2023-2025 Updates

Progress Updates on Commitment to Care Strategic Plan

The following information is intended to provide the Dartmouth community of students, employees, alumni, and extended families with an understanding of the progress made on the Commitment to Care strategic plan for student mental health and wellbeing, through April 2025. This represents an update on the first 1.5 years of work on Commitment to Care, which is intended as a five-year strategic plan.

Of the 73 actions in Commitment to Care:

27 actions have been completed, but may require ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and/or maintenance
36 are in progress
10 have not begun

While progress on many of the 73 actions in Commitment to Care has been driven by the Division of Health and Wellness under the leadership of Dr. Estevan Garcia, the extensive and essential leadership from employees and students across the institution on many other actions must be emphasized. We also extend gratitude to the generous family and alumni donors whose contributions have helped Dartmouth to lead in this work.

Finally, many individual and team-based contributors across the Dartmouth community are advancing the Commitment to Care vision every day through their dedicated and thoughtful efforts, which have not been organized through or implemented in explicit collaboration with the Commitment to Care leadership team, as Dartmouth's ecosystem is so vast - every person in the Dartmouth community has a role to play in supporting student mental health and wellbeing, and the Dartmouth community is better for having each person here and contributing what they can.

1A.1. Update policies and procedures related to Time Away from Dartmouth and develop accompanying communications. (completed)

In January 2024, Dartmouth established the Office of Student Time Away. The formation of this office followed approximately two years of work:

Reviewing national best practices
Examining relevant institutions' policies, and
Gathering feedback from stakeholders, including students who take time away and the staff faculty who support those students.

The Office of Student Time Away centralizes support for all students taking and returning from time away.

The office's first priority in 2024 was implementing Dartmouth's institutional policy for students Taking Time Away fro Medical Reasons (TAMR), with was developed and launched alongside the formation of the office. The time away office continues to work with key stakeholders to:

Refine the Time Away fro Medical Reasons (TAMR) process
Implement the institutional policy for students taking Time Away for Military Service (TAMS), and
Implement an institutional policy for students taking Time Away for Personal Reasons (TAPR).

1A.2. Create and fill a chief health and wellness officer position to lead work for student, staff, and faculty health and well-being. (completed)

1A.3 Situate Dartmouth College Health Service, Student Wellness Center, and Wellness at Dartmouth under chief health and wellness officer in the Dartmouth organizational structure. (completed)

A Division of Health and Wellness has been formed under Chief Health and Wellness Officer (CHWO) Estevan Garcia. The following entities have been situated within the Division of Health and Wellness to serve student and employee needs:

Dartmouth College Health Service (Primary Care, Counseling Center, Inpatient Nursing Department, and Pharmacy)
Student Wellness Center
Time Away Office
Equal Opportunity, Accessibility, and Title IX Office

As part of this restructuring, the Director of the Student Wellness Center now reports directly to CHWO Estevan Garcia. This elevates the standing of the prevention-oriented Student Wellness Center within the Division and enables the three arms of the Student Wellness Center to grow into departments, which will better serve the long-term prevention-oriented interests of the Dartmouth community.

Wellness at Dartmouth, which serves employees, remains situated in Human Resources and has a formal tie to the Chief Health and Wellness Officer.

1A.4. Create and fill a director position to support students considering and taking Time Away from Dartmouth. (completed)

1A.5. Continue work reviewing postvention protocols, with alignment across the undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. (in progress)

Postvention refers to the response after a community member death occurs. At Dartmouth, a review of best-practice guidelines in Spring 2023 revealed limited national guidance to inform the practical details of implementation in a tailored community context. Dartmouth employees closely connected to the implementation of Dartmouth's postvention processes met with Jed Foundation Senior Clinical Director John Dunkle for further guidance, who likewise acknowledged the limitations of national guidance on this topic and acknowledged Dartmouth's adherence to the best-practice guidelines that do exist.

