I WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 I SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 I © 2015 STUDENT MEDIA I ©THEBATTONLINE Enrollment uptick puts strain on SCS By Nikita Redkar I n light of a 25 percent increase of stu- I dents registering for counseling over the I past four years, A&M’s Student Coun- I seling Services hopes to fill staff vacancies to better balance the ratio between staff and students who need assistance. Student Counseling Services, SCS, pro vides students with personal and career counseling, academic skills enhancement, Kelly Burroughs — THE BATTALION testing, outreach programming, psychiatric services, consultation and crisis intervention. Visitation has surged in the past few years, said Ted Stachowiak, associate director of counseling at the SCS. “In the course of a year, we usually see be tween 10 to 12 percent of the student body,” Stachowiak said. “Recendy, because of the continued enrollment, those numbers have begun to increase.” Maggie Gartner, executive director of SCS, said an SCS staffer typically sees 500 students per week, although the numbers have recently spiked to 600-700 students per week. Gartner said the office has seen increases in the number of sessions for sub stance abuse (154 percent), personal initials (24 percent), crisis (19 percent) and direct services (15 percent). Stachowiak said prioritizing students by need can be a juggling act. He said depression, COUNSELING ON PG. 4 lai «f eSHNSttltiS