Embedding wellness in post-secondary learning and experience: For-credit wellness courses

Nothing encourages student participation at the post-secondary level like course credit. And nothing says wellness is important to an institution like centring course-work that intentionally fosters that state of wellness. Student services across Canada struggle to reach students with messages about wellness and mental health support. So what if students were offered wellness courses as an integral part of their post-secondary experience? Dr Leah Goodman asked that question and then answered it, developing a for-credit wellness course at the University of Illinois-Chicago. For-credit wellness courses accompany and help accelerate a paradigm shift in higher education institutions’ priorities, services, and curricula. Embedding topics of mental health, wellbeing, and identity into the core curricula of post-secondary institutions helps generate a campus-wide culture of wellbeing, and sets students up proactively for success. Join Dr Goodman in conversation on September 17 and hear about the process of introducing her wellness coursework and the clear benefits of integrating it into the university or college experience. Together, we will then expand the discussion into thinking through implications and opportunities for the Canadian post-secondary community.