TigerWell Concepts and Principles
Health is not merely the absence of illness or distress—it is striving for positive physical, mental, and social well-being (World Health Organization, 1946).
The concept of well-being can comprise multiple components such as flourishing, connectedness, holistic wellness, mindfulness, resilience, grit, purpose, belonging, and self-compassion. It is also deeply impacted by social conditions such as oppression, inequity, and discrimination. Promoting positive well-being while also paying attention to justice and injustice enables people to realize their potential, cope with the stresses of life, study and work productively and successfully, connect with one another, and contribute to their community.
Well-Being is:
Proactive in addition to reactive
Multi-dimensional and holistic, spanning multiple domains including areas such as social, physical, and spiritual, in addition to emotional
Environmental and settings-based, recognizing that efforts must go beyond educational programs and mental health services to create a campus community where the people, programs, systems, policies, spaces, and institutional culture all work together to promote well-being
Collaborative, engaging stakeholders from across campus to jointly plan, coordinate efforts, share information and lessons learned, and identify ways to embed well-being into university settings and policies
Data-and evidence-informed, guided by collection and use of local data, research about well-being and health promotion efforts, and the evaluation of well-being programs and practices
Guiding Principles for Well-Being Initiatives
Proactively promote positive health and well-being (beyond only treating illness)
Work to embed health and well-being into all aspects of campus culture
Bring together stakeholders across departments and disciplines
Recognize that well-being is negatively affected by social factors such as inequality and oppression
Create opportunities to promote meaningful co-curricular experiences that promote well-being
Methods
To reach well-being goals, campuses will want to:
Use participatory approaches inclusive of campus voices
Engage in systematic planning
Build on existing well-being-related initiatives
Increase the reach of existing services to students
Build students’ capacity both in personal self-reflection and in actively caring for others
Prioritize efforts that can become “business as usual”
Link efforts and offer sufficient “dosage” of important concepts and skills
Promote research and evidence-informed action
Create professional development opportunities for staff and faculty
Address all levels of the socio-ecological model
Tips for Taking Action
Avoid Standardized Definitions
There are many aspects of well-being and no standardized definitions. What aspects of well-being are you addressing? How are you defining each aspect? How could you measure them?
Use Data and Research Whenever You Can
Early in the planning process, use local data to understand types and patterns of well-being among different student groups on campus to help decide which aspects of well-being to target.
Think About How To Influence Well-Being
For each aspect of well-being that you want to influence: what does the research say about the impact of that factor on college student well-being? What does it take to change that factor? If you successfully change that factor, how is it likely to influence college student well-being?
Assess the Local Environment
In what ways could systems, policies, spaces, and institutional culture better promote well-being?
Check in With Your Colleagues
Is anyone else addressing similar aspects of well-being? How can your efforts complement theirs?