‘stressing’ academic success when life gets in the way

‘STRESSING’ ACADEMIC SUCCESS WHEN LIFE GETS IN THE WAYA Day of Conversations Leading to Actionable Solutions

Survey Evaluation

METHODS

Surveys were sent via email to those attending the forum. Qualtrics was used for developing the survey 159 surveys were sent and 87 responded- Response Rate 53%

LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT

Rate your level of engagement throughout the day.

STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS

I strengthened relationships across campus at the event.

GENERATING IDEAS

The day generated strategies that I believe will lead to student success.

THE PROCESS

The process (i.e. discussions at the tables, moving to different tables, organizing by idea categories) that was facilitated by the staff from the Art of Participatory Leadership was essential to accomplishing the goals of the day.

MEETING EXPECTATIONS

To what extent did the forum meet your expectations?

COMMENTS ABOUT ENGAGAMENT

The rotation of groups worked well.

The conversations beginning with 4 individuals were an excellent format to bring out different viewpoints and toss variations of them back and forth. This lead to even greater engagement as the conversation focused in larger groups in the afternoon. Changing groups throughout increased engagement as new ideas and viewpoints were encountered.

Art of Hosting is not an effective way of getting anything done. There are elements of it that can work, but it needs to be retooled.This was a very active day. I did a lot of listening and some sharing of ideas. There were some slower times (like just after lunch).

I thought the afternoon sessions were less organized than the morning session. There could have been more explanation in the beginning.

COMMENTS ABOUT ENGAGEMENT

I appreciated the opportunities to keep moving throughout the day. Met a lot of great people and had rich conversations.strong anticipation that something concrete will be created for moving forwardI am very interested in student mental health; but it was hard to sustain energy and focus this long.World Cafe i to IV is amazing to approach for team work for all of us to work together. It is neat to use phone voting but make sure it is accessible for everyone to use.

I had lots of hope and excitement going into the campus discussion on mental health, however, my level of engagement dwindled by the end of the day because it was apparent that the "solutions" that were being discussed did not address the complex nature of mental health and put the responsibility of "solving" the problem back on the student instead of really looking at systematic change to address the situation. The focus became about "well-being" related to working out, alleviating stress and eating healthy instead of the effects mental health has on a students daily experience (depression, relationships, etc).


Day was a bit longer than needed. Energy was quite low by the end. I think a half day retreat like this (and for this purpose) would be sufficient.I appreciated the fact that the activities were very interactive.Felt less engaged after lunch. It seemed their were so many options and points of view that it was difficult to stay engaged.I really appreciated the facilitation model, and the breakout activities during break sessions.My engagement started at a high level. However, by mid-afternoon I was spent. Perhaps a shorter time frame would have worked better.This was a long day of intense engagement - I would have appreciated more opportunity to reflect between brainstorming sessions.I have found that I have higher engagement in smaller groups. This is why I put a 3.Unfortunately I had to leave at lunch. The morning conversations were amazing. The questions created enough tension to keep me (and I think others with whom I was in conversation) on my growing edge. Loved the World Cafe format too! Too many opening remarks. I didn't get to contribute actively until almost...what was it...about an hour into the day?Good format for engagement.It was a long long day. And that made it difficult to sustain energy and engagement during the process.


I could only participate for the morning session. I enjoyed it and was impressed with the active participation of the whole group.Cafe chats brought information of immediate value to different ones in the cafe chats...Great conversations with folks at the tables.My mental energy started to wane at about the 3rd world cafe. I'm happy that the 4th didn't happen. It is not that I wasn't engaged, it just got to be a long day. :)Was very high at the beginning but dwindled throughout the day.It was very difficult to get be enaged as I desired. However, I was very present and aware of the topics we were asked to discuss.I think there was a lot of giving- should be balanced with some receiving- I suppose it depends on who was in each group.The idea of having representatives from around campus come together was good. However, there was little time to really get to know the staff there and what precisely they do for the students they work with.Good job at making it interactive.

The structure of the day's activities made it easy to become engaged and stay engaged.

COMMENTS ABOUT STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS

I made new connections and realized some old connections have an impotant mental health focus.I already had a call from someone fron round one.I ended up leaving early. I tried Art of Hosting through OIT, Portal, and several other places across campus, and sometimes it works and others it is a mess.I made new relationships and after the event I'll work on strengthening them. Great networking.I met some new people at this event. I don't often have the opportunity to speak with other staff that care this much about students. It was really nice to network.It would have been nice to see more students present.disjointed because had numerous break out sessionsGood to see a great mix of STAFF people there, where were the faculty? Isn't this the "Provost's" Committee?


Meeting and talking with the staff, the few students, and fewer faculty were the highlight of this retreat.I look forward to future workshops or presentations related to mental health issues.That will depend on how much I follow-up with people I met.Many of the people in attendance were the "familiar faces" that I have come to know. I was wishing more faculty/instructors/TAs were in attendance, and more students.I was a little disappointed to hear about some of the perspectives campus employees had about academic advisors and the work they do with students. There seems to be some common misconceptions.Not sure if this question is asking if I made stronger relationships across campus for myself or others.I very much appreicated conversations I had with others and learning to know new people and resources otherwise unknown to me. I was not always sure the conversations we had were focused on the goals of the event, however.It was great to get key stakeholders from across the U of M involved in this event. I was surprised how little we all seemed to know about each other's efforts.I was able to meet staff from offices I have frequent contact via email/phone but never in-person. It was nice to meet the staff face-to-face and have a conversation about our shared interest of mental health.Good to put faces to names.


Talking cross units on the same topic is useful. We aren't all things to all people and shouldn't be, but we should be strong in knowing where to refer people, we should have a repository or a punch list of generalized topical knowledge about what our system-wide works on -strengthening each other where and when we can.

I left the workshop meeting a few people that I know I will keep in touch with. It was great.

There were a couple of people that introduced themselves to me beause we have spoken by phone and I did the same. However, other than this there was not any connections.

It was a pleasure to see so many engaged colleagues at all levels of the University concerned about the topic of mental health for our students. It was essential that our higher level leaders at the U continue being present for this issue in these type of conversations.Met several new people.

COMMENTS ABOUT GENERATING IDEAS

The most popular strategies also showed the group wisdom for what to prioritize as well as the support that these initiatives would have.I really would have liked to see more students at the event, and at least one student present at every table discussion throughout the day. I think the students' insight and perspective is extremely important, and unfortunately I think it got missed or lost in some of the table discussions and strategizing. I also would like you to pose the question we all voted on at the end of the day (perhaps with a brief description of each category) to a broader group of students to see what they indicate as their top choice for strategy and get their ideas for next steps. I have a feeling the result may be different from what emerged as the top choice amongst those who participated in the event, and I'd like the next steps to be informed by a larger group of students. I suggest hosting a similar event for students sometime in the fall when more students will be on campus; I think that more students might have been able/willing to participate if it wasn't after finals when many of them have already left campus for the summer.I talked with people who stayed for the entire day, and they were very disappointed. Forcing students to take a class is not a bold idea, and will only add stress to our students current situation.


Don't agree or disagree

I think some of the ideas are good. However, I know that not many students attended. I spoke to some of the student employees in my department and none of them received any sort of invite to this event. There really is no PERFECT time of year to have this event, but I think if more students knew about it and were told about the value of attending, there would have been more students there on Monday. Perhaps aiming at student groups and teams would be effective. The students who did attend voiced that they didn't feel heard at this event. For example, when staff would say "Let's require a course" and the students would express that they already had full schedules, and the staff would brush this off. It appeared that the staff didn't really appreciate what students were saying.


I think some of the ideas are good. However, I know that not many students attended. I spoke to some of the student employees in my department and none of them received any sort of invite to this event. There really is no PERFECT time of year to have this event, but I think if more students knew about it and were told about the value of attending, there would have been more students there on Monday. Perhaps aiming at student groups and teams would be effective. The students who did attend voiced that they didn't feel heard at this event. For example, when staff would say "Let's require a course" and the students would express that they already had full schedules, and the staff would brush this off. It appeared that the staff didn't really appreciate what students were saying.

In the future, it would be great if there were a predetermined process to follow up on the ideas generated from the event. While I think there were a lot of great ideas presented, I'm unsure of how they will be dealt with in the future.

I was disappointed that the strategies pretty much entirely focused on developing NEW programs and initiatives, rather than finding ways to integrate knowledge about mental health issues and how they impact student success into all existing U of M programs and initiatives. I was also disappointed that we spent a lot of time focusing on the defecits students with mental health issues face and how to reduce barriers without talking about ability privilege, and the power and responsibility we as staff and faculty have in terms of recognizing the ways that systems like racism, classism, ageism, ableism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, etc. all contribute to our students' mental health issues. The absence of any discussion of privilege and oppression was a HUGE problem for me.

our solution was to add a mandatory class to the roster. How is that supposed to decrease stress?


Some ideas too esoteric, others not well developed. Without student and faculty voices these are simply just good ideas.Some of the better ideas seemed to have been burried by the process.I think required course for freshmen and newly transfer students is a great idea for ALL students to have the exposure to understand the mental health issues as it will be familiar to them rest of their lives in UMN and afterwards.Per my previous comments, I think the strategies were very weak and not creative, nor realistic given the constraints of our institution. Creating a required course is not going to fly with the colleges-students don't need more credit hours. Peer mentor programs already exist-creating one specifically to discuss mental health creates a model where one is expected to be an "expert" on the topic and an additional opportuntity that would pull students in multiple directions. I was looking for a strategy that would be more systematic, that would alleviate challenges students face daily and change our culture around addressing mental health-getting away from it being about the "other" person and being able to share our own stories of how we can be a better institution if people are allowed to be more open with their struggles and successes.I had to leave early. Not sure what was decided.


Some good ideas, but I don't know that we produced any real "outside the box" initiatives. Classes, faculty training, peer support...all area ideas that have been considered or are current in process/use.

I felt like the outcome was a standard answer that we come to all of the time "a mandatory course". Those of us who have been on campus for a while know how challenging it is for some colleges to incorporate more content into already overloaded majors. And some of those students in thos colleges need it the most! (CSE and Design to name two!)

I think strategies were generated, but it is very unclear what is next. Who is implementing these strategies? Why did we vote on mental health strategies when we are clearly not the experts and voting is not a scientific method of solution?

I think people seemed to gravitate to very tangible things that may not be as helpful as some other challenges. I'm not convinced a mandatory expectation is feasible, possible or helpful.

I think that incorporating a health and wellness requirement into our academic plans makes a strong statement about the value that the U of M places on wellness. I also think the idea about experiential faculty and staff training is very important.Strategies will require additional follow-up and collaboration across campus in order to lead to student success.


As long as there is some actual follow up on the strategies that were suggested.From what I heard, this is true. I heard there were a lot of great ideas - whether or not the chosen vote "winners" will be the strategies that are "best" for the U, I don't know. But there was no shortage of ideas - which I bet was the idea. :)Only 'agree' because of the lack of faculty (and academic advisor) presence at the conference. This is a conversation that needs to happen again and again, at all levels, in order to result in (more) student success.I am really disappointed that people voted the most for the required student course. I felt that in an attempt to be "bold" we ended up putting energy behind an idea that is static and old and has been done before with little effect. I think the more important ideas to pursue are around faculty/staff training in interventions with mental health and streamlining services.I hope that the ideas generated are moved forward by administration, and I hope that a process is started to work on some of the larger ideas that may be more complexThere were definite possibilities for student success, but it comes down to implementation and offered programs, assistance and general state of the university operations. I believe it is a mistake to not include the whole campus in some of these issues as it seems the final success depends on a broader idea of a healthy campus.Some of the changes I believe need to start in the home and at a younger age.


There were some great ideas for initiatives at the University level however I am not sure what strategies I am able to implement in my day to day or even semester to semester work.

I don't believe the winning strategy of mandatory mental health class for freshman will make a real difference. I believe streamlining MH services would be more effective in making access to care easier for the students.

Possibly. To address prevention and wellness. I felt that ways to specifically address mental health concerns and how to work with other departments directly to help the student were not focused on.If these strategies are actualized-yes, than they will.Students must also take responsibility for self-care that leads to success.I had to leave early in the afternoon, but hoped to get back for the final session. I got delayed and when I arrived the session had wrapped up. I am hoping I can fid the strategies/recommendations posted somewhere.Hard to say...wish there was a "neutral" choice.....

COMMENTS ON THE PROCESS

This process allowed for everyone to have a voice and all ideas to be heard. I can't image the same group achieving the same amount of work in this time period in a more traditional format such as passing a mike around to those who wanted to speak or a conversation with a smaller group of individuals in a more traditional committee meeting.

I don't necessarily agree or disagree with this. In some ways, I think it was valuable, but in others not. I think it might have been more effective if someone from the Art of Participatory Leadership had facilitated each of the table discussions during the afternoon, instead of participants. While some did a very nice job facilitating and recording everyone's thoughts, some didn't and instead seemed very focused on their own ideas/agenda.

I believe the process utilized in the second half of the day really helped us accomplish the goals of the day. I didn't find the process utilized in the first half the day to be essential to accomplishing goals.It seems like we were given only a few seconds to process that there was a line on the table (don't talk to anyone on the other side), have a conversation but then decide who is staying, and "oh by the way" that person has to stay there the rest of the day. Hard to hear with the microphone. Could have printed out all those instructions and had it on the table. The facilitators seemed to be flying by the seats of their pants.This was very interesting. I liked the world cafe style of brainstorming. Student mental health is a big big ontaking though. It would take several days to really hash out any one of the many ideas created that day.There was too much moving, however, which proved very tiring for many of us.


This strucure, I think, didn't help us think outside the box very much. Instead, I went to several different tables and was frustrated by the lack of discussion around privilege and oppression and the ways oppressive systems exacerbate or even cause some of our students' mental health struggles, and go to be the only one saying anything like that about 10 times, instead of just 1 time in front of the whole group. I found the day to be pretty frustrating overall.way too rigid

In the afternoon when it came to generating the actionable ideas, too much time was spent shuffling around and reintroducing each topic (and table members). This left too little time to actually address the issue at hand in much detail. Some folks liked to talk too much and re-identify the problem rather than to use the limited time and develop a strategy.

I may be in a minority, but I was not a fan of this process, which I think probably sounded good in theory. I attended a retreat earlier this year to create change and had a somewhat similar process but started with establishing criteria by which the valude of the ideas would be judged and ended with applying the criteria and had fewers re-gropus, and it was more effective.great way to include many people to participate as much as they can be allowed. One thing: when the announcer says "five minutes left or two minutes left" that is good but do not talk after that as it is annoying that our group want to continue discussing the issues instead of us deciding to listen to the announcer for other information other than how minutes left OR ignore the announcer and continue discussing.


I appreciate the intent of participatory leadership and at first thought it was a great way to bring out ideas and help people make connections. However, it soon became apparent that the baseline for how people understood mental health and awareness of current programs/services was greatly varied therefore the results ended up being less creative and repetitive for what already takes place on campus. I did like the afternoon where the bold ideas were grouped and then discussed-it was an effective way of auctioning ideas-I just was disappointed in the ideas as a whole. Additionally the process favored extroverts and was overwhelming to some. I know some people left because they couldn't handle the constant discussion and moving around-a perfect example of how we don't always take into consideration where people are coming from (ie-their mental health, what individual needs are, their level of knowledge, etc) when we plan our events and activities (or create programs and systems) to be able to best engage them in the conversation.

The people who accepted the role of the Topic facilitators during the afternoon sessions were not up to the task. One facilitator spent the majority of our work time telling us why she didn't agree with the previous groups' conversation, the other person had little to no facilitation skills.


I think the process was a helpful start but I started to lose the focus on mental health as it pertains to the desire for people to learn about or overcome the stigma of mental illness. At many or most of my table conversations, it was more about how to make the work environment for staff more pleasing and/or comfortable.It helped me engage in conversations with people I didn't know and I felt that everyone's ideas were shared. I also liked that feedback was taken in different ways, so that people could write ideas if they preferred to communicate in that way.Great format for dialogue and keeping questions and thoughts fresh.New to the concept, so don't know how totally effective it was. It felt good, though!

Later in the day the moving seemed to be counter productive to creating a cohesive idea

I found once we got going there could have been less interruption of telling how much more time we had. Maybe have a big clock image in the room and someone moving the time to 10 more minutes. I also found introductions taking up a lot of time. I suggested that we dispense with that in later groups and just jump in and when we spoke to quickly say who we were and our unit because most of us work on a laundry list of things and sometimes its not practical to know all that we do in these cafe chats. It did give us more time to dig into the question. However, those sessions did seem short for how many were around the table in discussion. Either make more groups or lengthen the time if there are more than 10-12 at a table. (You need some flexible table leaders who on the spot split tables.)


The wisdom we each took from the day depended who was at each table and who took (and was allowed) to take up space. A couple times I was in small groups where white women dominated and were not inclusive of others at the table. Those small world cafe times were not helpful and some of us in the group tried to interrupt and redirect but it was very difficult. A heavier hand from facilitators to demonstrate knowledge around the topic or insert context would be appreciated.

It was a bit disorganized, table leaders weren't necessarily able to guide the conversation from the first talk into the next one in a coherent way, so at times there was a lot of confusion

Too much time moving from table to table. You walked into someone elses ideas and could not develop your own.

We moved around too many times and some of the facilitators did not seem prepared..Yes, do more of this.!

I think their participation was very helpful in helping us accomplish our goals for the day.

HIGH POINTS

President Kaler's appearance. This demonstrated support of the event from the very top and recognition of stress and mental health as being significant issues to be addressed in any approach to improving stress. Final real time vote on major strategies. Provided a sense of acheivement.

brainstorming format open ended discussionI loved being required to sit with people that I did not know and make across campus connections.

- hearing students' stories & seeing videos of their bold ideas - hearing students' input at tables, their perspective on some of the strategies being discussed

Opening speeches because they set the tone well and shared all the great work already being done. I also enjoyed the first afternoon discussion brainstorming ideas to implement one of the bold ideas.

The action-oriented process of discussing a bold idea and creating action steps was the high point for me because it was action oriented.

You brought a lot of people together that seem to care about this issue. You also got executive sponsorship and participation. That's a great start for any University initiative.

HIGH POINTS

1) Coming together with colleagues across the U to focus on student mental health. 2) Some good brain-storming occurred.

Hearing the student's story Art of Harvesting facilitation Loved therapy chicken

Stakeholders from Boynton and UCCS present. Engaged activities.

1. Meeting new people from across disciplines, especially the executives from Boynton and other areas of campus. I appreciated them being there. 2. Hearing the creative ideas from different people. I never would have thought of some of the ideas.

Meeting others from across the university because it is good to connect with others who share similar concerns about the students.

Meeting providers/staff we've heard of, or spoken with over the phone, but had never met.

HIGH POINTS

Very good set up to facilitate discussion among a large number of people who might not know each other. Very conscientious use of time, i.e. a lot of discussion and work time was fit in to the dayLaughing yoga and the first world eventBringing in PAWS was a high point because it showed staff & faulty that the University is willing to be creative with mental health solutions.

Meeting different connection with various departments and voicing my opinion on mental health concerns. As a student I felt as though much of the staff appreciated my input.

The initial discussions in the morning because they allowed participants to begin to think about ideas to support student mental health.The student speakers at the opening and the world cafe conversationsHigh points were meeting with the faces behind the names of the different departments. Learning about more resources as well as some of the limitations of the resources.beginning presentations, first break out groupSeeing all the different health care provides from across campus was excellent, this type of collective sharing needs to happen more often. There was a high degree of energy and optimism, at least in the morning.

HIGH POINTS

1) Talking with a group that included students and staff about ideas for students mentoring students. It is great to hear student ideas, but students often have no idea of what is realistic, and the mix is nice for idea development. Also this group of staff is very student focused. 2) Getting to move and switch groups.3 Rounds of ProAction Cafe concept and World Cafe concept

A major success was getting the support from President Kaler and other top administrators to be at the table and supportive of the conversation. It was exciting to see them kickoff the morning. It was also exciting to see so many people ready to engage in the conversation.

Getting to know others on campus.The whole day was well conceived and well implemented. Get people from other places to show up.People genuinely brought good energy to the table(s), and that was motivating. The morning session, where we brainstormed ideas, was more beneficial than the second half of the day (i.e., which seemed to focus more on logistics).discussionThe rotating tables and all the visual elements.I enjoyed moving around to different tables in the morning and building on ideas.Hands-on materials at the tables and mapping out our ideas for easy implementation.

HIGH POINTS

Making people change tables to increase the opportunity for networking. Intro by President Kaler to stress his personal belief that mental health is a priority.Statements from the two students at the beginning. Learning more about the Rothenberg InstituteThe second half sessions where people got to go to a specific table/topic and really generate some concrete ideas for moving that solution forward.

I liked narrowing down the bold ideas into a practical idea that could be implemented. It was great to hear comments from people in the group who work with students, staff, and faculty in various settings. I also liked the therapy dogs and Woodstock!

I loved interacting with so many different staff across the university system. The tables were a great idea! Loved the interactive activities between the morning sessions.Laughter Yoga Networking -- Being able to talk to UCCS and Boynton professionals about what they are seeing in their offices.enegry around mental health1) Making professional/personal connections across campus 2) Arriving at concrete action strategies

HIGH POINTS

I enjoyed the first two world cafes. They got people from different areas talking and shed some light on the different stakeholders and approaches to student mental health.Developing a list of ideas for change. Meeting others from all different areas at the UM.I really enjoyed the conversations I had with different staff from around the university re: hearing about their jobs, how they function in their role, how that relates to mental health, what brought them there that day.I liked the World cafe and coming up with "bold" ideas.Multiple ways to contribute to the dialogue - at tables, on wall displays, Twitter.1. Meeting and connecting with people from other offices and departments 2. Identifying possible solutions1. Hearing the simliarities of discussion across the board - it sounds like many of us are on the same page. 2. The dogs - it was good to get some non-human validation.Getting to meet other people from around campus that I've communicated with but have never met. The few students who were there were fabulous.Having a chance to talk in some depth with people across campus regarding student well-being Sharing the ideas generated by the tables.Brainstorming ideas interaction with other staff members that are dealing with the same types of issues

HIGH POINTS

World Cafe sessions were effective ways to generate ideas and gain buy-in. Break time activities (laughter yoga, peacock feathers, PAWS) demonstrated easy, fun, and engaging ways to reduce stress.Bold idea generation before the lunch break Flushing out those bold ideas after lunch to create action plansMeeting other like or similarly minded individuals concerned fundamentally with student wellness and postive adjustment to university learning.

1.Being able to meet with the other participants from different departments at the U of M. 2. Being given the opportunity to meet with our department outside of the work environment.

early on questions which brought on a variety of ideas, almost brain-storming (needed a place of usefulness that ideas were collected.)abilty to share my ideas rather than be lectured to feedback during day helped me believe action would take placeMeeting the different staff from across the campus.

Moving from table to table and meeting new people Placing our wishes on the "ripple" visual

Meeting colleagues from across campus. The student video was so informative and captivating.

I enjoyed moving from table to table because I got to meet so many different people and learned about University offerings I wasn't previously familiar with. I enjoyed watching the signers.Nothing!

HIGH POINTS

talking with colleagues from across campus and finding out more about their roles (this was positively served by the discussion topic--if it had just been "networking" we wouldn't have gotten to know each other as comfortably) finishing early--it was exhausting

I really liked the format and that you "forced" us to move around and connect with others. It was very beneficial to hear from a variety of people and roles.Students sharing their stories Opportunity to interact with colleagues across the campusThe World Cafe format and questions. Discussions at the World Cafe.Meeting new people; having stimulus questions that were helpfulSeeing the engagement of higher level administrators in the discussion. Being able to meet so many different people working with this key issue in student services.

Moving from table to table...was good to just meet new people, here what others thought.

The global cafe process (I think that i what it is called.) helped me meet new people and to hear the prospectives on mental wellness that I may not have considered before.

meeting others in that are committed to similar goals of student success

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

More representation by faculty and students. Students because they are the most likely to need assistance and have insights regarding what approaches would appeal to them. Faculty because we need a broad approach and facult participation in crucial to meet our goal. More emphasis on what the next steps are at the end and appeal for continued invovlement. Need both to keep the momentum going.

some (if not all) seemed to have some bias toward other categories of people ("students," "staff," "faculty," etc) interconnectedness of those categories, of units, etcThere should have been some food in the morning.

I felt kind of pressured and put on the spot to record a video. I think that should have remained completely voluntary. Some of the big questions posed in the morning were a bit too vague, and the instruction for the afternoon activity could have been a bit clearer prior to round 1. Unfortunately, I think some voices and ideas got lost due to the structure of the day or the way the afternoon was facilitated.

Some of my small group discussions were not very valuable, but others were inspiring. I don't know that anything could be done to improve this.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

I think the day could have been much shorter. I am not sure that the first half of the day was overly beneficial. Brainstorming is often beneficial but I am not sure all the time devoted to it was necessary. Lunch also could have been much shorter. I could have done without the Ripples of Action. Because the focus all day was on campus mental health, the brief focus on ourselves seemed out of place at the end.

This whole idea of "seeing what bubbles up" is so odd. These kinds of events just separate out the introverts from the extroverts. Those with dominate opinions take over, whether you like it or not. There is a personality type that this event works for, but it is not a great way to connect a larger University community around a topic.

cont breakfast snacks1) The process was tiring over the course of the day, especially for an introvert like me. 2) The change of plan for the afternoon agenda was less clear to me and seemed a tad cumbersome.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

There were some missing voices from the conversations, namely, staff that work with students of color. I think there should be more intentionality about who is invited instead of just receiving a mass email.Where were the folks who work with students on an everyday basis (ie. faculty, more academic advisors, etc)? Breakfast.1. More faculty could be there. There is already a divide between faculty and the rest of the university. 2. Some how reign in the number of ideas to maybe 5 or 6 and hash out the approaches a little more. I think we left feeling like "Now what? That's still a lot of information to turn into action."1. Not everyone was able to vote. A different voting procedure should be considered. 2. The outcome. I don't see how a class is a bold idea and I question its effectiveness. 3. Increase representaion of people of color in the videos.It was exhausting to keep moving, though I think we should keep about 70% of the table shifts.Follow up after the event about outcomes or strategies that the group had identified for moving forward so attendees get a concrete sense of what was accomplishedRecylcing food and taking the word success outThere could have been more clarity around where the top idea would be brought & having more students.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

I would have liked more facilitation of how departments can work together. I also would have liked to know, in closing, how the ideas generated would be put into action.The second part of the day was helpful and difficult in some ways. I felt as though moving to each table didn't allow for the depth of conversation and relied heavily on the gifts of the table facilitator in explaining the previous conversations. At the same time, it was helpful to add feedback to each idea and hear others ideas and feedback.List of peoples names, function and department contact information. Food.a discussion of mental health within the context of oppressive systems and how they play out on campus is necessary if this is to happen again.

define the problem!! this was majorly lacking. the goal is yes to move around but too any times had to do this, would get on an idea then have to break up again. we invited students however their voices were not heard. too formal to allow this. would have been better to have a list of stressors. too much brainstorming--see link: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201204/why-brainstorming-doesnt-improve-productivity-or-creativity. would have been better to have agenda prior and develop ideas then work on specifics the entire day rather than heorizig all day

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Too many table swaps in the afternoon, Instructions were a bit confusing from time to time. Hard sometimes to move between tables, saw some wheel chair uses having some difficulty.

1) The charges delivered at the outset felt hollow (I think this is a side effect of having administration deliver charges and not participate in the process). Give the dilution of good ideas produced by this process and the hollow charge, it felt like like this event was planned to appease stakeholders rather than truly facilitate change. 2) It is ironic that so few instructors and faculty participated given their power and authority, particularly with regard to student well-being. Active recruitment of this group would be important. 3) The questions foreclosed our vision. If we had been asked to look at different aspects of the U environment that can affect well-being it would have helped. For example, I think we could have brainstormed broad areas to begin with such as Sources of Support s well as Process and Structure and then focused.

- phone voting accessibility - give us time to read the information on poster about world cafes results, audience questions and students expressions of three different colors. * I think it would be good to have similar or other gathering to discuss the issues of UMN's employees with mental health conditions. We need to continue to reduce the stigma of mental health in our community and in our wonderful Twin Cities and state of Minnesota.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

I think there needs to be further conversation about well-being and mental health. It seems that these two words were used in a way that said that if you have well-being you don't have mental health issues. However, those with mental health issues live with them daily and well-being may not be attainable in the way it was being discussed. The well-being language is a safe and easy way for people to talk around the issues of mental health and not have to address the more uncomfortable issues in working with students, faculty and staff who find it challenging to move in this world because they aren't understood by so many of us. The day would have been improved if people were given space to share their own struggles with mental health-this is risky and requires vulnerability but would also be a very powerful start to connecting to the real issues. It could be done in smaller groups, in personal reflection statements, other ways to appeal to a variety of learning styles.

It could have used a little more structured input; by the end of the day it was a little free-floating. Also, I would REALLY appreciate a complete list of all the strategies generated. Will we receive that? Some others that were not put forward as the top strategies would be very useful on some of the other campuses (I'm in Morris). Rename it: academic success does not exist and cannot be cultivated in isolation. This work is ongoing.

I don't know that we got to any really bold ideas. Maybe big changes on a campus this big is too much to ask, but I felt like too often ideas were coming from a "logical" place (i.e., what can be implemented...)

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

The voting system. I did not feel like it had much impact.The afternoon facilitation. True innovation vs. the standard "let's do a mandatory class" for the primary outcome

The audience seemed to be made up of people who already work very hard at improving mental health awareness on campus--it would have been nice to see more people in administrative roles in attendance. I also would have appreciated a few more breaks during the day.

Voting because this effort should have more rigorous efforts. The process of implementation and what is being done with the results from the forum.I wish people had been encouraged to tell something of their own story and/or what drew them to coming to the event at all. Introductions at may table were very focused on campus location and very safe. I wish there had been place for people to be vulnerable in a more intentional way. I wish there had been more diversity in the audience.Perhaps giving more information about what is going to happen with the ideas and feedback so that we have additional expectations of next steps.

The day was too long. Perhaps end after lunch. It was difficult to stay fully engaged the entire day. Facilitate the discussion at the tables. As the day continued some groups I was in got stuck on issues that were so big (change how society defines success) and out of our control (why aren't more faculty here!), that we didn't get anywhere. Perhaps have a facilitator at each table to keep the discussion on track and help move us to a place to make more manageable goals.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

It will all depend on the follow-up. I've done many world cafes and I haven't really seen much move forward afterwards...

Too much extroversion energy required for a LONG day No real solutions or strategies were prensented to help us in our work no breakfast = low energy

1) A more accessible voting method, as not everyone had access to a mobile device 2) Initial table assignments to help facilitate cross-campus conections early on

I think a lot went unacknowledged, like the motivations behind this focus on student mental health and the prevalence of fear-based protocols. I also think organizers tried to fit too much into a single day - it would have been more productive as a two-day workshop.

Discussion regarding the plan for follow up.Some of the powerpoints in the beginning of the day had good information/statistics but could have been delivered in a more interesting way.

No voting--they were all good ideas and were dismissed too quickly. More time to add depth to the ideas...

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Opening remarks - too many, too long.1. The majority of people at the event were people who were already on board with the idea that student mental health is important. It could be beneficial if people who were more skeptical also attended; however, I'm not sure how to make that happen. 2. I think it would be ideal to include more students so that we ensure that their voice is heard.1. Could have used more time to process. Perhaps this needs to be a 2-day event. 2. Location - while it's big enough, the Alumni Center doesn't lend itself well to intimate conversations (and the acoustics are difficult).I felt that the World Cafe concept wasn't explained enough at first and I was just really confused for the first round. No food provided with coffee/drinks in the morning. Poor choice.

Students often face challenges related to life circumstances and not "mental illness". But, for the services to be paid for via insurance the therapist must create a diagnosis even it does not actually reflect what is needed. This is a universal problem with health care in the US. But a significant number of students seeking assistance for normal developmental life stresses (my high school friend just broke up with me, my parents just divorced, I cannot pay the next tuition bill, etc) are significant events to which the student must adapt and it is normal to be distressed over them. Help is needed but not a MH diagnosis. However, these students often end up with a diagnosis of "adjustment disorder NOS (not otherwise specified) and depression NOS. It would be helpful to know what is the ratio of this vs the more concrete MH diagnoses? It is possible we need "counselors" for helping with these issues more than therapists and psychiatrists. Medications become too prominent in the treatment via the over diagnosis of these issues vs coping strategies. The U of M could be a good place to demonstrate this type of improved approach by re-framing these issues as socially common challenges vs mental illness.

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Cut down it down to a half day if possible and host the event in the middle of the week. Monday workshops are tough.Introductory comments could have been shortened, but the overview of all the student services currently provided could have been expanded.

I would have liked to pick one table for the action plan portion and been able to focus on one idea I would have liked to have seen more time taken to present each of the available resources on campus, whereas I felt this was quickly passed over at the event.

I suggest a more decentralized approach, for example, having a program for academic advisers, ones for faculty, et al.It would have been nice to have breakout meetings with the other departments to discuss current processes and to clarify differnet obstacles we currently experience-day to-day (i.e. mental health clinic with UCCS or MHC with Disability Services).

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

Seems at least one-campus wide part of this could have been worked on or looked at to improve.

Like I mentioned before, 1-3 World Cafe rounds is a perfect amount.

More structure - the ambiguity led to confusion in some groups, as well as some people taking up unproductive space (small world cafes). Also not having much knowledge or educating about mental health was difficult because we didn't have much to glean from to move forward, for those of us not as aware of how to be inclusive of mental health.

Allowing people to settle into their new table for introductions and making sure you have everyone's attention before giving the instructions for that section would have been helpful because we often would comment "what did they say we were supposed to do?"

coherence and organization of small group discussionI felt like I was involved in constant brainstorming, but I didn't take away much from it.n/aAccessibility – things on the screen were not accessible for people who could not see Telephone survey not accessible for people without smart phones or who cannot text.I think participants were very engaged but the intensity of the conversations and the length of the day left me feeling exhaustedThe length of the day; have more studentsThere needs to be greater engagement of faculty into this work.Smaller group...was a bit too big for me.#1 maybe too long? People seemed tired at the end and just wanted to leave. i felt the first encounter groups generated more inspired and interestig ideas

AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUM, ONE STRATEGY I PLAN TO DISCUSS WITH MY DEPARTMENT ISAssisting with the development of life skills coursework for students.

to initiate and maintain conversation, in order to enhance awareness and understanding. for a starter, i already sent out http://youtu.be/0RFcN6l5958 and http://www.mentalhealth.umn.edu/

Don't know yet.

I will continue discussing with my department the idea about a group of students helping students.

Not because of this forum, but we are constantly talking about students and the problems they face at the U.Better visibility for our unit.I really like the ideas including personal wellness goals on performance evaluations, asking student-focused questions when recruiting/interviewing new staff, and encouraging students to balance out their schedules with wellness classes.Faculty involvement.Others in the community are concerned about clear communication. We need to market our unit more. (not enough people are familiar with what we do)

How to expand physical education & wellness classes so they are more accessible to students.

How to work with other departments and to create relationships where we refer students to theirs, and them, ours.

raising awareness of the services and resources available as well as the alarming statistics

AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUM, ONE STRATEGY I PLAN TO DISCUSS WITH MY DEPARTMENT IS

Issues of criteria and limitations of services between departments and a desire the departments interact more frequently as a qualty improvement for strenghtening relationships and enhanced services for our student population. Issues that arise of access barriers to services for those who are both a Grad or Doctoral student and an employee providing advancing their professional role.

I'm waiting to see what the final strategies are. In the end, we still don't know any more than what was voted on but no details beyond.

I have invited my staff to bring any ideas they from this have to me. I haven't seen any yet. One problem is that we never heard them all. But for myself, in my unit, I am thinking about staggering start times to be more available to students at the end of the day.

collaboration between departments/offices is great experience and opportunity to achieve not only our but UMN's goal to serve our students with mental health conditions.

I plan to think about our current programs and take a critical glance at how a variety of students may experience them. It is easy to get caught up in programming to a large, traditional audience and this experience made me remember the importance of thinking of the indidivdual student experience.

Incorporating stress management into undergraduate advising.more referralsActive minds with my student employees

AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUM, ONE STRATEGY I PLAN TO DISCUSS WITH MY DEPARTMENT ISHow we can incorporate wellbeing more into our physical facility improvements....providing students with a "take-away" for referral purposes (i.e. a sheet of paper or brochure that outlines the services to which they are being referred).Continuing to refer students to UCCS to learn skills necessary to be a successful student.How to connect with Rothenberg Institute in a more intentional way.Additional training for staff around mental health- particularly role play scenariosTo consider the language I use in discussing mental health concerns and to discuss mental health in the positive (to be mentally healthy).Action steps for beginning work and collaboration around the strategies we identified.Further training.marketingMental health liaisons/advocates in colleges.Streamlining student records related to mental health"Play dates" with other departments - discussed at one of my tables - to get to know campus partners in a less formal setting.Streamlining services

AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUM, ONE STRATEGY I PLAN TO DISCUSS WITH MY DEPARTMENT ISHow to link counseling and supportive services for students with the several sources of assistance that are available.Focusing on student success every day!The ideas that most interested me were more campus wide initiatives like a student wellness rewards program, bringing all of the health and wellness programs under one roof, some form of required coursework on wellness and general mental health, and tying in centralized intake of sorts both on the mental health website via chat or over the phone via a 411 style line for mental health resources on campus.To be determined.

I haven't thought of this because my department doesn't work with students, however, we believe in students and they are very much a part of our planning for the few that participate in what we do. I personally believe in healthy students and stop if they're distressed to ask if I can help. If they're overly distressed I ask if a simple hug would help or talk -it depends on the situation. We always have a student worker. I make sure to ask how they're doing and make it a point to follow up and not be too invasive... my individual part of responsibility on campus

Providing more training for the various staff in the department.

How to incorporate more of these ideas as universal design. We all could benefit - including staff

Not sure...

AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN THE FORUM, ONE STRATEGY I PLAN TO DISCUSS WITH MY DEPARTMENT ISIntegration of MH services with medical services.

I thought the forum was to connect with other departments and determine how we could better meet the needs of the students we serve with mental health issues. I would have liked to know new more efficient ways to coordinate with academic advising or even DS. I would have liked to work on how to work with a student with multiple issues and have a way to coordinate this. I would have liked to see how technology could better serve our communication between departments. When I think of how the day went and that the final recommendation was a class for students, it just didn't fit. THere wasn't anyone there from academics who could address this. Had this been a wellness forum, fine but we have significant mental health issues on campus.

Better ways to talk to discuss resources and use of accommodations with incoming students and their families.Working with faculty more on awareness about mental health and preparing them to be more competent around addressing it.To consider how our procedures/ practices could be modified to assist students in improving their mental health.not sure...if nothing else I will use the model of participatory leadership in activiites I create for students and/or staff.Ensuring that we have readily available information about the resources here at the University to help students and colleagues in distress.

‘stressing’ academic success when life gets in the way

Documents

active day

waya day of conversations

student mental health

half day retreat

world cafe i

effects mental health

student success

increased engagement