Small-scale listening sessions conducted with Dartmouth students, staff, and faculty in Spring 2023 identified some initial opportunities for improvement within the Dartmouth context. Postvention procedural updates have been made since.

Dartmouth will pursue further work on this action in 2025 in connection with other actions in Commitment to Care pertaining to grief.

1A.6. Continue review of organizational structures to assess equity of mental health and well-being focused staffing in each of the schools, Tucker Spiritual Center for Spiritual and Ethical Living, and Outdoor Programs Office. (in progress)

In Summer 2024, Jennifer Rosales joined Dartmouth as the institution's inaugural Senior Vice President (SVP) of Community and Campus Life. The William Jewett Tucker Center, Outdoor Programs Office, and the Office of Community Life and Inclusivity were resituated under her purview. Previously, these entities reported to undergraduate leadership. Situating these entities under the SVP of Community and Campus Life will facilitate expanded, more equitable access for graduate and professional students over time.

FOr example, the Outdoor Programs Office's newest coordinator, who started in December 2024, has been tasked with outreach to the graduate schools in order to learn more how OPO can best support their students.

1B.1. Pilot faculty sessions, trainings, and collaborations to develop and disseminate pedagogical approaches that support well-being in academics. (in progress)

Since the release of Commitment to Care in October, 2023, Dartmouth has continued to offer new faculty trainings and launch new inter-departmenal collaborations that are supportive of student wellbeing in academic contexts.

Some examples of work led by the Student Wellness Center since 2023 include:

A four-session Intro to Mindfulness course for faculty and staff to expose those employees to mindfulness approaches that they can use and integrate into their work with students.
A Power of the Pause training for Thayer School of Engineering faculty and staff

Some examples of collaborations between the Student Wellness Center and specific Dartmouth courses are:

The Student Wellness Center has collaborated with faculty from Anthropology and Sociology departments on two research projects to examine the impacts of implementing wellbeing practices into coursework on student wellbeing and learning.
In Spring 2024, the Foreign language Offering Wellbeing (F.L.O.W.) faculty leaders from the German department and Student Wellness Center presented to Dartmouth's foreign language program directors to introduce the methods used for possible expansion across languages.
In Fall 2023, partnership with Writing 5 faculty, the Student Wellness Center visited multiple sections of Writing 5 to offer a "Tune in to Take Care" in-class experience, aimed at helping students tune into their own emotions action with intention and efficacy.

1B.2. Begin assessing Dartmouth's academic calendars to understand their effects on student mental health and well-being and opportunities for strengthening the mental health environment, with input from students, staff, and faculty (in progress)

The Registrar did a detailed analysis of the opportunities and constraints for adding a break day to each of the four academic terms in the undergraduate calendar. The issues and nuanced and the constraints challenging.

The Undergraduate Deans Office and the Dean of Faculty Office reviewed a broad slate of potential changes to class schedules, exam schedules, registrar deadlines, and other details of the academic calendar, and as of March 2025 are currently studying several promising ideas for possible implementation.

1C.1. Begin assessing selective and non-selective social communities to understand their impacts on student mental health and well-being and opportunities for strengthening the mental health environment. (in progress)

At Dartmouth the breadth and selective and non-selective social communities encapsulates a very large breadth of student groups relevant to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. As such, as of April 2025, a comprehensive assessment of selective and non-selective social communities has not been undertaken. Instead, efforts to make initial improvements based on already-identified opportunities for improvement are underway.

In summer 2025, as noted in Action 3B.2, the undergraduate Office of Student Life will launch a Summer Leadership Program to support student leaders in being better equipped to manager their organizations. In this first summer, the focus will be on Greek organizations and governance organizations (e.g., Programming Board, Collis Center Governing Board, Dartmouth Student Government). Along with several other topics, the Summer Leadership Program will help students develop a greater understanding of how their organizational activities can shape student mental health and well-being. With goals of mental health and well-being in mind, the Summer Leadership Program will also help participants to identify strategies that they can use for cultivating healthier and more inclusive practices within their organizations.

