WELLNESS NETWORK. Strategic Plan

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1 WELLNESS NETWORK Strategic Plan

2 The University of Texas at Austin Wellness Network Strategic Plan Contents Letter from the Executive Committee... 3 Vision... 4 Mission... 4 Values... 4 Summary of Strategic Initiatives... 5 Strategic Initiative 1: Infrastructure... 6 Objectives... 6 Responsibility and Timeline... 6 Strategic Initiative 2: Assessment and Analysis... 7 Objectives... 7 Responsibility and Timeline... 7 Strategic Initiative 3: Communication and Outreach... 8 Objectives... 8 Responsibility and Timeline... 9 Strategic Initiative 4: Programs and Policies Objectives Responsibility and Timeline Appendix A: Wellness Network Executive Committee Appendix B: Sub-committee Charges

3 Letter from the Executive Committee A coalition is defined as a group of individuals representing diverse organizations, factions, or constituencies within the community who agree to work together to achieve a common goal (Feighery & Rogers, 1990). At The University of Texas at Austin, the Wellness Network exists as a campus-wide coalition with the common goal of creating and sustaining a healthy campus community. Furthermore, the Wellness Network supports the Division of Student Affairs strategic initiative to create a campus culture that values and fosters wellness. The Executive Committee of the Wellness Network has undergone a strategic planning process to position the Wellness Network to successfully lead the campus in achieving these goals. Healthy campus coalitions have been successfully modeled at a number of peer institutions. Documents such as the American College Health Association s Standards of Practice for Health Promotion in Higher Education, the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education s Professional Standards for Higher Education, and Healthy Campus 2020 recognize collaborative practice and sustaining partnerships as essential to a healthy campus community. For a coalition model to be successful, it must have a formal leadership and organizational structure, diverse membership, strategic communications, sufficient financial and human capacity, and access to data or data collection resources to guide decision making. A successful healthy campus coalition also recognizes the interaction between people and their environment and how relationships, policies, cultures, and physical structures impact the health of the entire community. These foundations have been woven into this strategic plan, along with institutionspecific factors, to provide a framework to support the success of the Wellness Network and a healthy campus community. The writing of this plan, like the Wellness Network, was a collaborative process that included the voice and insight of Wellness Network members and other key stakeholders within the University community. The resulting document captures the momentum towards creating a culture that prioritizes wellness and promotes an environment in which the healthy choice is the easy choice. Sincerely, The Wellness Network Executive Committee 3

4 Vision The Wellness Network envisions a campus culture of health and wellness in which every student, faculty, and staff member of The University of Texas at Austin is provided the support needed to achieve overall health. The Wellness Network of The University of Texas at Austin aspires to be a premier healthy campus coalition among Tier 1 research universities in the country. Mission The Wellness Network is a sustainable, campus-wide coalition that serves as a visible and credible resource for campus wellness and a source for information exchange. The Wellness Network brings together advocates for health and wellness from across The University of Texas at Austin in order to share information, strategies, and resources that support a healthy campus culture and a campus environment in which the healthy choice is the easy choice. The Wellness Network works to define, create, and promote health and wellness programs and initiatives that are relevant to and have an impact on the University community. Values Sharing a fundamental belief that success and achievement must be built upon a foundation of health and wellness, the Wellness Network values: Holistic health and wellness The health of the whole person is important and inextricably related to and influenced by the health of the whole community. Collaboration and partnership In order to accomplish meaningful change at the University, individuals and departments from across the institution must collaborate and partner with each other. Diversity and inclusiveness In order to best serve the University community, the broad and diverse perspectives of all members of our community must be heard and respected. Assessment Thoughtful and strategic decisions can only be made when supported by data and assessment of the current state of the University and its constituents. Alignment All efforts toward health and wellness at the University must be undertaken within the context of the existing University mission and goals. Balanced lifestyle Individuals thrive and succeed when they balance their efforts towards work and play, academics and co-curricular activities. 4

