Holistic Student Wellness
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Through the Holistic Student Wellness Initiative, we aim to align students’ living, learning, and working environment with our stated values concerning their physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.
The initial work was led by a core committee of 20 faculty, staff, and students.
Action plan
RISD is working to implement the following actions and recommendations, now through 2027:
Establish a President’s Wellness Network.
Host institution-wide events focused on wellness and belonging.
Provide equitable transport options to students.
Send an annual letter of student resources to faculty and staff.
Develop a poster promoting key resources to students.
Enable faculty to support students’ learning needs better. Expand Teaching & Learning Lab. Provide faculty with tools to develop clear time expectation guidelines for projects.
Launch faculty wellness role-modeling campaign targeting students.
Host week-long wellness events each semester, including Take-a-Break Weekend.
Add midterm reading days; increase end-of-semester reading days.
Establish a permanent CAPS satellite office in a central location.
Create a toolkit for faculty to foster classrooms that are financially equitable.
Review costs related to majors and support high- and moderate-need students.
Support affinity groups via identity specialists.
Provide skill-building for working with neurodivergent and diverse populations.
Develop campus supports for student spiritual development.
Launch a multi-channel well-being campaign linking practice and profession.
Create a calendar for structured advising and establish mid-semester check-ins.
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Future and long-term considerations
The following actions are under review for implementation as part of the strategic planning process.
- Establish a Center for Artist Wellbeing.
- Update campus spaces to include rest and recharge areas.
- Develop referral and communications protocols (Registrar–Student Life–Advising; joint trainings).
- Reassess attendance policy to support flexibility for wellness.
- Increase funding for materials, internships, and global travel.
Resources and related links
More details can be found in the Holistic Student Wellness Committee Executive Summary (RISD credentials are required to access).
We invite you to share your thoughts at any time via email to strategy@risd.edu.