Additionally, as of March 2025, Dartmouth as funded and seeks to fill a new Assistant Director for New Member Education and Chapter Development position within the Office of Greek Life. This position will provide leadership and guidance to Greek organizations and student societies, ensuring that they foster an inclusive, sage, and values-driven environment for students.

In Summer 2025, with leadership from Jennifer Rosales, Senior Vice President for Campus and Community Life, Dartmouth will form a working group on Greek Life to examine Dartmouth's Greek Life system and how:

Positive aspects of Greek Life like community-building can be further supported and accentuated
Challenges such as unhealthy and unacceptable behavior can be prevented and stemmed
The experiences of all students, including those who are not part of Greek Life, can be improved

More information about this work group's aims and process will be available in Summer 2025.

1C.2. Catalogue existing activities that support mental health and well-being, evaluate their efficacy, and determine the support needed to sustain, expand, and/or enhance those activities. (not started)

In order to create a Mental Health and Wellbeing website, many mental health and well-being resources were catalogued and classified according to the student populations served (e.g., all students, undergraduates only, Geisel, Guarini, Thayer, Tuck). Presenting this information on a consolidated student-facing website is a step towards enhancing accessibility of those resources for students.

As of March 2025, any more targeted work on this action is on pause to prioritize other actions in the Commitment to Care strategic plan that pertains to evaluating, sustaining, expanding, and/or enhancing mental health and well-being resources.

1D.1. In partnership with Advance Transit, increase public transit service on weekday evenings and weekends. (completed)

1D.2. Develop a digital resource to aid individuals with mobility limitations in navigating the Dartmouth campus. (in progress)

Dartmouth has updated the campus map to make ADA entrances easier to locate. By clicking on the upper right-hand corner layers icon (which looks like three pieces of paper), users can identify ADA accessible entrances/exits.

Work with Research Computing is underway to create a digital ADA wayfinding app. Using Dartmouth's ESRI (ArcGIS) data, the app will identify accessible route(s) to help users navigate from one point to another.

1D.3. Develop a standardized system for determining how buildings and other prominent campus features are labeled with signage and/or labeled on digital maps to aid in navigating the campus with confidence, independence, and ease. (in progress)

1D.4. Assess safety features in residential facilities, and develop a plan for sequencing identified renovation needs beginning in summer 2024. (in progress)

1D.5. Identify opportunities to increase well-being supportive outdoor features on the Dartmouth campus in Hanover. (in progress)

In Summer 2024, working with the Dartmouth Student Government, Dartmouth installed eight accessible picnic tables around campus, including four picnic tables on the Green.

In Winter 2025, Dartmouth completed renovations to the Collis Center patio, which includes a larger patio surface and improved accessibility for increased student engagement.

Smaller scale examples of increasing well-being supportive outdoor features on the Dartmouth campus in Hanover include, driven by leadership across the campus include:

In August of 2023, Allen and School Houses supported students in creating The Little Green Food Forest and Garden outside The Cube. The project has since grown into a COSO recognized student group with student leadership beyond School and Allen Houses. All fruits, vegetables and herbs are open for picking by the community, in the true spirit of a food forest and community care.
In Summer 2024, John "Jack" Wilson led an Architecture 1 class in creating vertical herb and vegetable gardens for display and community use outside of the Black Visual Arts Center. Students in this class collaborated with the Dartmouth Organic Farm to plan and grow seedlings and then undertook multiple steps to design and build the planters, which stayed on display through the middle of Fall 2024 for the community's use and enjoyment.