5 Summary of Strategic Initiatives The Wellness Network will undertake the following primary strategic initiatives over the course of the next three years: Infrastructure Create a leadership body and membership infrastructure that facilitates the success and sustainability of the Wellness Network. Assessment and Analysis Collect and analyze relevant data to identify University needs, assets, benchmarks, and trends in areas of health and wellness. Use data to set priorities and inform initiatives. Communication and Outreach Promote the Wellness Network and other health and wellness initiatives, services, and resources to members of the University community. Programs and Policies Identify, develop, and recommend or implement health and wellness programs and policies that have relevance to and are priorities for the University community. Each objective within these initiatives will be the responsibility of one of the following new committees within the Wellness Network: Executive committee Communications sub-committee Assessment sub-committee Program and Policy sub-committee The Wellness Network has formed a partnership with the Wellness Advisory Committee for the Work Life Balance and Wellness Program in the Department of Human Resource Services. The Work Life Balance and Wellness Coordinator will serve as an official delegate to the Wellness Network to represent the interests of faculty and staff wellness. Members of the Wellness Advisory Committee or any faculty or staff member at the University may elect to serve on Wellness Network sub-committees to represent faculty and staff interests and contribute to environmental-level initiatives that impact all members of the University community. 5

6 Strategic Initiative 1: Infrastructure Create a leadership body and membership infrastructure that facilitates the success and sustainability of the Wellness Network. Objectives 1. Create a leadership and accountability structure within the Wellness Network. 1.1 Maintain the existing structure of the Executive Committee with representation from departments with high levels of student interaction. 1.2 Identify any additional members to join the Executive Committee. 1.3 Outline roles and responsibilities of the Executive Committee. 1.4 Establish reporting structures between sub-committee chairs and executive committee members. 2. Create sub-committees to serve as functional and on-going workgroups that support the goals of the Wellness Network Outline roles and responsibilities for the sub-committees Create charges for each sub-committee Identify sub-committee chairs and co-chairs. 3. Build new partnerships and enhance existing collaborations among campus units and departments Create an inventory of existing partnerships and collaborations regarding health and wellness at the University Identify additional departments where the Wellness Network should build partnerships and collaboration opportunities Send about Wellness Network to department chairs. Responsibility and Timeline Objective Committee Responsible By When 1.1 Executive Mid-August Executive Mid-August Executive Mid-September Executive October 15, Executive September 30, Executive September 30, Executive December 31, Executive December 31, Executive December 31,

7 Strategic Initiative 2: Assessment and Analysis Collect and analyze relevant data to identify University needs, assets, benchmarks, and trends in the area of health and wellness. Use data to set priorities and inform initiatives. Objectives 1. Create and maintain an inventory of current wellness assessments and data. 1.1 Conduct a campus-wide audit to identify instruments or data related to the health and wellness of campus populations or the campus environment. 2. Conduct assessments to identify priority health issues, trends, needs, and assets of the University community. 2.1 Administer assessments on an annual basis to identify priority health issues, trends, needs, and assets of the University community or to inform program and policy development. 2.2 Revise existing instruments and create new instruments if needed to identify priority health issues, trends, needs, and assets of the University community. 2.3 Establish resources for conducting on-going assessment Designate Health Promotion Resource Center staff and other appropriately trained staff to support assessment activity. 3. Develop a system for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on health and wellness. 3.1 Write a report on the state of wellness at the University, leveraging work already underway or completed in the Division of Student Affairs. 3.2 Establish collaboration between the Assessment sub-committee and the Communication subcommittee to distribute results of assessments conducted. Responsibility and Timeline Objective Committee Responsible By When 1.1 Assessment May 31, Assessment Ongoing Assessment Ongoing Assessment, Executive, and Ongoing HPRC Staff 3.1 Assessment and May 31, 2012 Communications 3.2 Assessment and Communications May 31,

