The purpose of the present study was to determine if viable constructs could be identified relative to administrative perceptions of mental health trends on campus and counseling center service effectiveness, and the extent to which perceptions might be explained by respondent role, level of funding, and institutional size. The study was conducted in two phases, and applied a multivariate correlational design.

In Phase 1, survey data were collected from a sample of counseling center directors (n = 60) and superordinate administrators ( n = 65) at collegiate institutions and analyzed using factor analysis and alpha reliability analysis for psychometric integrity. Scores on the two factors, mental health trends (λ = 6.550; α = .875) and service effectiveness (λ = 2.068; α = .744), were deemed adequately reliable for internal consistency.

In Phase 2, data were collected from a second sample of counseling center directors (n = 125) and superordinate administrators ( n = 113) at collegiate institutions and analyzed using factor analysis and alpha reliability analysis for evidence of repeated psychometric integrity, as well as canonical correlation statistics to explore correlations between multiple variable sets. Scores on the two factors, mental health trends (λ = 5.731; α = .884) and service effectiveness (λ = 2.824; α = .800), were accepted as reliable. Canonical correlation analysis yielded two roots, root 1 (λ = .037; p = .392) and root 2 (λ .005; p = .678), that were both statistically non-significant and could not be retained for further interpretation. Funding (r_s = .838) accounted for the highest percent of variance of the first root, and role (r_s = .929) accounted for the highest percent of variance of the second root.