Advancing the Student Life Health and Wellness Common Agenda and Learning Outcomes
The work of Health & Wellness Collective Impact (HWCI) is informed and adapted from the Stanford Social Innovation Review article on Collective Impact (Kania & Kramer, 2011). This framework emphasizes that no single unit, however innovative or influential can foster personal and community well-being alone. Instead, Collective Impact brings people together, in a structured way, to achieve social change. Individual health and well-being issues are interdependent and do not impact campus culture in isolation. Even if a campus community were successful in addressing alcohol and other drug related harm but did not address sexual assault, mental health, racism etc., we would still not have a healthy community. Collective Impact efforts prioritize looking at health and wellness through a holistic lens that acknowledges the interdependence of personal and community well-being.
Important Update - September 1, 2021
The University of Michigan announced the adoption of the Okanagan Charter and the expansion of the Health and Well-being Collective Impact Infrastructure. This exciting strategic initiative is part of an expansive list of recommendations approved in the Student Mental Health Innovative Approaches Review Committee report.
In order to more comprehensively address the two calls to action in the Okanagan Charter, U-M will expand its current Health and Well-being Collective Impact efforts to be institution-wide. This broadened approach will combine academic schools and colleges with Student Life units, will establish a sustainable infrastructure for addressing the complex and ever-changing health and well-being needs on our campus as well as bringing a diverse representation of stakeholders to the table to be part of the process.
Key components of the Expanded U-M Health and Well-being Collective Impact Infrastructure to be established Fall 2021:
- Advisory Council: Responsible for overseeing institutional efforts composed of administrators, faculty, staff and students with specific expertise.
- Steering Committee: Responsible for coordinating and sustaining long-term focus and goals including revising the Common Agenda, identifying key performance indicators and establishing work teams. Composed of leaders from Academic Schools/Colleges, Student Life units, and Professional, Graduate and Undergraduate students.
- Work Teams: Responsible for implementing identified action items. Comprised of content area experts and diverse stakeholders who are closest to the work.
- Expanded Well-being Networks: The expansion of the Student Life Staff Well-being Network to include representatives from academic school and colleges and the creation of a Student Well-being Network with professional, graduate and undergraduate student members.
- Backbone Support will be provided by Wolverine Wellness with a dedicated Project Manager.
Initial work teams will be assembled to address the approved recommendations in the Student Mental Health Innovative Approaches Review Committee report. These work teams will evolve over time to support the U-M Health and Well-being Collective Impact efforts.
Health & Wellness Common Agenda & Learning Outcomes
Through collective and innovative programs, services and facilities, the University of Michigan will help students grow in their capacity to:
- Integrate health and wellness as part of success
- Build resilience to manage the fluctuations of life
- Make thoughtful choices that reduce harm and promote well-being
- Find meaning and purpose
HWCI Achievements
2021: Launched The Well-being Toolkit for staff, students and faculty, which brings together the vast number of well-being tools that are available across Student Life.
2020: On January 15th, two members of HWCI participated in the first national conversation on U.S Health Promoting Campuses, and a new network was established which will help institutions in the U.S. adopt the Okanagan Charter.
2019: Developed Syllabus Statement for Student Well-being.
2018: Launched the Well-being Website for U-M Students on Canvas.
2017: Developed Wellness Course ALA 270.
2016: Developed the U-M Model of Well-being (the representation of the model was created by U-M students) and is shared as an institutional model for faculty, staff and students.
2015: Developed U-M Student Life Health and Wellness Learning Outcomes (see above).
2015: Okanagan Charter-An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges was developed. The Charter provides institutions with a common vision, language, principles, and calls to action to become health and wellbeing promoting campuses.
2014: Developed the Common Agenda to be shared with the campus community.
2013: Conducted workshops, facilitated discussions and focus groups to identify relevant and interdependent issues that impact personal and community wellness.
2012: Kicked-off HWCI with a design workshop.
The Student Life Wellbeing Network
The Wellbeing Network’s mission is to create a holistic campus wellness ecology grounded in social justice. We will build capacity to integrate and achieve the Student Life learning outcomes and promote the integration of well-being into our shared work, with an emphasis on the intersection between wellness and justice. The values that guide our work are: Collaborative, holistic, evidence-based, intersectional, innovative, and assessment-driven.
The Wellbeing Network has a dual reporting line to the:
HWCI Core Team, led by Mary Jo Desprez and Lisa Shea
Student Life DEI Strategic Plan - Student Advocacy, Education, and Support, led by Nadia Bazzy and Will Sherry
For more information about the Wellbeing Network, contact:
Joy Pehlke, Wolverine Wellness, University Health Service at 734-763-7808 or jpehlke@umich.edu.
