Helping Faculty and Staff Support Student Success and Well-Being

College can be an exciting time for students as they pursue their interests and academic pursuits and develop their identities. For many, it can also be a challenging and stressful time. Often students are navigating new social situations, learning how to manage their schedules and finances, and trying to figure out how to balance their academics and other obligations. Transitioning to college and managing these challenges can affect students’ health and well-being. Depression, stress, and anxiety are all prevalent issues among college students, which can impact students’ academic success and their daily lives.

When colleges and universities prioritize student well-being, it can boost student success in and out of the classroom. A great example is Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, which, faced with rising needs for mental health support for students, adopted Vector Solutions’ mental well-being courses for students. The courses provide foundational strategies for all first-year and transfer students and help them understand where to go for resources. “There’s a lot of benefit in giving first-year students extra attention around these topics so they start on the right foot,” said Dr. Jen Stanley, Title IX Coordinator and Associate Dean at Roger Williams University. “If we support students, they will be here for 4+ years, and it will help change the culture and break down the barriers to seeking help. We want to give students tools to change those misperceptions. So, this course was a good addition.”

The Role of Faculty and Staff in Supporting Student Well-Being and Success

Providing resources and programming for students is essential; however, efforts must go beyond that to have a large-scale impact. Faculty and staff members play a vital role in supporting student success, so it’s critical that colleges and universities also train these employees on what they can do in their classrooms to support students’ well-being.

Faculty and staff members are in a good position to be able to support students for a few reasons.

1) They see the students regularly so they can develop rapport with them and notice if a student isn’t coming to class or if something seems off.

2) They have control over their classroom environments and the opportunity to make them safe and welcoming. This promotes positive interactions and helps students feel supported and able to ask for help if they need it.

3) They are in a position to act as a student advisor, helping students when they need support or resources. Research shows a correlation between positive faculty-student relationships and student well-being, so creating those relationships is essential.

According to a survey by Inside Higher Ed, some of the biggest impediments to students’ success include a teaching style that doesn’t match how they learn, overly difficult material or exams, maintaining a school-life balance, and mental health issues. About a third of students also noted that they want their professors to take more of an interest in getting to know them.

How Vector Solutions Can Help

To help staff and faculty recognize and respond to potential barriers to student success, Vector Solutions has created ​​Skills for Enhancing Student Success & Well-Being. This new expert-led online course focuses on skills, techniques, and tips for faculty members to facilitate positive interactions with students in their classes. The course includes instruction on fostering resilience among students, addressing student mental health concerns in accordance with best practices, adjusting courses for approved accommodations and student leave, and handling personal conversations surrounding power-based violence disclosure. It also includes instruction for faculty members focusing on self-care and recognizing signs of burnout.

The course offers eight modules:

• Fostering Resilience: Topics addressed include defining resilience, how staff and faculty can help students feel self-determined, how to enact a growth mindset for their class, the importance of failure, and building self-regulation in their class.
• Mindfulness and Its Role in Wellness: Topics include defining mindfulness, why it’s important, how to be a more mindful instructor, and how to incorporate mindfulness into teaching practices.
• Well-Being and Self-Care in the Classroom: Topics include discussing mental health, building community and social connection, enhancing student motivation and engagement, incorporating positive psychology elements, and adjusting assessments and grading practices.
• Self-Care While Supporting Others: Topics include compassion or empathy-fatigue and burnout, teaching as self-care, sociality in the classroom, experiencing flow through teaching, and practicing mindful teaching.
• Understanding and Facilitating Accommodations: Topics include “Do I need a piece of paper?” Iearning about students, creating an accommodating class, differentiating in the classroom, and universal learning design.
• Accommodating Students on Leave: Topics include understanding student leaves, navigating the challenges associated with student leaves, best practices for addressing leaves in the classroom, establishing policies and procedures around student leaves, fostering supportive classrooms, accommodations and alternatives, and confidentiality and privacy.
• Supporting Students in Distress: Topics include recognizing and supporting students struggling with substance misuse, how to have personal conversations about these issues, and when to escalate these to the next steps.
• Suicide Prevention: Topics include facts about suicide, warning signs and risk factors, protective and preventative strategies, and intervention after a suicide.

Each of the modules is 10-15 minutes long and provides informative overviews, strategies, and best practices.

The course modules empower faculty and staff to engage in important well-being conversations with students as they arise. They also provide background, legal requirements, and best practices to serve as a guidepost for many common situations faculty and staff will encounter. The modules are available in 20 languages and include pre, post, and follow-up surveys.

Additional resources

Vector Solutions Guide: 6 Strategies to Support Student Mental Health on Campus

Vector Solutions webinar, Understanding and Addressing Mental Health in College Student Populations

Vector White Paper: Four Components of a Comprehensive Mental Well-Being Plan for Athletes

Vector Report: The State of Mental Wellbeing in Higher Education