Actions through Spring 2023

The entire Dartmouth community is engaged in supporting the wellness and connectedness of our community. Collaborations by multiple divisions across campus have produced many enhancements and initiatives. Some of these were begun prior to JED and developed through the work of students and staff. Not all actions to date are listed below. See the Commitment to Care PDF for additional actions that have already been taken including actions since Spring 2023.

The all-Dartmouth actions to date are listed in the categories of the six JED working groups; however, much of this work has been accomplished outside of or only partially through the work groups listed above. Improving student mental health requires engagement across all of Dartmouth's units. Some content spans more than one domain and has been classified according to the primary domain of progress to date.

Communications for Health, Wellbeing, and Crisis

Letters to Incoming Students. In August 2022, Dartmouth College Health Services sent messages to incoming undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students who submitted health history forms indicating a personal history of depression, anxiety, substance use, or nutritional concerns. These letters proactively notified students of medical and non-medical resources available at Dartmouth. Language from prior versions of these letters was updated to be more inclusive of and appropriate for graduate and professional students.
Additional Communications Staff. A new director of communications, Elizabeth Ellis, was hired in April 2022 to facilitate communications in the undergraduate Division of Student Affairs. Her background in graduate and professional school communications has facilitated communications content development relevant to the wellbeing of all Dartmouth students. For example, communications supported the launch of the Headspace app and Uwill this fall and is developing a new, consolidated mental health website for all students, staff, and faculty.

Clinical Infrastructure Enhancement

Additional Mental Health Staff. Since launching the JED initiative, Dartmouth has hired one full-time clinical counselor in January 2022 and another clinical counselor with dedicated time for suicide prevention and outreach in August 2022. Dartmouth College Counseling Center offers services in four languages (English, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, and Taiwanese), 50% of clinical staff (i.e., counselors and psychiatrists) identify as BIPOC, two identify as international, and four counselors identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Additional Nutrition Staff. Since Fall 2022, a full-time nutrition fellow now provides support in athletics (half-time) and primary care (half-time), complementing the work of Dartmouth’s full-time registered nutritionist who works in Dartmouth College Health Services and full-time registered nutritionist in dining services.
Uwill Teletherapy. After collecting input from students, staff, and faculty in the spring and summer of 2022, Dartmouth partnered with Uwill, a telehealth mental healthcare company, to increase students’ access to and choice of therapy providers at no cost to students. This service was launched on November 1, 2022 and provides unlimited sessions to Dartmouth students, which is especially helpful in supporting students with long-term therapy needs. Students may use Uwill from anywhere in the United States and internationally. Students on a leave term or medical leave also have access to Uwill. This service supplements the strong diversity of the Counseling staff and offer opportunities for counseling outside of normal business hours. According to Uwill, as of February 7, 2023, 847 students have created a Uwill account and students completing appointments have overall rated their satisfaction as a 9.2 out of 10. Students can sign up for Uwill and can find more detailed instructions on how to sign up here, including information on reserving a private space in Berry library.

Integration of Wellbeing and the Student Experience

Additional Mental Health and Wellbeing Staff. The Student Wellness Center hired a wellbeing program coordinator in October 2021 and a JED Campus project manager in February 2022.
Additional Spiritual Life Staff – The William Jewett Tucker Center hired a full-time Muslim chaplain and associate director in September 2022 and a full-time multi-faith coordinator began in mid-October. They join who join twelve other ordained campus ministers who serve as confidential campus resources.
Headspace App – In September, Dartmouth announced a partnership with the science-based Headspace app for meditation, sleep, and wellbeing, giving all students, staff, and faculty no-cost access to the app. Prior to adoption, undergraduate and graduate and professional school students tested and endorsed this app, along with staff and faculty. As of January 30, 2023, aggregated data provided by Headspace indicates 958 students have enrolled in Headspace account, and an additional 789 faculty and staff have enrolled. In total, students have completed over 263,000 minutes of Headspace (nearly 4,400 hours) since its launch. Students, staff, and faculty can enroll in the Headspace app.
Koru Mindfulness Teacher Training. Koru Mindfulness is a JED Foundation-endorsed, evidence-based introductory mindfulness program developed at Duke University for use with college students. Koru Mindfulness has been delivered at Dartmouth for more than seven years. In October, Dartmouth hosted a Koru Mindfulness teacher training, adding eleven teachers to the Dartmouth community. Since then, five four-session Koru courses have been offered, with additional Koru courses being planned for upcoming terms.

Crisis Response Policies and Procedures

Medical Leave Policy Review. Provost Kotz charged a group of deans and directors, led by the director of the Counseling Center, with reviewing the medical leave policies. Representatives from all five schools are involved, along with Dartmouth College Health Services and the ADA/504 Coordinator. This work group is focused on making the process more streamlined, supportive, and accessible.
Postvention Planning. Postvention refers to the response after a sudden death for any reason. In the summer of 2022, two Dartmouth employees completed Connect training through Dartmouth Health to facilitate further conversation about Dartmouth’s postvention protocols. Dartmouth is in conversation with JED representatives about the nuances of implementing best-practice procedures, which often entail balancing multiple stakeholders’ sometimes competing interests (e.g., family wishes for privacy, campus community’s desire for information).

