Posts tagged campus
CU-Boulder student treated for meningitis
Oct 17th
A 21-year-old female student at the University of Colorado Boulder was diagnosed late on Friday with meningococcal meningitis according to county and university health officials. The student, who is a junior living off campus, is in stable condition at Boulder Community Hospital.
Boulder County Public Health officials are investigating the single case. No other cases of the disease have been confirmed by county or state officials at present.
Meningococcal meningitis is a serious bacterial infection that causes infection of the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Meningococcal disease may be spread to others; however, this is uncommon.
“Most of those CU community members who have had close contact with this student have already been contacted and offered treatment by Boulder County Public Health,” said Dr. Don Misch, CU-Boulder assistant vice chancellor for health and wellness.
The risk to other people is minimal and is confined to those who have had close contact with the patient. Close contact includes kissing; sharing cigarettes, drinks, glasses or eating utensils; and being exposed to secretions from the nose or throat of the infected person.
“Others, particularly undergraduate students who have never been vaccinated for meningococcal meningitis or have not been vaccinated in the past five years, should consider getting the vaccination,” Misch said. “On a university campus, those at greatest risk in general for meningococcal meningitis are students living in residence halls, so these individuals should especially consider vaccination at Wardenburg Health Center or from their personal health care provider.”
“Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against this severe disease,” said Murielle Romine, Boulder County Public Health communicable disease control program coordinator.
Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis can include fever, severe headache, stiff neck, irritability, sleepiness, nausea, vomiting, rash, disorientation and confusion. A person may be infected for one to 10 days, and most commonly three to four days, before showing any symptoms.
The last reported case of meningococcal meningitis at CU-Boulder was in March 2006. That student, a male, recovered fully.
Those who are interested in getting the vaccination can go to Wardenburg Health Center from 8:30 to 11 a.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Wardenburg Health Center is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Parents of all incoming freshmen receive a letter during the summer with information about the recommendation for immunization.
For more information on meningococcal meningitis and the vaccination, check the Wardenburg website at http://healthcenter.colorado.edu or http://www.BoulderCountyHealth.org, and click on Meningococcal Information.
CU begins counseling online Boulder
Oct 6th
CU EXPANDS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
WITH INTERACTIVE ONLINE SCREENINGS
The University of Colorado Boulder next week will become the first campus in the state to offer the Interactive Screening Program, allowing students to screen their mental health online and anonymously with support from a counselor.
The program rollout on Oct. 9 comes three days after National Depression Screening Day, and after a pilot of the initiative was held last spring on campus.
The Interactive Screening Program was developed specifically for college students by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and will be administered at CU-Boulder by Counseling and Psychological Services.
“Some of our most distressed students aren’t necessarily coming in for support,” said CU-Boulder Suicide Prevention Coordinator Amy Robertson. “Part of what’s making it hard for them to seek treatment is a sense of hopelessness. This well-tested national program addresses that barrier and innovatively uses technology as a bridge for students to our services.”
Campus mental health professionals initiate the interactive screenings by identifying groups of potentially at-risk students and e-mailing them invitations to complete a 10-minute questionnaire. A counselor then sends the screening results to the respondent with a personalized message.
“When issues that are particularly distressing — like suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, eating disorders or relationship problems — emerge from the screening, we may inform the student about our services or offer an appointment,” said Robertson. “If they’re not ready, we continue a dialogue with them.”
During the CU-Boulder pilot of the Interactive Screening Program, Robertson targeted students who were on academic probation and e-mailed 225 invitations. More than 20 people, or about 10 percent of the group, filled out the survey — a response rate that is on par with national averages when it comes to depression screenings.
Robertson says CU-Boulder’s Counseling and Psychological Services will use what it learns over time from the program to expand its outreach to potentially at-risk students, including other groups that might feel isolated such as first-year, transfer and graduate students. The screening process will be initiated every two to four weeks.
The Interactive Screening Program is in place at 30 college and university campuses across the nation including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University.
Symptoms of depression can include:
— Persistent sad, anxious or empty mood
— Feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness
— Loss of interest or pleasure in ordinary activities
— Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
— Restlessness or irritability
— Inability to sleep or sleeping too much
— Changes in appetite or weight
— Unexplained aches and pains
“If you are feeling suicidal, or need to get help for a friend who is feeling suicidal, contact CU-Boulder’s Counseling and Psychological Services,” said Robertson. Walk-in hours are held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Support by phone also is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can be accessed by calling 303-492-6766. If it is after hours, dial “2” to be connected with a mental health professional.
CU-Boulder students are eligible for up to six free sessions per academic year through Counseling and Psychological Services.
For more information on CU-Boulder’s Counseling and Psychological Services visit https://counseling.colorado.edu/.
CU Boulder Jobs up 23% for grads
Sep 27th
FULL-TIME JOB POSTING GRADS JUMPED 23 PERCENT IN 2010-11
For the second year in a row, the University of Colorado Boulder saw an increase in companies seeking to hire CU-Boulder graduates with full-time job postings on campus jumping 23 percent for the 2010-11 school year, compared with 2009-10.
The number of interviews companies conducted on campus also saw an uptick, increasing 9.6 percent during the same period, a testament to the quality of a CU degree even in a weak job market, according to Lisa Severy, director of CU-Boulder’s Career Services office.
“Our recent graduates are having a lot of success in the job search, especially people who are prepared and engaged in their job search,” Severy said. “The best ways to be engaged while you are a student is to take advantage of campus career fairs and information sessions, use the campus job posting tools and network outside of school.”
In terms of sheer volume of job listings, technical skills are in high demand, Severy said. For example, graduates with degrees in computer science and electrical engineering are always in high demand. A relatively new trend in the job market is companies seeking social media specialists, she said.
“This is a niche many graduates can fill, because companies don’t have this expertise yet,” Severy said. “Graduates of any major who are knowledgeable about social media and enjoy working with it should have a lot of opportunities right now.”With so many applicants for every job, one would think it would make recruiters’ jobs easier, but that is not necessarily the case, according to Severy.
“We hear from recruiters that they are avoiding the mass marketing of jobs because they get way too many applicants,” Severy said. “Instead, they target small, quality pools of candidates that they can trust, which includes our system that is open only to CU-Boulder students and graduates.”
Since 2009, CU-Boulder has offered job search assistance to alumni, free of charge. Services such as the university’s online job-posting tool can be a real benefit because only alumni can access the system, she said.
The increase in recruiting activities also is impacting the upcoming fall career and internship fair on campus. While the event usually is held in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom, this year more space was required, Severy said.
“We’re sticking employers everywhere we can find space to provide as many opportunities to our students and graduates as possible,” she said.
The fall career and internship fair for CU-Boulder students and alumni will be held Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the UMC. The fair is open only to CU-Boulder students and alumni.
For more information about Career Services and the fall career and internship fair visit http://careerservices.colorado.edu/public/
