Since 11 universities first implemented mental health leave in the 2022 academic year, more than a hundred other institutions have followed suit. As of 2025, a total of 135 institutions have adopted this policy, demonstrating the increased focus on mental health issues in recent years.

According to the Education Ministry, more than 90% of the nation’s universities have so far implemented mental health leave ranging from three to five days per semester. The Examination Yuan has also recently approved new regulations for civil servants’ leave that will add three days of mental health leave to annual personal leave starting Oct. 10.  

National Taiwan University (NTU) Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Chu Shi-wei (朱士維) said that mental health leave was primarily established to provide students some needed respite from the stress of school. It also serves as a distress signal, as when a student requests mental health leave, their advisor is notified. Should they request mental health leave two or more times, student counseling services are notified through the system to initiate follow-up care. Currently, NTU has approximately 40 full-time counselors.

Chu said that after mental health leave was implemented at NTU, an average of 400-500 students applied each month, totaling about 1,500-2,000 applications per semester. Compared to other types of leave, the request rate for mental health leave is not especially high; the rate of denial is also generally low. Similar trends have been observed at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.

In addition to encouraging universities to implement mental health leave, the Education Ministry has launched a campus mental health promotion program to assist schools in helping students improve their mental health awareness. The program also offers additional training to mentors and counseling professionals. Through these initiatives, the ministry hopes teachers and students will work together to create a warm and compassionate campus environment.