Alignment of Academics and Wellbeing

Increased Dartmouth Cares Suicide Prevention Training. This training is developed and led by the Dartmouth Counseling Center. It was recently expanded from two hours to three and provides students, faculty, and staff with the knowledge, skills, and practice to engage in conversations with students and others about mental health concerns and provide resource referrals when appropriate. With support from the dean of the Faculty for Arts and Sciences, trainings for faculty have increased significantly. In Fall 2021, 100 faculty completed training. In Fall 2022, Dartmouth Counseling conducted fourteen Campus Connect trainings for over 335 faculty, staff, and students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional).
Adult Mental Health First Aid®. In 2022, two Dartmouth employees were trained as Adult Mental Health First Aid trainers. Mental Health First Aid entails a full day or more of training. In Summer 2022, Dartmouth Athletics hosted four trainings, resulting in at least one staff member being trained from all 35 varsity sports teams. In Winter 2022, Thayer School of Engineering hosted a training. Staff from other departments have participated in those trainings, too. In total, 106 Dartmouth employees have completed Adult Mental Health First Aid since August.

Safety and Wellbeing in the Physical Environment

Upgraded Student Wellness Center. In Fall 2022, the Student Wellness Center was relocated to a larger and more centrally located space in Berry library. Part of a $10,000 American Eagle Outfitters “Future Together” grant that was awarded to Dartmouth Student Government vice president Jessica Chiriboga ’24 was used to purchase two massage chairs and other amenities for the Student Wellness Center’s new Tranquility Room.

Online Mental Wellbeing for Students Course

Wellness Education (WE) Credit

In Spring 2022, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to transition the undergraduate physical education (PE) graduation credit to a wellness education (WE) credit to be more inclusive of the ways that students can cultivate wellbeing. New full-term WE offerings are currently being piloted at a small scale. In the future, the WE credit will offer both full-term options and paths to accumulate credit through mini courses, workshops, and single-session classes.

German Foreign Language Offering Well-being (F.L.O.W) Pilot

Dr. Heidi Denzel, visiting Associate Professor of German, and Dr. Nicolay Ostrau, director of Dartmouth’s German language program, have partnered with the Student Wellness Center to integrate mindfulness and other wellbeing practices into introductory German language classes in a pilot project known as German F.L.O.WOpens in a new window. The next iteration of this pilot is underway within the German department as well as with other language departments and academic courses.

Examples of Graduate and Professional Student-Specific Actions To Date

Dartmouth’s four graduate and professional schools are the Geisel School of Medicine, Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Thayer School of Engineering, and Tuck School of Business.

Increasing all-Dartmouth collaboration to address student mental health and wellbeing is a priority as we advance the JED initiative. Some work specific to all graduate and professional students has begun. Within the individual graduate and professional schools, work targeting their student populations is also underway.

For all four graduate and professional schools, the following resources are now available:

Emergency / Barrier Removal Funds. All graduate and professional schools now have emergency/barrier relief funds for graduate and professional students with pressing financial needs. Examples of needs covered include emergency travel, medical co-payments, and assistance with educational needs not covered by financial aid. Previously, only undergraduates and some graduate and professional schools had emergency/barrier removal funds.
Ombudsperson Hired. In 2022, a full-time ombudsperson, Tracey Brant, was hired to support graduate and professional students as well as faculty and staff.

Increased Geisel Counseling Availability and Reach

Geisel has increased its Counseling resources by adding clinical hours, hiring new counselors, and opening access to The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDIHPCP) students. Additional services include a counselor licensed in California, where many students go for required clinical assignments. Geisel Counseling was originally developed in 2019 to meet the unique needs of medical school students.

Interactive Screening Program (ISP)

The Interactive Screening Program from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is an evidence based best practice for identifying those at risk for suicide. Through a customized platform, ISP provides a safe and confidential way for Geisel students to take a brief screening for stress, depression, and other mental health conditions, and receive a personal response from a program counselor within the mental health services available to them. Geisel students can anonymously communicate with the program counselor to receive recommendations, feedback, and support for connecting to available mental health services. An invitation for Geisel students to participate in an ISP assessment is shared with students twice a year.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Medical Students Elective

Medical Leave Stipends

Financial Support for Stipend-Receiving Students

Social Connection and Communication

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Planning

Thayer initiated its DEI strategic planning in December 2022 in collaboration with Be Equitable, and hired a full-time DEI coordinator in January 2023. The DEI strategic planning steering committee includes two graduate students. The committee has convened over a dozen focus groups, including seven with undergraduate engineering and Thayer graduate students. A strategy lab is scheduled for late-March and a finalized strategic plan expected by May.

Thayer Wellness and Community Building Committee

Student Leaders meet quarterly with the Dean and Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Affairs

Mental Health and Wellness Initiative

This student-run organization provides ongoing information about mental health and wellness to the Tuck community throughout the year. They are responsible for organizing the many training programs, workshops and panel presentations for their fellow students. Training includes peer support counseling, mental health first aid, bystander intervention, suicide prevention. Peer counselors are available for one-on-one meetings as well as small group gatherings. Panels include experts, students, and alumni discussing stress management, nutrition, career related issues, to name a few. The MHWI is committed to taking an active and participatory role in promoting good mental health and wellbeing for all Tuck students.

Dedicated Therapist for Tuck Students

Student Board Quality of Life Chair

This student board position works closely with students, partners, faculty, and staff to create school-wide events that are inclusive and engaging for every Tuck community member. The QLC collaborates with Tuck clubs and organizations and the MBA Program Office to provide students with support through a variety of activities (lectures, panel presentations, Fireside chats) and social gatherings (Tucksgiving dinner, study break dinner, etc.) throughout the year.

Commitment to Care

Actions through Spring 2023

Examples of All-Dartmouth Actions to Date

Examples of Undergraduate Actions To Date

Examples of Graduate and Professional Student-Specific Actions To Date

Examples of Geisel School of Medicine Actions to Date

Examples of Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies Actions to Date

Examples of Thayer School of Engineering Actions to Date

Examples of Tuck School of Business Actions to Date