Additionally, in 2024, the President's Office increased funding to expand access to no-cost outdoor activities, which vary by season. This makes existing outdoor features and programs accessible to more students. For example:

In Summer 2024, Dartmouth covered the cost of kayak, canoe, and paddleboard rentals for all enrolled students at the riverfront Ledyard facilities and the costs for several undergraduate lifelong sport offerings (e.g., golf, pickleball, fly-fishing).
Starting in Summer 2024, Dartmouth eliminated enrollment fees for swim lessons and has continued to cover this cost for students each term since.
In Winter 2025, Dartmouth expanded funding for a longstanding program that provides no-cost ski equipment rentals and instruction to students with the greatest financial need.
In Winter 2025 and agreement to enhance the mountain bike trails at Oak Hill was completed. This will provide additional opportunities for outdoor recreation, especially at the beginner level.

Furthermore, the Outdoor Programs Office (OPO) was secured funding to cover gear rentals for graduate and professional students. In doing so, OPO saw 78 graduate and professional students rent equipment in the Fall 2024 term, whereas in the past OPO has also opened other resources to all active Dartmouth ID holders (including employees), such as skate rentals at the Dartmouth Outing Club House on Occom Pond.

1E.1. Create and maintain an accessible mental health and well-being website for use by students, staff, faculty, and families. (completed)

In October 2024, Dartmouth launched a mental health and well-being website consolidating information from at least 200 webpages to make it easier for students to identify resources available to them within Dartmouth College and, in some cases, outside of Dartmouth in the nearby community.

This website has been promoted to students via messages from Estevan Garcia, Chief Health and Wellness Officer, and Jennifer Rosales, Senior Vice President for Community and Campus Life, as well as other channels like e-newsletters, the VOX, and the undergraduate admitted students website for the incoming Class of 2029.

Additional work to enhance and maintain the website will occur in 2025.

2A.1. Pilot the StandUp to Hazing training for hazing prevention as a prerequisite for undergraduate student participation in a Greek Organization or Student Society. (completed)

In Fall 2021, with support from student leaders and the Greek Life and Student Societies (GLASS) office, 397 students completed StandUp for Hazing. Based on the favorable results of that pilot project, the GLASS office now requires students to complete the StandUp to Hazing module as a prerequisite for joining a Greek letter organization or student society. Since Fall 2024, 1001 students have completed the module. Additionally, new measures have been implemented to verify that students are up-to-date on their Sexual Violence Prevention Project requirements as a prerequisite for joining these organization.

Beyond this work, in Fall 2024, the Office of Greek Life and Student Societies, together with the Office of Residential Life and the Dean of the College Office, co-sponsored a talk by guest speaker Byron Hurt about the harmful effects of hazing and importance of culture change. This talk was attended by approximately 120 Dartmouth students and other community members.

To build upon these and other hazing prevention efforts, Dartmouth is also working with the Hazing Prevention Consortium and will join its next cohort of institutional members in September 2025. This is a multi-year research-to-practice initiative to support colleges and universities in campus-wide hazing prevention while also helping to build a stronger evidence base for hazing prevention.

Create and fill a prevention and harm-reduction coordinator position within the Student Wellness Center to reduce high risk substance use and interpersonal violence in Dartmouth's social settings. (in progress)

2A.3. Explore improvements to the Alcohol Management Program process that considers the intersectionality between alcohol service, mental health, and violence. (in progress)

A working group of students and staff from multiple departments began review on the Alcohol Management Policy and Program at the end of Winter Term 2025. Recommendations regarding the policy and program are anticipated before or during Summer term, with changes taking effect in Fall 2025.

Other related initiatives include:

Starting in Summer 2023, Dartmouth began offering no-cost seltzer water to undergraduate events registered through the Alcohol Management Program. Typically, Dartmouth provides about 33,000 cans of seltzer water each quarter to registered student organizations that have registered their organizational events for serving alcohol.
In April 2024, Dartmouth's Student Wellness Center hired a curriculum design specialist to further develop the Sexual Violence Prevention Program experience for upper-level students (juniors and seniors), as discussed in Action 3E.1.
In Spring 2024, nursing staff operated a nursing station at the Green Key Block Party. At this station, students could receive nursing advice, hydration, snacks, and sunblock. Choosing non-alcoholic beverages in place of alcohol, hydrating with non-alcoholic beverages to reduce the risk of dehydration, and eating food to slow the rate of alcohol absorption are all evidence-based strategies for reducing the risks associated with alcohol consumption. Nursing staff present at the station could provide these resources and advice to help students make more informed decisions about alcohol consumption and other topics.

