Date of Submission

8-16-2020

Document Type

OIP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

post-secondary, mental health, access, student affairs, peers, whole community

Abstract

In 2020, the Government of Ontario published a report entitled In It Together: Foundations for Promoting Mental Wellness in Campus Communities. This document outlines that the priority of post-secondary institutions should be the health and well-being of students by ensuring that students receive the supports they need to be successful. Most importantly, the document outlines a community approach needed for students to access mental health supports and services on their campuses. Many post-secondary students are becoming increasingly aware of their own mental health needs prior to enrolling at university or college. This has resulted in a culture on post-secondary campuses that is quickly changing, as the mental health needs of students are becoming more demanding and diverse. Not only do students require access to traditional health services such as doctors, nurses and counsellors, but post-secondary institutions need to continually find innovative ways to address students’ mental health challenges. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) will explore a problem of practice (PoP) that asks the following: how can UniversityA can engage students, staff and faculty in supporting the mental health needs of students? To address the PoP, UniversityA will explore changes related to providing innovative student engagement, creative staff and faculty engagement, and a greater focus on diversity-related approaches to providing mental health supports to students. To address these changes, a combination of transformational, servant, adaptive, and distributed leadership approaches will be utilized to lead stakeholders and members of the change implementation team. Lastly, the next steps and future considerations will include funding dedicated to mental health, support for online students, and the continued development of a whole-community approach to support the mental health needs of students.

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