8 Strategic Initiative 3: Communication and Outreach Promote the Wellness Network and other health and wellness initiatives, services, and resources to members of the University community. Objectives 1. Rebrand and market the Wellness Network to the University community Conduct a communications audit to evaluate existing brand and communications pieces Build the visual identity and revise the logo for the Wellness Network 1.2. Develop outreach strategies to recruit members from historically uninvolved or underrepresented populations in the University community Conduct personal outreach from members of the Executive Committee to key stakeholders at the University deans and department chairs introducing them to the Wellness Network and encouraging them to share information with their students, faculty, and staff. 2. Increase the use of technology and social media Develop a new Wellness Network website Identify individual(s) who will provide continuous oversight of the website Develop a Wellness Network social media strategy Assess the viability of specific social media strategies among the Wellness Network target audience Create and maintain a Facebook page or other social media presence. 3. Promote campus resources related to health and wellness to enhance access to these resources Create and maintain an inventory of programs and services as a resource for the campus Complete an inventory of programs and services that occur during the academic year at the University Organize and present available programs and resources on the Wellness Network website Create and maintain a calendar of wellness-related events on campus Populate the calendar with known, already existing events Create a way in which University students, faculty, or staff can submit events to the calendar, subject to Executive Committee approval, through the Wellness Network website Maintain calendar to ensure that it is up-to-date and relevant. 4. Develop a system that ensures consistency in messages among units and through media Create and publish brand guidelines that ensure consistency in the look and feel of Wellness Network publications Promote the programming guidelines established by the Program and Policy sub-committee. 5. Create new opportunities for involvement and development for existing members Send monthly or quarterly updates to Wellness Network members Create a mechanism for measuring involvement in order to inform members about opportunities available and time commitments for each. 8

9 Responsibility and Timeline Objective Committee Responsible By When 1.1 Communications May 31, Executive and Communications December 31, Executive, Chair, and HPRC staff September 30, Communications, Assessment May 31, 2012 and Ongoing Program and Policy and May 31, 2012 Communications 3.2 Communications and Program and Policy December 31, 2011 and Ongoing Communications May 31, Communications May 31, Communications Ongoing (monthly or quarterly) 5.2 Executive October 26,

10 Strategic Initiative 4: Programs and Policies Identify, develop, and recommend or implement health and wellness programs and policies that have relevance to and are priorities for the University community. Objectives 1. Create programming guidelines to be used by the Program and Policy sub-committee or as a reference for individuals creating wellness programs to help ensure consistency of messages Research and develop suggested program guidelines. 2. Enhance collaboration among division units and campus departments Identify and engage with offices on campus that currently support wellness initiatives or who would be considered key stakeholders and/or gatekeepers to the Wellness Network target populations Include identify and engage with campus partners in the Wellness Network programming guidelines to reinforce the importance of collaboration. 3. Improve student wellness and reduce incidence of impediments to academic performance Focus on programming that decreases impediments to academic performance Identify existing wellness programs and initiatives that decrease impediments to academic performance Propose new wellness programs and initiatives that decrease impediments to academic performance as gaps are identified Provide Wellness Network members with resources for developing and implementing best practices as well as examples of best practices and successful programs from peer institutions of higher education. 4. Develop and implement campus-wide environmental and multi-level approaches to address priority health issues Use the data gathered by the Assessment sub-committee to set priorities for programming and policies Develop areas of focus for programming based on assessment data Dedicate staff resources from the Health Promotion Resource Center to support the development and implementation of programs and initiatives Actively support students, staff, and faculty in their pursuit of a revised campus tobacco policy Establish an ad-hoc committee to research, review, and make policy recommendations for the University Engage and participate in tobacco policy initiatives Develop initiatives that reduces stigma surrounding mental health concerns Work with the Counseling and Mental Health Center on outreach and education to students, faculty, and staff Establish a community/environmental approach to reducing the incidence of and consequences from high-risk drinking Create an ad-hoc committee to address high-risk drinking within The University of Texas at Austin community In partnership with the assessment sub-committee, evaluate campus policies and the campus drinking culture Implement evidence-informed and innovative approaches to reduce high-risk drinking. 10

11 4.5. Use data collected from environmental scans of campus to recommend changes to the physical environment that facilitate members of the University community making healthier choices Review environmental scans and existing campus infrastructure and policies to identify needs and recommend changes. Responsibility and Timeline Objective Committee Responsible By When 1.1 Program and Policy May 31, Executive and Program and May 31, 2012 Policy 2.2 Executive and Program and May 31, 2012 Policy 3.1 Program and Policy Ongoing 3.2 Program and Policy May 31, 2012, maintained Assessment and Program and Ongoing Policy 4.2 Program and Policy/Ad-hoc To be determined by the Ad-hoc committee 4.3 Program and Policy May 31, 2012, maintained Program and Policy/Ad-hoc Ongoing Assessment and Program and Policy Ongoing

