SewCreamStudio/Shutterstock
Wellbeing has become top of mind in recent years, moving to the forefront of concerns for university leaders and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HigherEdJobs recently spoke with three college leaders to learn more about how they define wellbeing and what programs they’ve implemented on their campuses. What’s working to help their students? Their insight and innovations to elevate wellness – which can lead to increased enrollment and improve retention – could help your institution.
Amy Hoch, a licensed psychologist and associate director of the Wellness Center at Rowan University, said that research has shown that components of wellbeing have the potential to help us move to a place in life where we can be happy in the face of difficulty.
“Instead of focusing on more of a medical model – there’s a problem, we diagnose the problem and fix the problem – it’s looking at all the things we can do, how we bring purpose to life, through community and social connections, which we know is the best predictor of wellbeing, and financial wellbeing.”
Leaders Invested in the Concept of Thriving
Rowan University has a grant from the Institute for Meaningful Living to provide long-term, evidence-based therapy and support for students, including those who need Medicaid.
In addition, New Jersey college students have access to free teletherapy through the Uwill program, part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s ongoing efforts to address the mental health crisis among young people. Announced in May 2023, the first-in-the-nation partnership provides 24/7 access to free virtual mental health services throughout the entire year for students enrolled in one of the eligible institutions that have opted into the program.
Hoch said that university leaders visited George Mason University to learn more about their work on the concept of wellbeing.
“When we visited there and looked at what other campuses were doing, we found many people were thinking about the components of and supporting the idea of wellbeing,” she said.
Hoch said that the team also considered American psychologist and educator Martin Seligman’s work on flourishing when designing programming for campus. She picked up other ideas at the annual conference of the American College Health Association, which sparked more discussions on college campuses about wellbeing, and words like thrive and flourish.
Rowan University has invested in the concept of “thriving” with a long-term vision. This year, the provost promoted Kha’ Sadler, a mental health clinician, to the position of associate provost for wellness and inclusivity. That’s a move that will bring faculty and staff together on this issue in a way that hasn’t happened before, she said.
Campus Surveys Guide Wellbeing Efforts
At Tidewater Community College, leaders conducted climate and culture pulse surveys with students to help shape wellness efforts on campus. ClauDean Kizart, director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, said it was a priority to work with students, faculty and staff to learn more about how they feel and what they need.
“You have to listen to the voices of those you serve and work with,” she said. “That’s what equity is really about.”
Based on the surveys, Kizart and her team learned that students had three main concerns: transportation barriers, biases and discriminatory comments in the classroom, and promoting cultural awareness.
She has since followed up with the local transportation authority and talked with individual students about transportation on each of the four Tidewater campuses. In addition, Kizart and her team created a workshop series for faculty and staff to discuss diversity and issues including micro-aggressions.
Building Community at Heart of Efforts
Kizart said that wellness and wellbeing encompass a person feeling “whole,” and a sense of belonging also plays an important role.
“If students know that someone sees them and really values them, and they feel that sense of wellness and know they are supported, they’ll stay” enrolled in college Kizart said.
The Tidewater system has also established food pantries on each of its four campuses in Virginia. In addition – and like Rowan University – the college provides 24/7 virtual mental health services through TimelyCare.
Innovative Mental Health Program Helps Students Find Their Voice
Robyn Shahid-Bellot, dean of student services at Roxbury Community College, said that one of her goals is to make sure the institution provides an environment for students where they feel safe and heard, and that they have the resources they need to be successful.
Last fall, she created the Office of Wellness, which provides programming for students to address mental health concerns and to show them how to address the problems in their lives in healthier ways.
Like Tidewater, the college uses surveys to measure how the college is addressing important issues. They also use data to determine programming and gauge what is needed for students by tracking the types of appointments booked with advisors, the Office of Student Success and Project Access, where students can sign up for federal aid programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits.
“We needed mental health support on our campus not just for our students but for ourselves,” she said. “All of us, whether it be students, staff, or me as an administrator, we all face many stressors in our lives. Students at RCC, they’re under a little more stress, and have more challenges that are barriers to their success academically.”
Emotional Wellness Program Boosts Retention
Roxbury is the first college in the country to partner with the Dropout Academy, a Boston-based mental health and emotional wellness program that addresses challenges outside the classroom that impact enrollment and college retention rates for men of color.
In fall 2022, Roxbury launched a series of related workshops with a cohort of 24 young men. Topics covered included mental health, finances, relationships, and emotional intelligence.
Shahid-Bellot said that 23 of those students completed the program. They received a stipend for attending the workshops, and became eligible to become Dropout Academy mentors. Last fall, administrators added programming for women of color, reaching 40 students.
The program has helped Roxbury retain students and is already transforming lives of students that had been struggling on campus.
Shahid-Bellot recalled meeting one male student who was emotional, crying in the hallway over difficulties he was having with his instructor at the time.
He attended the Dropout Academy, made strong connections with others in the program and is now excelling in life. The student ran for a leadership position in student government and gave a speech about his college experience at a statewide meeting.
“It was so rewarding to see in real time, that a student would make such tremendous progress as a result of the connections he’s made because of Dropout Academy, because of his success coach which is part of the program and to be able to become a leader on campus,” she said.
This student recently graduated from Roxbury with an engineering degree.
Integrating wellness and wellbeing into the institutional culture hasn’t necessarily been easy. But the positive response from students and support from faculty and staff has been rewarding.
Roxbury’s seen a 47 percent increase in enrollment since 2023, she said.
“Our efforts have played a huge part in the overall success of our retention rates,” she said.
