Towards a Well-being Framework for University (Part 2)

Last week, I attended the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies (CAGS) conference in Halifax. It was an opportunity to meet with colleagues from other universities and discuss important topics related to graduate studies. It was also good to visit Halifax again and check out my favourite places like Humani-T Café and Your Father’s Moustache restaurant (with its collections of facial hair photos that put my Movember efforts to shame).

 Many of the topics that were presented and discussed were quite interesting, such as the future of universities, the role of international students, and indigenous graduate studies, but I found the notion of holistic learning and student mental health one of the most important subjects that was clearly featured in many talks. This was in line with my recent efforts to investigate and discuss the role of emotions in learning. As such, the talks attracted my particular attention. They mainly fell into two categories:

• Students discussing survey results and other information highlighting the growing mental health concerns and problems, 
• University faculty and student groups discussing the efforts to offer better “holistic” support for students

The provided information confirmed the local study we had done at Carleton University and showed that students (in CAGS case, grad students) are suffering from mental health issues at a much higher rate than the general population. This finding suggests that students’ mental health problems are somehow linked or caused by their academic experience (at least partially) an, as such, requires direct involvement of faculty and the integration of counselling services with academic activities. Educational theories and a strong bod of research have long been promoting these ideas. While it was encouraging to see many universities pay attention to the mental health of their students, most of the efforts seemed to be “outside classroom,” such as social support groups, events, and counselling. The need for faculty to implement supportive practices was mentioned and some universities had initiatives such as grad supervision workshops while many had teaching skills programs. This is encouraging but two important issues exist:

·       The lack of a comprehensive well-beingframework with specific practices that faculty can implement in their activities to provide a more supportive environment

·       The exposure of faculty to this framework and practices through proper training programs or other methods that take into account faculty’s limited time and the priorities set for them by the university

In our workshop on Nov 15^th , a few colleagues and I will discuss such practices in the hope of establishing a comprehensive set that can be promoted by university trough certificate programs, workshops, online material, short videos and brochures, and other forms.

Our research so far has collected and grouped the academic practices into the following four major categories (with examples of sub-categories and actual practices):

·       Holistic Support

o   RECOGNIZING THAT STUDENTS HAVE LIVES AND EMOTIONS

§  Acknowledging social and emotional needs of students

§  Reminding students that their marks do not determine their worth

§  Setting office hours that accommodate students’ schedules

§  Offering deadline extensions

§  Incorporating flexibility into the grading scheme

o   CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT

o   PROVIDING PERSONALZIED SUPPORT

·       Connections

o   FOSTERING INSTRUCTOR-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP

§  Making efforts to understand and get to know students on a holistic level.

§  Displaying your passion for the subject

§  Admitting mistakes and problems         

o   FOSTERING PEER-TO-PEER RELATIONSHIPS

o   FOSTERING COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS

·       Learning and Motivation

o   HELPING STUDENTS FIND VALUE/INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT MATTER

§  Explaining why a topic is important

§  Showing students where to learn more about a topic

§  Allowing students choice in their assignments

o   STRUCTURING THE COURSE EFFECTIVELY

o   SUPPORTING LEARNING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

·       Continuous Improvement

o   Participating in Training Activities

o   Receiving and Using Feedback

o   Being Open to “non-standard” wisdom and methodologies such as Indigenous Learning

The research has long shown that students are not learning machines and education is not a purely cognitive process. It is time for universities to realize that a successful faculty cannot be defined solely based on their research publications and funding record but also on the overall positive impact they have to the growth of their students. Such an impact requires a holistic approach and specific skills, and those skills require training. Establishing a set of recommended practices is the first step towards such training.