The pandemic wasn’t just a physical threat on college campuses in 2020 but a mental one, too.

In a nationwide survey developed in part by Boston University mental health researcher Sarah Ketchen Lipson, nearly 33,000 college students reported increased mental health challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic, political unrest, and systemic racism and inequality.

“Half of students in fall 2020 screened positive for depression and/or anxiety,” says Lipson, a principal investigator of the nationwide survey, which was administered online during the fall 2020 semester.

The survey further revealed that 83% of students said their mental health had negatively impacted their academic performance, and that two-thirds of college students are struggling with loneliness and feeling isolated—an all-time high that reflects the toll of the pandemic and the social distancing necessary to control it.

Lipson, a School of Public Health assistant professor of health law, policy, and management, says the survey’s findings underscore the need for university teaching staff and faculty to put mechanisms in place that can accommodate students’ mental health needs. “Faculty need to be flexible with deadlines and remind students that their talent is not solely demonstrated by their ability to get a top grade during one challenging semester.”

One potential bright spot from the survey was that the stigma around mental health continues to fade, with 94% of students saying that they wouldn’t judge someone for seeking help.

“We’re harsher on ourselves and more critical of ourselves than we are with other people,” Lipson says. “Students need to realize, your peers are not judging you.”