AI-Enabled Support for Mental Health Care on College Campuses

Applicants may include, but are not limited to, offices and organizations on campus that are involved in student well-being, mental health, engagement, and success. This includes:

• Health promotion or wellness offices
• Counseling centers
• Student affairs divisions
• Well-being or resilience programs
• Student engagement or success offices
• Student health services

Collaborative proposals across campus units are encouraged.

1. Evidence-Based Solution

Proposed solutions must demonstrate credible, platform-specific scientific evidence of effectiveness. Applicants must provide documentation showing that the solution has:

• Peer-reviewed evidence of effectiveness (preferably based on randomized controlled trials), OR
• Manuscripts currently undergoing peer review.

Evidence must focus on outcomes related to student well-being, mental health, resilience, or student success. Citations to general research literature — without platform-specific outcome data — will not satisfy this requirement.

2. Safety & Crisis Protocol

Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed solution includes appropriate safety measures and crisis protocols. This may include:

• Mechanisms for identifying potential mental health risk;
• Clear escalation pathways to campus or external support services; and
• Alignment with campus crisis response procedures.

3. Institutional Commitment

The applying institution must commit to share at least 50% of the costs (financial or in-kind, such as staff time) toward implementation. This requirement ensures genuine institutional investment and supports successful implementation and sustainability. Examples may include:

• Staff implementation support or program coordination
• Technology integration and IT support
• Research or evaluation activities
• Licensing or subscription costs associated with the proposed solution
• Student outreach, engagement, or training related to implementation

4. Pilot with Intent to Scale

This funding supports a 12-month pilot. Applicants should demonstrate:

• A plan to evaluate the pilot’s impact on student well-being;
• Institutional intent to continue or expand implementation if the pilot is successful; and
• Willingness to share lessons learned with the field, such as presenting findings at a higher education or mental health conference or professional meeting.

Grant funds may support:

• Licensing or deploying AI-enabled mental health care and well-being platforms;
• Implementation and integration within campus systems;
• Student engagement and outreach.

Priority will be given to solutions that support upstream mental health promotion and scalable, population-level student support.

Applications should include four items only:

1. Project Summary (2 pages maximum)

• Brief description of the institution and target student population (e.g., size, demographics, key needs or priorities);
• Description of the AI-enabled solution and its core features;
• Rationale for fit: how the proposed solution addresses institutional priorities, student needs, or identified gaps (e.g., mental health pain points, strategic plans, or existing service limitations);
• Implementation plan and timeline; and
• Estimated impact during the pilot period.

2. Evidence Summary (1 page maximum)

• Summary of platform-specific peer-reviewed or peer-reviewing research supporting the solution; and
• Description of safety safeguards and crisis escalation protocols used by the platform.

3. Budget Overview (1 page maximum)

• Requested funds (up to $40,000); and
• Description of institutional support for the pilot (e.g., in-kind resources such as staff time, program coordination, technology integration, outreach, or research evaluation).

4. Implementation Timeline & Personnel (1 page maximum)

• Proposed timeline for the 12-month pilot, including major milestones (e.g., onboarding, launch, student outreach, evaluation); and
• Identification of key personnel responsible for implementation, coordination, and evaluation.

5. Reporting & Data Capacity (1 page maximum)

• Applicants should demonstrate that they are able to measure student uptake, engagement and/or reach compliant with relevant institutional, state, and federal privacy and data protection requirements.
• A data collection plan that describes how the applicant will track platform adoption (e.g., number of students reached, engagement frequency, etc.) and what institutional data infrastructure exists to support.