Students are encouraged to participate in the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) survey, which has run from Oct. 1-28 and mark the near conclusion of Willamette University's four-year JED Campus initiative.
JED Campus is a signature program of the JED Foundation, designed to guide schools through a collaborative process to develop and implement customized support that builds on existing student mental health, substance use and suicide prevention efforts.
“The intent of a JED Campus Program is that you can build campus-wide community structures that are sustainable,” said Don Thomson, associate dean for health and wellbeing and director of the Bishop Wellness Center. “It’s about systemic, meaningful, lasting change.”
The JED Foundation, a non-profit organization, was founded in 2000 by Phil and Donna Satow after their youngest son Jed died by suicide while in college in 1998. Through their JED Campus program, the Satows have partnered with over 1,200 schools, districts and campuses to raise awareness and provide essential resources to protect young adult mental health and prevent suicide.
To opt into the four-year initiative, Willamette purchased the program for $45,000 and became a JED Campus in August 2021. This was made possible through a generous donation covering the full cost of the program. The donor, who chose to remain anonymous, is a Willamette alum and former board of trustees member.
Thomson credits Lisa Landreman, vice president of student affairs, for helping to secure funding for this initiative. Landreman shared a mutual interest with Thomson regarding the JED Campus initiative after being hired in July 2020. While Thomson was very passionate about the cause, Landreman had prior experience with the initiative after previously working at two other JED campuses.
“JED Campus was something that had been on my radar and I wanted to pursue for a long time, but it was cost prohibitive until we made the case and a donor stepped up,” Thomson said.
Landreman recalled bringing up the JED campus program to the board of trustees as a part of a presentation illustrating her plans and goals for her first 100 days in her role. That caught the attention of one of the board members who later donated the full amount making the purchase possible.
The initiative began with both the Salem and PNCA campuses completing a self-assessment provided by the foundation. Subsequently, a member of the JED Foundation did a campus site visit and evaluation, leading to the launch of the first HMS Survey in November 2021. Thomson explained the survey results weren’t received until several months later due to peak COVID affecting the University of Michigan, the organization that administers the survey and compiles the results report.
The HMS measures a variety of mental health factors among college students: the prevalence of mental health problems, student access to help, how stigma affects mental health, barriers to mental health services, how well students know resources available on campus, how students feel about the mental health resources on campus, sense of belonging on campus, and how the physical space of campus support students’ mental health.
It also uses a variety of tests that allow students the option of a personalized report at the end. The survey includes instruments that measure depression symptoms in the past two weeks, generalized anxiety disorder symptoms in the past two weeks, eating disorders, loneliness, and positive mental health or psychological well-being.
The 2021 HMS results were used to build a 90+ itemized strategic plan aimed to improve the support for students’ well-being and mental health on campus. The plan was implemented with the help of the JED Campus Committee, made up by administrators, like Landreman and Thomson, along with campus faculty, student representatives, and ASWU members. The committee meets at least monthly, and will continue to meet and work together even after the official end date of the initiative, which is the end of the 2024-25 academic year. They hope to sustain the work they have done and make additional improvements based on the results of the second study.
Notably, the first HMS survey had a 37.1% response rate, which according to Thomson was among the highest response rates the University of Michigan received. As they administer the survey and send the formal report, Michigan also compares the responses among other JED campuses. The results of the first HMS were publicly shared and presented to students in various ways and discussed by Thomson with the board of trustees. Currently, the second HMS survey is just below a 20% response rate.
With the program ending at four years, the results from this second assessment will measure the accomplishments of the initiative by comparing the two survey results. Most importantly, it will provide insight into how to sustain the ongoing efforts of improving the mental health and well-being of the campus.
“We need to hear from as many students as possible,” Thomson said. “These results matter in really tangible ways.”