Facilitate greater integration of and support for graduate and professional students with diverse lived experiences. (in progress)

In August 2024, Dr. Seun Olamosu joined Dartmouth as the inaugural Director of International Student Experience Office. This role, together with a program coordinator, makes up the newly created International Student Experience team. The Director plays a crucial role in fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for Dartmouth's international student population. With time, the International Student Experience Office will serve as a centralized hub dedicated to advocating for and addressing the needs of international students at all levels. This includes developing resources, programs, and services that support their transition, retention, and overall well-being.

2A.5. With an emphasis on strengthening well-being through more inclusive traditions, conduct stakeholder engagement sessions with students with diverse lived experiences to vet evidence-based practices for potential implementation. (not started)

In 2024, staff at the Student Wellness Center began a structured review of other higher education institutions' websites to identify programs and resources available at other institutions that may have applicability at Dartmouth. Most of the resources identified at other institutions exist in similar or more developed forms at Dartmouth. In light of these findings, further preparatory work to identify and vet evidence-based practices in preparation for stakeholder engagement sessions is on pause while staff address other Commitment to Care actions that are also intended to support the inclusion of all students in enriching Dartmouth experiences.

2B.1. Continue the Unwind Your Mind mental health awareness and resource event each spring, based on pilots in 2022 and 2023. (completed)

Dartmouth again hosted the Unwind Your Mind resource fair in Spring 2024, with participation from numerous student groups (Student Government, Graduate Student Council, SAPA) and campus partners (ASC, Student Life, OPAL, Tucker, Health Service Departments). Approximately 300 Dartmouth students attended.

Additionally, the Dartmouth Counseling Center has begun organizing a smaller-scale resource fair with many of the same partners each fall, with an emphasis on raising awareness of resources for incoming students.

These resources are in addition to many other types of outreach programs that the Counseling Center leads or participates in every year that raise awareness for their resources.

2B.2 Launch an annual intercultural conference to support community-building through diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. (completed)

In October 2023, Dartmouth's first Intercultural Engagement Conference was held, with the theme "Every culture has a story. Every community has a story. Every person has a story."

This conference was open to all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students and was organized by leaders in the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, Geisel Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement, and the William Jewett Tucker Center for Spiritual and Ethical Living. Participants had an opportunity to learn about cultures and communities similar or different from their own, gain skills and insight, and create connections.

Balancing the success of this first conference with the aspirations of the leading offices to deliver other novel and ongoing programming to reach a wide range of students, in the future this conference will be offered every-other year.

2B.3. Establish a memorial location near Rollins Chapel for grieving and reflection. (completed)

2B.4. Pilot programming centered on climate hope as a force of resistance against climate despair. (in progress)

In April 2024, the Office of Sustainability celebrated Dartmouth's $500 million climate commitment with a community dinner that showcased faculty and student leadership addressing climate change.

Also in April 2024, the Office of Sustainability hosted a guest lecture "Falling in Love with Mother Earth: Engaged Mindfulness for a Creative and Spiritual Response to the Climate Crisis" and dinner as part of a weeklong visit by eleven monastics from the Plum Village tradition.

Some other examples of climate hope oriented programming are:

The Office of Sustainability has begun a program of Community Lunches, with the intention of supporting mental health through community connection. These events bring students together to share a meal, in community - without their phones - with the intention of building a community of climate hope.
The Office of Sustainability ran several programs focused on maintaining hope while working on climate and sustainability, including a book club focused on Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's book, What If We Get It Right?

