After a two-year contract with Uwill, Drake is transferring to another platform, TimelyCare. The transition will begin on July 1. 

Uwill is a company that offers virtual mental health services to college campuses across the country. It offers immediate counseling appointments and has a direct crisis connection for mental health emergencies.  

The change in platforms has been a long time coming. Jerry Parker, vice president and dean of students, first mentioned a possible transition away from Uwill at a Student Senate meeting on Nov. 7, where he asked senators for feedback on the platform. At another Student Senate meeting on Dec. 5, Parker announced that he was looking at a specific platform that features hour-long counseling sessions instead of Uwill’s 30-minute sessions and offers peer support groups that are exclusively for students in higher education.

Parker said Uwill utilization has decreased, which drove the decision to look for a new platform. He was impressed by TimelyCare’s successful marketing services and the large number of students they serve — roughly 2.3 million across the country.

“We want to be smart with students’ money and some of the services that were being provided and we wanted to explore what other options were out there in regards to providing that timely assistance,” Parker said.

Sean Groh, a first-year, has never used UWill before.

“I have used other mental health resources that Drake provides. Uwill is a bit of a third or fourth option for me,” Groh said. “I never used Uwill because I prefer face-to-face support rather than over-the-phone therapy.”

Drake’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness did not hear about the switch to TimelyCare until an interview with The Times-Delphic. Despite being disappointed about NAMI not being contacted about the change, NAMI President Kate Hagemeier is excited to see how the new platform’s implementation goes.

“It’s a great opportunity to try something new,” Hagemeier said. “I don’t know what the majority’s opinion is, but for me, I can see that Uwill was kind of a waste of money since no one was really using it. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how that plays out.”

TimelyCare serves 400 college campuses across the country. The company’s services include scheduled counseling, 24/7 mental and emotional support, health coaching and psychiatry services, with the ability to prescribe non-controlled substances. 

“My hope is that students will see this as a continuation of that safety net that the University has been providing,” Parker said. 

Parker hopes that the transition from Uwill to TimelyCare is seamless, and he encourages students to take advantage of the new platform next year. Parker said that Drake has been improving its mental health services recently, particularly regarding treatment for substance use disorders, which would not be covered by TimelyCare.  

“We brought the Bulldog Recovery Program,” Parker said. “We know students do struggle with alcohol and other substances, and we want to make sure they have a support system here on campus…. We recently went from four to five full-time counselors.”

Hagemeier thinks that Drake should try to make mental health services more known to students, and hopes those services continue to improve. 

“There’s a lot wrong in this country right now with mental health, and I think it’s a [systemic] issue,” Hagemeier said. “I have heard good things about the Counseling Center. I’m glad that that’s something we have, but there’s always more you can do for mental health.”