Abstract
College students are increasingly reporting higher stress, which can negatively influence their personal and intellectual development. Greater academic challenges and new social experiences in college may be accompanied by stressors like mental health issues, family concerns, or financial pressures. To help students manage stress, institutions typically provide resources through health services, student life or student affairs, recreation departments, or other entities that operates primarily outside the academic program. Recently, some institutions have integrated wellness education into the academic curriculum, leveraging the power of the classroom to deliver important lessons about accessible, evidence-based wellness strategies. Here we investigate if a first-year interdisciplinary writing class designed to help students learn about physical and mental wellbeing actually improved students’ awareness of their wellbeing and their confidence as first year learners. We share details of the course design, evidence of student learning, and advice for incorporating wellness content throughout the curriculum.
Highlights
Recent research on the health of college students highlights significant challenges that many of them experience throughout their time in school
In a national survey conducted by the American College Health Association (ACHA), students were asked about aspects of their life that have affected academic performance
Students’ sense of belonging is an important aspect of their overall wellbeing on campus (Strayhorn 2012; Walton & Cohen, 2007), and we can cultivate it through the work we do in the classroom
Summary
Recent research on the health of college students highlights significant challenges that many of them experience throughout their time in school. A majority of students reported feeling overwhelmed or exhausted (not from physical activity) during the past year, and over half reported feeling hopeless, lonely, sad, or overwhelmingly anxious. These figures were even higher for female students. A recent international study of college student health found that as many as one in three first-year students reported mental health issues in the past year; these issues, concerning in themselves, were associated with reduced grades (Bruffaerts et al, 2018)
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