The Office of Sustainability is also setting up a climate hope activity area in its office space.

2B.5. Explore the feasibility of creating a first-year experience well-being education course for all Dartmouth undergraduates to complement new student orientation. (not started)

2C.1. Pilot an interfaith residence community within undergraduate housing as one pathway to equip students to facilitate and connect across differences and respect differing worldviews. (completed)

In 2023, Dartmouth re-launched an undergraduate interfaith Living and Learning Community (LLC) with six first-year residents. In addition to regular interactions with one another as roommates and hallmates, residents participated in termly experiences organized by the Tucker Center. For example, in Spring 2024, members of the Interfaith LLC participated in a photo-voice project, in which they exhibited their photography in the Baker Library.

2C.2. Pilot a program for communal grief processing, for example E-motion. (completed)

In Fall 2023, Hillel piloted the E-motion grief processing program, facilitated by Dartmouth alumna Myra Sack. This movement-based grief group brought together ten students who had experienced life-altering loss. Over the course of ten, 75-minute sessions, students had the opportunity to process their emotions and build community by engaging with E-motion's three core components: a guided grief curriculum, meaningful rituatl and a ten-week walking and/or running program.

Since June 2023, the Tucker Center has provided mentorship to undergraduate student Abigail Burgess '25, who leads a grief processing support group for students experiencing the loss of a loved one. Since Fall 2024, the Tucker Center and Abigail have been developing a transition plan to ensure the peer support group's long-term continuation, under the Tucker Center's continued mentorship.

2C.3. Equip faculty and staff to facilitate and engage in difficult conversations, for example, the Dartmouth Dialogue Project. (in progress)

In March 2025, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to participate in a four-part (20 hour) Dialogue Facilitation Certification program co-hosted by the Constructive Dialogue Institute and the Dialogue Project at Dartmouth. This program is intended to help participants:

Understand the mindsets of constructive dialogue, including humility, curiosity, and a commitment to sustaining conversation amidst deep disagreement.
Learn to plan and facilitate constructive dialogue for students.
Build the confidence and readiness to address and manage tense or controversial situations constructively.

Some other examples of Dartmouth Dialogue Project programming that support faculty and staff in building skills to engage in difficult conversations include:

In January 2024, Dr. Marc Brackett, Founding Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, discussed the intersection of self-awareness and communication as the Dartmouth Dialogues keynote speaker in a talk open to all members of the Dartmouth community.
In October 2024, in partnership with the Dartmouth Center for Advancement of Learning, Dr. Alyssa Hadley Dunn came to campus to work with faculty and staff on topics related to her book Teaching on Days After.
In February 2025, Mónica Guzmán, a journalist known for her work helping people understand each other across political divides, led a workshop for faculty and staff and a public talk open to the general community.
In March 2025, organizational psychologist Adam Grant came to campus to discuss his book, Think Again, which examines the vital art of rethinking and reconsidering.

2C.4 Increase opportunities to promote social connection through the arts. (in progress)

Senior Vice President (SVP) of Community and Campus Life Jennifer Rosales, together with Hopkins Center Director Mary Lou Aleskie and Outdoor Programs Office Associate Director Willow Nielson, have convened a committee of approximately 20 staff and faculty to:

Discuss the opportunities already in operation to promote social connection through the arts and through the outdoors and
Explore opportunities for further growing opportunities

This committee began meeting in February 2025.

