Learning Healthy Social/Relationship Skills

Priority Action Group

“We need to foster, encourage, and teach healthy relationships on the college campus.”
- Jessica Doty, Registered Nurse of UND Student Health Services

“Healthy relationships are a vital part of a person’s overall health and wellness. Breakups with significant others, and arguments and fights among friends, can cause students to be distracted from their academics.  Also, relationships can monopolize a student’s time and be detrimental to academic success.
- Samuel Lohstreter, Student of The UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences 

”Perceptions of students' [social norms] are very different than reality.”
- Sandi Luck, Assistant Director of Health and Wellness Education

Rationale
“Loneliness and a feeling of isolation may lead to depression.” ¹

In a 2009 NSSE Survey, students were asked “Are faculty members accessible and supportive?” only 44% (38% in 2007) of first year UND students said their faculty are available, helpful and sympathetic. ²

Interaction with a peer group may be the largest factor contributing to student’s academic success…students who are able to form lasting social relationships are more likely to be successful…studies have found that interaction with faculty members also has a significant effect on persistence and student success…Faculty members can have profound affects on a student’s performance through mentoring and guidance. Social relationships affect not only persistence in higher education, but overall student health as well. Some literature suggests that increased student interaction is related to a better sense of well-being. ³

Description
This Priority Action Group composed of student, faculty, and staff members meets monthly at UND to evaluate environmental factors, analyze problems, share best practices, establish goals, create SMART objectives, develop recommendations and strategies, and ultimately create a campus-wide action plan. This action plan will be submitted to UND’s President for final consideration and when approved, it will serve as a guide for all UND health and wellness initiatives until the year 2020.

Agendas
September 2010
October 2010 - Problem Analysis
November 2010
January 2011 - Developing Goals and Objectives
February 2011 - Ideas for Objectives
March 2011
April 2011

Minutes

September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
January 2011 -Inventory of Programs, Services, and Policies (Draft)
February 2011 - "We Need" Results from the Joint Meeting
March 2011
April 2011

Best Practice Articles
Learning Collaborative: First Year Experience 
The sustainability of health promotion interventions for different levels of social organization 
Teaching Tips Index 
Social networks = student stress
Student Orientation Programs 
A Social Support Intervention to Ease the College Transition: Exploring Main Effects and Moderators
ACPA National Convention 2006 Best Practices in Orientation Roundtable 
Communication must change to meet new audience demands 
Demystifying Social Media 
Students’ ‘Evolving’ Use of Technology 
Findings on Facebook in Higher Education 
The Role of Academic Advising 
Millennial Texting 
Mental Health Issues in Student Advising 
Personal and Psychological Problems of College Students 

References
1. Splichal, Susan. “Focus Group Research Report.” Healthy UND. Healthy UND 2020, Summer 2009. 
Web. 2 Jul 2010.

2. “What Students are Saying About Health and Wellness.” Healthy UND. University of North Dakota, Office of Institutional Research, August 2009. Web. 7 Jul 2010.

3. Ballentine, Howard. “The Relationship Between Wellness and Academic Success in First-year College Students.” Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (2010): 1-106. Web. 7 Jul 2010. <http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/ available/etd-05012010-212110/unrestricted/Ballentine_HM_D_2010.pdf>.