First-year students don’t have to navigate the unfamiliarity of university life alone; the course is designed to build mental resilience and support academic success, according to professors.
WELL 100, a new course introduced by the Department of Psychology, and designed by Associate Professors Tim Salomons and Jeremy Stewart aims at helping first-year students navigate the transition to postsecondary life. The course offers evidence-based strategies to support mental wellbeing during this period of transition.
“University is a time of transition,” Salomons said in an interview with The Journal. “Maybe [students] were excelling in high school without a lot of effort, and suddenly they’re surrounded by people who are just as smart as them, and it can be a difficult adjustment.”
Both researchers recognize that the university years are a vulnerable period during which mental health challenges may begin to emerge. As such, they wanted to introduce a proactive solution to mental health— one which includes teaching students how to navigate this unfamiliar phase.
To navigate well being, WELL 100 takes a broad, preventative approach. Students will learn about topics such as sleep, time management, mindfulness, and social connection through readings and modules. Practical participation in course activities will account for half of the grade.
“The drive for the course was really that we want a more proactive solution to mental health,” Salomons said. “If we can make [the adjustment to university] more manageable by teaching [students] some simple strategies for coping with student life, then that’s a proactive and, we hope, useful response to student mental health.”
Meghan Norris, associate professor and undergraduate chair in the Department of Psychology, noted that while students often talk about academic stress, other challenges like loneliness or homesickness are less frequently discussed.
“Students might readily ask how to find a classroom, but it’s much harder to open up about missing their pets,” Norris said in an interview with The Journal. “Those quieter moments can sometimes be a bigger struggle.”
A goal of the course is to increase students’ awareness of campus support services and reduce the stigma around using them. Through partnerships with Student Wellness Services and Student Academic Success Services, WELL 100 will introduce students to resources many don’t realize are available to them before they reach a point of crisis.
“A goal that has emerged for us is to make students aware of [wellness] services. They’re not just for people who are in crisis; they’re for
anybody who just wants to get more out of university,” Salomons said.
With 100 initial seats and offered only in the fall semester, WELL 100 filled quickly. According to Norris, the department plans to scale up the course in future years to make it more widely accessible.
Reflecting on their own experiences as students, the professors spoke about the importance of planning, facing failure, and finding community. “Be brave enough to fail. Failure is a part of success,” Norris added in an interview with The Journal.
Tags
Department of Psychology, First Year in Focus, WELL 100
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