Additionally, the Hopkins Center has:

Intentionally integrated wellness and community-building into numerous visiting artist events, such as:
- Dance Heginbotham's You Look Like Fun Guy (Fall 2024), in collaboration with the Sustainability Office, bringing nature-focused performance experiences to Dartmouth on the former golf course and surrounding natural environment
- Violinist Johnny Gandelsman's This is America series, featuring termly concerns (2023-2024) in which audience members were invited to reflect on the meaning of community for them
Continued support for the development and production of the The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist opera, which focuses on healing and community and was originally co-commissioned by the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth and Stanford Live
Continued the Hopkins Center's student workshops (Ceramics, Jewelry, and Woodworking) for hosting individuals and student groups

Meanwhile, the Hood Museum has added:

Prompt-driven participatory activities at many exhibits to promote creativity, personal expression, and connection to self and others
Yoga and meditation sessions in the art galleries, offering groups a shared space for personal practice, community-building, and connection to exhibits
Student Art Lending, which allows students to borrow museum-quality works for their dormitory rooms or other living spaces, bringing art beyond the museum's walls and into the heart of student's daily lives
Greater investment in - and capacity to deliver - several long-standing initiatives:
- Student-designed and student-led programs for fellow Dartmouth students
- Museum Club (student group), which meets weekly at the Hood to socialize, learn, and develop museum experiences and events for their fellow students.
- Collaborations with Dartmouth departments and affinity groups to broaden student access to art and opportunities for dialogue at the museum (e.g., Black Legacy Month Pop Up Exhibition and Dialogue with students in OPAL)

3A.1. Through the Dartmouth Center for Advancement of Learning and the Student Wellness Center, pilot a learning community for faculty discussions and skill-building related to mental health and well-being in the classroom. (completed)

From Fall 2023 through Fall 2024, the Dartmouth Center for Advancement of Learning and the Student Wellness Center convened a faculty learning community on an approximately monthly basis. This learning community was open to any interested faculty member. Attendees has opportunities to process experiences, raise questions, develop awareness, share strategies, and learn practices for supporting their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of their students.

Since Fall 2024, the Dartmouth Center for Advancement of Learning and the Student Wellness Center leaders who convenes this group have been processing the lessons learned through this forum and are working to develop more intentional next steps for supporting faculty in the identified areas.

3A.2. Incentivize faculty and staff participation in effective skill-building training that support high-quality mentoring, advising, and teaching, for example, Universal Design and Motivational Interviewing. (in progress)

The Dartmouth Center for Advancement of Learning (DCAL), in partnership with Learning Design and Innovation, and Student Accessibility Services, continues to offer Universal Design for Learning (UDL) trainings, including its UDL Institute for Dartmouth educators that can be paired with an Accessible Dartmouth Initiative (ADI) course grant, which provides a $1500 stipend for instructors or staff who complete additional steps, supported by a UDL expert, to apply their learning to a course, program, or co-curricular learning experiences. Starting in 2025, DCAL will pilot a new method for faculty and staff to learn about UDL and receive an ADI course grant. In lieu of attending the multi-day UDL Institute, instructors will be able to use ADI's newly published book, Practicing UDL in Higher Education, to develop their knowledge of UDL. Instructors who wish to receive an ADI course grant using the workbook may apply for the grand and complete the other requirements (i.e., consultations, artifact creation, and narrative).

In partnership with the Dialogue Project, the Student Wellness Center added a third Motivational Interviewing training to its 2023 and 2024 calendar, yielding increased faculty and staff participation over the undergraduate spring break. In 2025, the Student Wellness Center staff will continue to offer Motivational Interviewing training, with a frequency to be determined.

3A.3. Educate staff and faculty on the Time Away policy. (in progress)

In September 2023, the new Time Away for Medical Reasons (TAMR) policy was announced to all students, staff, and faculty via email from Provost David Kotz. In addition to providing a link to the relevant policy, that email included a description of the most notable updates to the policy. The new Time Away policy took full effect in January 2024.

Since January 2024, an Office of Time Away website has been built, and information about that office and policy has been communicated with an emphasis on reaching the staff and faculty most closely involved in supporting students taking Time Away from Dartmouth. The Director of Student Time Away, Gary Xia, has presented to staff and faculty, providing education on the office's work and identifying ways to support students taking and returning from Time Away for Medical Reasons (TAMR).

