that they are not alone, and that they can seek out help if they need it. 

When people realize that having open conversations about suicide allows those who are struggling to feel like they can reach out for help, then lives will be saved, said Grosso.