The Student Reproductive Rights and Resources Campus Action Network (SR3-CAN) has been working since June with a primary focus on enhancing student retention, persistence, and success through the development of supportive measures to enhance students’ reproductive and sexual health and assisting students with accessing resources, options, and information so they can make informed choices.
The following list of 20 recommendations was developed over a period of several months after investigating existing supportive measures on campus, current student needs/concerns, and prospective student needs/concerns given recent changes in federal law.
Regardless of whether Michigan state law changes or if constitutional protections are enacted after the November election, the members of SR3-CAN believe these supportive measures should be resourced and implemented as better practice and to better meet the healthcare needs of students.
The recommendations are grouped under six areas (which coincide with existing subcommittees on the SR3-CAN): A) Abortion Care Resources, B) Student Engagement, C) Sexual Health Education, D) Communications, E) University Policy and Procedures, and F) Resources for Campus Partners. On September 14, all 20 of the recommendations listed below were accepted by President Stanley, Senior Vice President Vennie Gore, Provost Woodruff, and other MSU administrative leaders.
Next Steps: The SR3-CAN is currently identifying teams to develop plans for implementing each recommendation. Implementation plan drafts include requests for resources, steps to enact changes, and identifying responsible individuals/units/departments.
1. Abortion Care Map & Processes: MSU should geographically map locations and outline the processes by which MSU students might seek abortion care in Michigan (given current legal limits).
2. Abortion Care Options: MSU should define, clarify, and educate the campus community on the wide variety of safe abortion options and methods available in Michigan (including in-clinic procedures, medication abortion, as well as non-clinically supervised self-managed abortion using naturopathic and allopathic methods).
3. Abortion Care Emergency Funds: MSU should clarify how the Division of Student Life and Engagement’s “Support Our Spartans” or SOS fund (and other emergency fund accounts) can be used to assist students with medical or travel expense reimbursement.
4. Student Engagement Support: MSU should support and protect student engagement opportunities through applicable courses, student organizations, and internships in areas of reproductive rights, reproductive health, and sex education.
5. Student Engagement Response: MSU should provide spaces or mechanisms for student feedback, questions, and concerns about reproductive rights, health, and education to be heard and addressed.
6. Sexual Health Education Curriculum: MSU should support (through dedicated personnel and programmatic resources) the development of new comprehensive sexual health education resources, training, and curriculum.
7. Sexual Health Education Peer Leader Training: MSU should provide training to student peer advisors (like Resident Assistants, ICAs, Student Health Advocates, POE Peer Educators) to deliver information about abortion care resources, safer sex supplies and contraception (including emergency contraceptive use and availability), and comprehensive sex-ed training resources on campus and online.
8. Sexual Health Online Resources: MSU should update online resources on MSU websites (including Student Health Services, and Health Colleges).
9. Sexual Health Pregnancy Resources: MSU should update and distribute the “pregnancy decision packet” to support students and provide them with accurate information, resources, and options.
10. Sexual Health Counseling Resources: MSU should create counseling resources for students seeking mental health therapy or other CAPS services to discuss pregnancy, termination, and parenting within the CAPS website.
11. Sexual Health Emergency Contraception: MSU should investigate additional sites where and how can emergency contraception be dispensed (beyond Student Health and the Sexual Assault Healthcare Clinic).
12. Communication Online Resources: MSU should develop a comprehensive informational website with resources and information for students that is linked in several places and contains the following information about options and resources related to pregnancy and abortion care:
13. Communication Resource Audit: In the process of developing the website above, MSU should complete an audit of existing online campus resources and develop a process for vetting external resources.
14. Communications Promotional Media: MSU should develop and distribute promotional materials and internal communications for various internal audiences (including undergraduate and graduate students and faculty/staff/employees) to increase awareness of new resources.
15. Communications Search Accuracy: MSU should task ITS and other technology units to address search engine accuracy on msu.edu so when certain keywords are entered (i.e., pregnancy, abortion) applicable resources appear first (ensure individual websites have search engine optimization).
16. University Procedures Training and Resources: MSU should provide information and training to front-line employees who interact with students seeking information about abortion care or pregnancy with an emphasis on confidentiality, student right to privacy, and health regulations governing privacy.
17. University Policy Education: MSU should clarify, understand, and educate the campus community about current/existing Title IX policy and resources around pregnancy and parenting.
18. Resources for Curriculum: For example, MSU could develop, curate, and promote curricular resources through GenCen’s Curriculum Resource Library for faculty to access (or for anyone who teaches a course at MSU).
19. Resources for Student-Facing Employees: MSU should provide HR and other orientation and training programs (e.g. iTeach MSU (Graduate Teaching Assistant Training), New Faculty Orientation) with information/resources about supporting students’ reproductive health care and rights.
20. Resources for Student Success: Among other student success initiatives, MSU should advocate for a “one-click” resource to be added to the Student Success Resources and Contacts page under the “Wellbeing” category with above resources information in response to the prompt “I have a student who needs support with… pregnancy” in addition to providing resources to academic advisors, and to students through New Student Orientation.
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