Follow the steps listed here.
Read the framework document, identify a campus lead (it may be you!), download the reviewer worksheet, and assemble a team.
We recommend at least 3 and no more than 10 people. Part of the process involves relationship building, so keep the group small but focused.
It depends on your capacity and the time of year. A smaller team (3-5 people during a slower part of the academic year) could complete it in 2-4 weeks, whereas a larger team (6-9 people during a busier part of the academic year) may need 4-6 months.
There is no set time limit but do consider your colleagues’ capacity and the timing.
We recommend revisiting the inventory roughly every three years, but there are no requirements.
Once you receive your scores, identify a few areas within the component/s you’d like to see change.
Consider campus interests, strategic priorities, dose and reach, and alignment with existing goals.
Then, set SMART objectives that work for your campus.
Remember that this isn’t about comparing yourself with other campuses; instead, it’s about building campus capacity for focused systems change.
You could use it in a press release, as part of email signatures, and/or on your website.
The logo can also be included on any reports for campus partners that are prepared as a result of the inventory.
Access the Healthy Campus Community in ACHA Connect to find other campuses engaged with Healthy Campus and to share progress.
You can adjust your email preferences by going to your profile image in the top-right corner of the ACHA Connect>Profile>My Account> Community Notifications. From there, you can set your preferences through the dropdown under “Discussion Email.”
Need help getting started with ACHA Connect or adjusting your settings and preferences? See the guides and videos posted here.
Having goals and objectives is important to the work of health promotion, and the Healthy Campus objectives were an instrumental part of our efforts for over 30 years.
However, as part of the reimagining process, we got feedback that moving the proverbial needle felt impossible and some health promotion professionals felt unfairly judged based on the objectives.
A narrow focus on the objectives also prevented some campuses from responding to emergent issues that weren’t reflected in the objectives, such as vaping and food insecurity.
We believe that the process of setting objectives is key to doing the work of changing campus culture, but we want to empower campuses to set their objectives rather than have objectives set at the national level.
You can find more information about setting objectives here.
One of the strengths of the new version of the Framework is that it’s designed for a campus of any size with any capacity.
Complete the inventory to see where you stand and use the results to advocate for additional resources and to set objectives.
We can also help connect you to comparably sized or resourced campuses so you can see what strategies they use.
There are a lot of great models for health promotion on college campuses, and we pulled inspiration from many of them in designing the new Framework.
Consider your institutional strategic priorities, what issues are most prominent on your campus, and which topics your stakeholders or leaders are most energized by.
Consider creating a pros and cons list for each of the models to compare and contrast.
You may find that multiple models will help get you to where you want to be or may fit into different parts of the process.
It may be helpful to review your campus strategic plan as you work on the inventory, or as the group discusses their scores.
Take this time to evaluate what support you might need, what champions you still have on your team, and brainstorm others you could cultivate.
See if you can get members of your coalition or team on the hiring committee for the open position, attend open candidate forums, or submit questions for candidates through Human Resources.
Provide feedback on the candidate/s whom you think could be a future champion for your efforts.
Once the position has been filled, try to meet with your new colleague soon after they start working to tell them about how you partnered with their position previously, and how you’d like to partner again in the future.
If the champion’s position has been reorganized or eliminated, consider if other colleagues at comparable levels of influence could serve as champions. Ask your remaining team if they have existing relationships with administrators they could reach out to.
No, this group could serve as the “core structure” organization for your efforts if it’s still functioning as needed. See the Framework for more on core structures.
If the group is no longer functioning as intended, this could be an opportunity for a reset. The Healthy Campus Inventory might be the path needed to re-energize this work on your campus.
Great question. Please review the Healthy Campus Framework to understand the distinction between each.
These are not hierarchical and campuses will have varying scores in each.
As long as your campus is working towards creating a healthier campus, you will be working on all of these priority areas.
Infrastructure is the basis for health promotion work. Very little can happen on your campus without a strong infrastructure on which to build systems change.
The scores serve as a benchmark to help you self-assess where your campus is and where you want to be.
Scores help highlight both strengths and areas for growth. Most but not all campuses will score highest in Cornerstone and lowest in Culture since it involves systems-level work that many campuses are not yet equipped to do