12 Appendix A: Wellness Network Executive Committee The Wellness Network Executive Committee wrote and developed the strategic plan based on discussions with the Wellness Network membership and consultation with key stakeholders. The Executive Committee members are: Susan Hochman, MPH, CHES Chair, Wellness Network Interim Assistant Director for Health Promotion and Public Information, University Health Services Natalie Butler, BA (in progress), BS (in progress) President, Student Government Laura Ebady, Psy.D. Licensed Staff Psychologist and Outreach Coordinator, Counseling and Mental Health Center Arlin Fernandez, M.Ed, CHES Hall Coordinator, Division of Housing and Food Service Jennifer Speer, MA, ACSM-HFI Associate Director, Division of Recreational Sports 12

13 Appendix B: Sub-committee Charges In accordance with the Wellness Network strategic plan, a membership infrastructure, including a leadership body, is being developed to facilitate the on-going success of the Wellness Network. Specifically, sub-committees are being formed to serve as functional and on-going workgroups that support the goals of the UT Wellness Network. In addition to sub-committees, ad-hoc committees will be established to address priority health issues as they arise. Assessment The purpose of the assessment sub-committee includes data collection, assessment, and evaluation to assist in identifying priority health issues and determine needs, assets, and trends related to the health and wellness of the University of Texas at Austin community. The Assessment sub-committee will work in collaboration with the Program and Policy sub-committee and provide data to support the development of programs and initiatives or inform policies. The Assessment committee will also share results of assessments with the Communications sub-committee, which will be responsible for reporting these results to key stakeholders. Charge for the academic year: Create an inventory of current assessments and data reports related to the health and wellness of the UT community. Review existing instruments and data sets to determine gaps; propose, create, and conduct new assessments if indicated or needed. Establish benchmarks for campus wellness and a system for monitoring annual trends. Communications The purpose of the communications sub-committee is two-fold: to promote the UT Wellness Network as a healthy campus coalition and to educate members of The University of Texas at Austin community on health and wellness initiatives, services, and resources. The Communications sub-committee will work collaboratively with the Program and Policy committee to ensure that the promotion of health-related messages is consistent, strategic, and effective. The Communications sub-committee will also support the Assessment sub-committee by sharing data reports with key stakeholders. Charge for the academic year: Oversee website development and maintenance. Oversee rebranding efforts and promotion of the Wellness Network. Develop a press release, announcing the Wellness Network to the campus community. Develop a three or four sentence elevator speech that can be used in print or in person to describe the work that the Wellness Network does succinctly and efficiently. Oversee the calendaring function on the website. Develop a Who We Are/What We Do presentation that can be used to educate other organizations on campus about our mission and vision, our work, and to promote membership and involvement. 13

14 Develop an outreach plan and contact organizations on campus to schedule informal presentations about the Wellness Network to increase awareness of and encourage participation in the Wellness Network. Develop internal communication to be sent via to other divisions/units to increase awareness of and participation in the Wellness Network. Program and Policy Sub-committee The purpose of the Program and Policy sub-committee is to identify, develop, and recommend or implement health and wellness programs and policies. The Program and Policy sub-committee will make informed and data driven decisions when addressing priority health issues and will work closely with the Assessment sub-committee to stay informed of campus needs and evaluate the effectiveness of programs. This sub-committee will also promote enhanced collaboration and a campus-wide, multi-level approach to addressing priority health issues. The Program and Policy sub-committee will collaborate with the Communications sub-committee to promote programs and policies established by the Wellness Network. Finally, the Program and Policy sub-committee may recommend the creation of ad-hoc committees to address specific priority health issues on campus. Charge for the academic year: Research and develop programming guidelines to be used by the sub-committee or as a reference for the development of wellness programs. Focus on programming that that addresses impediments to academic performance. Create an inventory of health- and wellness- related programs, services, and resources in the UT community. Determine need for and establish ad-hoc committees to address priority health issues. Research best practices to inform program development and implementation. 14