What does the Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health final report mean for UMLAP?
Content Warning: This article contains mention of suicide and police violence.
The Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health released its official report on January 15, 2020. Along with this report came an official response from the University, stating that it will comply with all 21 of the Task Force’s recommendations. Included in this list is recommendation 18: “Improve understanding of and ensure robust review of the University-Mandated Leave of Absence Policy.”
The University-Mandated Leave of Absence Policy (UMLAP) began as a recommendation from the ombudsperson in 2015, posited as a way to prevent students with serious mental health issues from damaging their academic record. The other reasoning provided for UMLAP on the UofT website is that sometimes “student[s] need to take a leave in order to protect the safety of others, or their own safety, or to avoid negatively affecting the educational experience of others.” The University also emphasized that this policy will only be used in rare occasions. Criteria such as whether or not the student can still make use of University facilities, or how long the student must remain on leave are to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
The history of the Leave of Absence Policy at UofT is one fraught with criticism. Both students and faculty have voiced serious concerns about the implications that this policy makes: that students at UofT are already receiving adequate mental health care, and that students with mental health issues can easily become violent and pose a threat to the community. The policy was proposed for implementation in January of 2018 but was temporarily withdrawn based on the recommendation of the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Chief Commissioner, who argued that the policy stigmatizes students with mental illness. The policy was brought back and approved by the governing council in June of 2018.
Despite its approval by the governing council, UMLAP continues to face criticism. At the October 2019 meeting of the University of Toronto’s Governing Council, members of various student groups spoke on the ongoing mental health crisis at the university and noted their disapproval of UMLAP. Ombudsperson Dr. Ellen Hodnett, who advocates that the UMLAP is evidence-based and fair, accused students of using student deaths on campus as a means of critiquing UMLAP. The University of Toronto Students’ Union released a statement denouncing Dr. Hodnett’s comments and called for her apology. In November of 2019, after an incident involving a student in crisis being handcuffed, UTM faculty members Beverly Bain and Vannina Sztainbok published an open letter calling for the University to apologize to the student in question, in addition to the halting of the practice of arresting and handcuffing students, and a repeal of UMLAP.
So, what does the Task Force’s report mean for UMLAP? The report does not call for the removal of the policy. Instead, it mentions a need to make students aware that they will not be put on leave for simply seeking mental health services. It notes that the University should review
the policy annually “to continue discourse on topics like this that challenge us.” As of right now, UMLAP is still in place. Based on this report, the only way UMLAP may get updated or repealed is through this Task Force-recommended annual policy review.
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