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We can all enhance well-being at SFU.
As a faculty or staff member, you can contribute to the well-being of the broader SFU community through the actions you take in your professional role, including:
- The way you design and deliver your courses
- The policies and processes in your department
- The design of the physical spaces around campus
- Increasing student awareness of support services available at SFU
- Making SPACE in your office or classroom
Browse the list of suggestions below to see how you can make SPACE for well-being in your classroom, in your work environment, and with your colleagues.
Making SPACE for yourself
Are you looking for ways to maintain your own well-being? Supporting yourself is the first step to take before supporting others. Learn how you can make SPACE for yourself.
Read more >
Faculty: You can support students to develop greater social connections by creating opportunities for them to engage with one another and by letting them develop a genuine connection with you.
- Have students introduce themselves during the first class or use a social connectedness activity in tutorials
- Design assignments that require students to collectively work on study questions
- Ask students to take down the name and number of a classmate so they can connect should they miss a lecture or want to form a study group
- If possible, move tables and chairs into small groups to facilitate discussion
- Demystify your role by sharing an anecdote, joke, or sharing something about yourself
- Be learner centered: “be interested in learners instead of trying to be an interesting teacher”
- Consider the “whole student” and the challenges students may face outside your class
- Share upcoming social events with students
- Invite small groups of students to attend office hours
- Invite your TA/TMs to be part of the TA/TM well-being project
- Review examples of how policies, physical spaces, and programming in faculties can be designed to enhance well-being
- Learn more about creating Well-being in Learning Environments
Staff: You can create social connection with students, between students, and with your colleagues to support well-being on campus.
- Create physical spaces such a student lounge or group study space that fosters social connection and inclusion
- Review and revise any policies or processes that might limit a sense of belonging for certain students
- Communicate policies & processes in a way that fosters support, belonging and a sense of community
- Create community and connection among faculty members and students by providing mentorship and social gathering opportunities
- Review examples of how policies, physical spaces and programming in faculties can be designed to enhance well-being
- Get to know your colleagues beyond their professional capacities
- Start team meetings with an activity that encourages social connection
- Take the initiative to plan an out of office social outing with your colleagues
Faculty: You can play a role in supporting the physical health of students by adopting strategies in the classroom that encourage movement and promote the importance of sleep and healthy eating.
- Allow for stretch breaks during longer classes
- Regularly remind students about the importance of sleep, especially during busy times in the semester
- Encourage movement in your class by asking students to move between tables for group work, scheduling stretch breaks and encouraging students to stand when they need to
- Allocate 1 slide at the beginning of each lecture to remind students of the importance of movement, sleep and healthy food for both health and learning
- Let students know about upcoming Peer Health activities and the SFU Wellness Wheel
Staff: You can make small changes to the way your workplace operates to support the physical health of your team.
- Facilitate the use of standing work stations for students, staff and faculty
- Coordinate walking groups with your colleagues
- Support a team at SFU’s annual Terry Fox Run
- If you are able, take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Encourage walking meetings
- Normalize standing during meetings with students and colleagues.
- Bring healthy food options to staff meetings
- Access the facilities at Recreation (i.e. try drop in Yoga)
Faculty: Being aware of varying student needs will help you to foster an inclusive, flexible, and accommodating classroom environment that supports student well-being.
- Create class guidelines as a group to respect difference and create a safe place for discussion
- Make students aware of expectations as well as the services available to them
- Use activities and practices in class to help build intercultural awareness and competence
- Seek feedback from students throughout the semester to build your own awareness of the experience you are creating for students
- Offer students opportunities to set their own deadlines or percentages of final grade for assignments
- Be aware of the timing of exams and assignments so that they do not cause undue stress
- Avoid heavily weighted assessment, such as an exam worth 50% of the final grade, and its impact on well-being
- Learn more about creating Well-being in Learning Environments
Staff: Being aware of how your role can enhance student and staff well-being will help create a thriving and inclusive community.
- Embed resilience training, mindfulness, gratitude, or strengths tools into mentorship programs, orientation, or career exploration programs for students
- Reflect on policies or processes that do not foster inclusion or a sense of belonging and revise these
- Become aware of your physical surroundings and take action to build spaces that support your well-being by including access to nature, calming colours and accessible design
- Undertake cultural awareness training
- Create space for reflection and self-awareness in committee meetings
- Create opportunities for student voice and involvement in decision making within your department
Faculty: You can help support student well-being by creating opportunities for your students to make valuable contributions through their coursework and connecting their learning to real life outcomes.
- Create assignments in which the results can be utilized by a community group or campus initiative
- Where possible, incorporate community service or service learning components into your course
- Utilize examples from the real world in class (e.g. news clips, career advice, guest speakers from the workforce students hope to enter)
- Consider what skills students will need to succeed in life and in their careers and try to foster these in class (for example teamwork, problem solving, empathy)
- Learn more about creating Well-being in Learning Environments
- Support your TA/TM to contribute and gain skills for well-being through the TA/TM Well-being project
Staff: You can enable students and staff to make meaningful contributions through their work and foster a kind and giving culture at SFU.
- In program planning, develop service learning courses, co-ops, or volunteer opportunities that give students opportunities to give back and build real world skills
- Encourage your faculty or department to explore ways to create well-being through policies, physical spaces, and program design
- Organize volunteer or fundraising activities within your department, either on campus or in the community
- Embed a culture of celebrating others in your department by marking staff birthdays, milestones, career achievements, or length of service
Faculty: You can support the emotional health of your students by supporting their personal and professional growth in class and ensuring they know what support services are available to them.
- Use mindfulness or relaxation videos in a break in class
- Link students to SFU resources that support their well-being such as Health and Counselling Services and My SSP
- Invite guest speakers from various campus services to talk about the services they offer
- Bring in guest speakers to help students connect in-class learning to their career development
- Share the Bouncing Back Resilience course and the SFU Wellness Wheel with your students
- Encourage your TA/TMs to be part of the TA/TM Well-being Project
- Use journaling or other reflective activities to encourage personal growth
- Encourage students to seek co-curricular and volunteer opportunities (for example Passport to Leadership, Mentorship Programs, or Peer Education)
- Consider what skills students will need to succeed in life and in their careers and try to find ways to foster these in class
- Learn more about creating Well-being in Learning Environments
Staff: here are many ways you can support the emotional health of students and staff and support an open and safe culture.
- Attend a Supporting Students in Distress workshop held by Health and Counselling Services
- Refer students to the Mental Health at SFU website and My SSP
- Reflect on policies or processes that might be causing undue stress for students, and revise them
- Advocate for design elements that support emotional health, such as comfortable furniture, natural light and greenery, to be adopted in staff common areas
- Attend a Supporting Students in Distress Workshop held by Health & Counselling
- Embed the Bouncing Back Resilience and Well-being course or the SFU Wellness Wheel into mentorship programs or other departmental programs
- Ensure frequent performance reviews are in place for staff to support growth and development
- Ensure professional development funding and opportunities are available to staff
- Start department/staff meetings with short videos, quotes, or news articles that include a positive emotion (i.e. humour, gratutide, contentment, or awe)
- Normalize a culture of help-seeking and ensure colleagues are aware of emotional supports
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