Introducing the College Health Index: A Step Toward Healthier College Campuses

 

Objective

The goal is to introduce legislation that establishes the College Health Index (CHI), a tool housed within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Modeled after the existing CDC School Health Index (SHI) for K-12 schools, the CHI would help colleges improve student health and well-being through data-driven analysis and collaboration with stakeholders.


 

The Problem

Emerging adults, including college students, face unique health challenges, yet colleges lack adequate resources and data to address their needs effectively.

  • Colleges require tools to evaluate and address the health and well-being of their student populations.
  • Without a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses in this area, institutions struggle to allocate resources and implement effective health initiatives.

A solution is needed: a framework that allows colleges to assess their health operations and create healthier, more supportive campuses.


 

How the College Health Index Can Help

The CHI would serve as an evidence-based assessment tool for colleges to evaluate their health and safety policies and programs. With this information, institutions could:

  • Boost academic success by improving students’ learning capacity.
  • Address behavioral health needs more effectively.
  • Reduce substance use, including alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
  • Enhance campus safety.
  • Promote class attendance and participation.
  • Foster social and emotional skills, such as self-regulation, communication, and problem-solving.
  • Raise awareness and gain support for health initiatives across campus communities.

 

How CHI Would Work

Similar to the CDC’s School Health Index (SHI), the CHI would be:

  • Research-Based: Built on CDC guidelines for college and young adult health programs, identifying effective policies and practices to reduce health risks.
  • Accessible: Available as an interactive online tool or a downloadable, printable version.
  • Confidential: Completely private and easy to use.

The CDC would collaborate with organizations to promote the CHI as a tool for colleges to evaluate and improve their health and well-being initiatives.


 

The Solution

Helping colleges self-assess their health programs is a practical and impactful step toward improving student success and well-being. By establishing the College Health Index, colleges can identify areas for improvement, allocate resources effectively, and implement policies that support healthier student populations.

This initiative would provide colleges with the insights and tools they need to foster healthier, safer, and more academically successful campuses.

 

College Health Index Frequent Questions and Answers

What would a College Health Index (CHI) look like?

The College Health Index (CHI) would be an online self-assessment and planning guide for colleges. It would be built on the CDC’s research-based guidelines for college health programs that identify the policies and practices most likely to be effective in reducing health risk behaviors among young adults and other college student populations, such as veterans.

The College Health Index (CHI) would enable colleges to:

  • Identify strengths and weaknesses of their health and safety policies and programs
  • Develop action plans for improving student health, which can be incorporated into their campus policies
  • Engage professors, students, and the community in promoting health-enhancing behaviors and better health

As the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already houses the School Health Index (SHI) for K-12 schools, this agency possesses the appropriate expertise to house and manage a CHI. The existing SHI is an online self-evaluation and planning tool for K-12 schools that helps them identify strengths and weaknesses within their health and safety policies, and it is operated by the CDC. Originally developed as a school nutritional assessment tool, the SHI has evolved over the past twenty years to account for and assess the holistic health policies of K-12 schools across the country. ACHA envisions that the potential CHI could be implemented similarly to the SHI, thereby allowing institutions of higher education to assess their on-campus well-being policies.

 

Will it cost colleges money to implement the CHI?

We envision that CHI materials, like those currently used with the SHI, would be available free of charge. As such, the main cost associated with the CHI is the time and energy of the team assembled to do the evaluation and complete the survey. Upon completion of the health action plan stemming from the CHI, the college may need to identify and prioritize resources to implement the plan.

For activities that might require some funding, the college can use their CHI results to apply for grants, obtain money, or receive donated resources/time from community organizations, local businesses, state agencies, etc.

The CHI would be provided free of charge to institutions of higher education; however, to establish the first set of modules, we envision an authorization of $500,000 of the CDC’s existing funds should be sufficient.

 

Does the college campus have to report their results from the CHI to the CDC?

No. Like the current SHI, we envision that the CDC would not ask a campus to report their scores. The CHI is a self-assessment process, and the data would not be meant to be reported to outside agencies for comparison.

 

Will a college campus be punished if they score poorly on the CHI?

Again, like the SHI, we see the CHI as being a tool to help the institution determine its strengths and weaknesses solely for self-improvement. Individual scores would not be available to the public unless the institution decides to make them available.

 

How frequently should a college campus complete the CHI?

Like the SHI, we anticipate that the CDC would recommend that colleges complete the CHI annually.

 

Why does establishing a CHI matter?

The CHI would allow colleges to use an evidence-based assessment to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their school’s health and safety policies and programs.

 

Why would the CDC house the CHI?

The CDC already has existing programs and modules that could be repurposed to create a CHI. These programs include the School Health Index (SHI), which is a well-being self-evaluation tool for K-12 schools, and the Worksite Health ScoreCard, which is a well-being assessment tool for employers.

 

Is there organizational support for the establishment of a CHI?

The following organizations have endorsed the introduction of legislation that would establish a CHI for assisting the higher education community:

  • ACPA-College Student Educators International
  • Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD)
  • Active Minds
  • Association of College Unions International
  • Association of College and University Housing Officers-International
  • NODA-Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher Education
  • NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation