Search

In response to widespread concerns about student mental health, a growing movement in higher education is focused on fostering student well-being as an important element of student success. Thriving college students experience a level of psychological well-being that contributes to their persistence toward graduation and allows them to gain maximum benefit from their time in college. Student well-being is also important for its own sake. In the fall of 2019, 41.1% of undergraduates reported experiencing moderate or severe psychological distress and 76.5% reported experiencing moderate or severe stress in the past 12 months. Some students experiencing psychological distress receive a formal diagnosis of anxiety, depression, or other mental health conditions that may require accommodations to ensure equitable access to courses. Although disability resource centers work with instructors to develop accommodations, instructors can also proactively take steps to design their courses in a manner that promotes student well-being and is inclusive of students with mental health conditions. The universal design for learning (UDL) framework, an approach based on educational research in the learning sciences, can guide the development of flexible learning environments that are supportive of and accessible to all learners. Here we outline three course modifications that can promote student mental health and provide initial steps toward UDL in physics courses.

Summer bridge programs are designed to ease the transition to college by providing students with academic skills and social resources during the summer between high school graduation and college. Research shows that bridge programs are potentially effective at increasing retention and academic success of at-risk students by providing an early orientation to the college experience and connecting these students with each other and the community (Thayer, 2000; Institute of Education Sciences, 2016); however, bridge programs can be expensive for institutions to operate, and the students who might benefit most from participation may not be able to commit to being on campus full-time during the summer. The authors developed a hybrid program to achieve many of the goals of a traditional summer bridge program, but with a flexible implementation that allows students to remain at home to meet employment or family obligations. There were two main goals for the design and implementation of the 6-week summer online portion of the program: for participating students (a) to review and strengthen the quantitative skills seen in high school math classes, and (b) to connect with the college community before arriving on campus in the fall. As these goals suggest, this program blended elements of academic affairs and student affairs to create a rich learning experience built on research-based suggestions for supporting first-generation students (Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, & Terenzini, 2004), although the program was not limited to first-generation students.