The Healthy Academics Toolkit was developed by University Health Services Prevention & Campus Health Initiatives and aims to equip faculty, instructional staff, TAs, and advisors with the knowledge, skills, and resources to create academic environments in which students can thrive.
This page offers specific strategies and resources that can be implemented to proactively support the health and well-being of both undergraduate and graduate students in academic contexts across campus, including classrooms, research labs, and advising offices.
Background Research
Faculty, instructional staff, and TAs have the ability to influence social determinants of student mental health and well-being related to trauma-informed practices, connectedness and belonging, campus and classroom climate, high-risk alcohol use, decreased stigma regarding mental illness, and access to campus resources.
Research shows that postsecondary institutions have the potential to facilitate knowledge acquisition and social connection (Schroeder & West, 2019), which both influence and are influenced by students’ mental health and well-being (Harward, 2016). The learning environment is a crucial setting for creating an equitably healthy campus that fosters well-being through classroom culture, course design, pedagogical practices, advising relationships, and instructor knowledge and skill (Dhaliwal & Stanton, 2013).
References
Dhaliwal, R. & Stanton, A. (2013). SFU Health Promotion. Creating conditions for well-being in learning environments. Simon Fraser University.
Harward, D. (2016). Well-being and higher education: A strategy for change and the realization of education’s greater purpose. Bringing Theory to Practice series. Washington, DC.
Schroeder, M. & West, A. (2019). Student mental health and well-being: Supportive teaching and learning practices. Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. University of Calgary.