In 2025, the Office of Time Away will continue its work disseminating information about the Time Away policy.

3A.4. Education select staff on grief and related skills for extending support to students and families most affected when a death occurs. (in progress)

In October 2024, Dartmouth hosted two on-campus trainings by Jeff's Place, a nonprofit organization with expertise in grief processing and grief education. Approximately 30 staff attended a two-hour foundational training on grief. Another training was offered for students, with fifteen attending. These trainings were well-received by both employees and students, and as a result, additional trainings will be organized in 2025.

3A.5. Created an online platform that faculty can easily access for guidance on supporting student mental health and well-being. (not started)

Allocating staff expertise toward developing an online mental health educational module under Action 4A.2 and developing a mental health and well-being website for students under action 1E.1 have been prioritized over this action.

Although Action 4A.2 emphasizes training for newly hired employees, the learning module under development will be available to employees already working within Dartmouth, as well.

Once Actions 4A.2. and 1E.1 are both operational, staff can revisit this action to better address gaps that may remain in making mental health guidance more readily available to faculty via online platforms.

3A.6. Educate faculty and staff on the Americans with Disabilities Act and best practices in supporting students. (in progress)

Dartmouth is committed to supporting students with disabilities at all phases of their education. To meet this commitment, Dartmouth has adopted a whole student model of disability supports and resources for undergraduate and Bachelor of Engineering students. In the whole student model, undergraduate and bachelor of Engineering students make disclosures and requests for all aspects of their Dartmouth experience (e.g., academics, dining, housing) to the Student Accessibility Services Office (SAS). This reduces the number of offices a student must work with to receive accommodations and promote greater awareness of the impact a single condition may have for a student.

Additionally, Dartmouth's ADA/504 Coordinator works with graduate students in Guarini, Thayer, and Tuck to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, as well as faculty and staff. The ADA/504 Coordinator has worked with the Disability Access Professionals at each school to ensure consistent application and processes exist for all students.

As noted under Action 3A.2, as part of the Accessible Dartmouth Initiative, the Dartmouth Center for Advancement of Learning (DCAL):

Is training faculty and staff on Universal Design in Learning (UDL) through multiple pathways (e.g., one-time workshops, more intensive institutes)
Has published a workbook on Universal Design in Learning to expand the reach of these practices to more faculty and staff at Dartmouth and beyond.

Through the resources above, faculty and staff engaged with Universal Design in Learning principles and practices that are recognized best practices for supporting students with disabilities. In these contexts, UDL (or components of it) are presented as a toolkit for addressing or reducing barriers to learning for students with disabilities.

Regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it is discussed with the greatest attention in the UDL multi-day institutes, which are held two to three times per year, and in the workbook. Participants learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act at a high level, with goals to:

Raise awareness
Connect students or others with the appropriate offices at Dartmouth (e.g., Student Accessibility Services)
Clarify the nature of accommodations that are required by law.

In shorter offerings, aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act material is incorporated, when appropriate.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Progress Updates on Commitment to Care Strategic Plan

STRATEGY 1A: Center and prioritize mental health and well-being through resources, policies, environments, and curricula.

STRATEGY 1B: Align academics with student mental health and well-being

STRATEGY 1C: Integrate mental health and well-being into the student experience

STRATEGY 1D: Cultivate well-being and safety in the physical environment

STRATEGY 1E: Make information pertaining to mental health and well-being easy-to-find, accurate, accessible, and frequently encountered throughout the physical and virtual environments.

STRATEGY 2A: Reconfigure outdated systems, practices, and paradigms to support mental health and well-being, with attention to diverse experiences.

STRATEGY 2B: Create new traditions that support mental health and well-being, with attention to diver experiences

STRATEGY 2C: Cultivate mutual respect and care.

STRATEGY 3A: Cultivate a well-informed network of staff and faculty trained to support students' mental health and well-being.