What an exciting time to be a student affairs professional! At no other time in our profession have we achieved the level of academic acceptance and discourse in which many of our respective institutions now engage. Much of the recognition and success that we enjoy can be attributed to the passion that we, as college health professionals, hold for student success and support. However, equally important for many of us has been the adoption of professional standards and the introduction of program review and evaluation. Assessing the realities of our student needs and the effectiveness of our community interventions has proven essential to many of our institutions as we have become increasingly accountable for the effective provision of student affairs on campus.

An exciting initiative came to fruition in spring 2013 for many working in Canadian post-secondary student health through the work of Canadian Organization of University and College Health (COUCH) members. COUCH is a division of the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services (CACUSS). Over 32 institutions agreed to participate for the first time ever in a nation-wide effort to gather student health data using the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA). 

Developed by the American College Health Association, the ACHA-NCHA is a self-reporting assessment tool intended to measure perceptions and realities of health and wellness in advanced education settings. Over 34,000 student respondents participated in the Canadian consortium survey, providing a data set specific to Canadian institutions (yes, there are differences between Canadian and American students). We have also collectively worked together to develop Provincial Reference Group reports in three provinces. We anticipate these reports being valuable in engaging provincial stakeholders in a dialogue to further the health and well-being of students. 

For many Canadian institutions, this was their first time participating in the ACHA-NCHA. Exciting times indeed!

Others, like Mount Royal University and University of Alberta, have participated in the ACHA-NCHA multiple times. What benefits has participation in the survey afforded both our academies and our students? In truth, the data collected from our surveys has been instrumental in guiding a number of opportunities and initiatives. 

Of particular note, the ACHA-NCHA data was used by the University of Alberta (UofA) in successfully securing a $3,000,000 mental health grant from the Government of Alberta. This grant will help enhance campus mental health support services and address stigmatization associated with mental health and mental illness within our campus community. Furthermore, it will stimulate a dialogue on campus health and engage the whole community in developing healthy campus initiatives. The benefits of this grant are just starting to be seen as our campus integrates additional mental health clinicians into our existing campus resources. 

The assessment data pertaining to the impacts of disease on academics has supported the UofA's decision to implement a disease in residence surveillance system with which to catch and manage disease outbreaks before they reach critical levels within our communal living settings. Similarly, statistics pertaining to sleep disorders, stress and anxiety has guided the development of the UofA's Heroes for Health campus grants program and the Unwind Your Mind Project. 

At Mount Royal University (MRU), ACHA-NCHA participation began in 2006, followed by subsequent surveys in 2008, 2010, and 2013. In 2006 the data demonstrated a need for health promotion, so a position was created and a student peer health education program was developed. MRU was successful in accessing tobacco reduction funding, using the ACHA-NCHA data to provide evidence of this need. And based on the 2010 data and trends evidenced throughout the years, MRU's president founded a Presidential Task Force on Student Mental Health.  

What is truly exciting about the initiatives highlighted at both of our academies is that the ACHA-NCHA has played an integral role in stimulating healthy campus dialogue and it has provided a common forum from which to collaboratively support the health and well-being of our students and staff. We all have a role to play in supporting the health of our respective communities and the ACHA-NCHA has provided a rich source of data with which to guide campus health programming. 

With the Spring 2013 ACHA-NCHA behind us, the Canadian Reference Group reports are now available on the CACUSS website. These invaluable reports are available for all to use in supporting the health and well-being of our campus communities.

Now that the Call for Programs for the 2014 Annual Meeting is over, we are starting to look ahead to that exciting time of year when registration for the meeting officially opens! Meeting registration will open in January, but it’s never too early to plan ahead.

The ACHA meeting is five days long and jam-packed with sessions, workshops, meetings, networking events, and more. The array of choices can be dazzling – or maybe just a bit confusing. And because we’ve made some programming changes for 2014 (most noteworthy: our addition of 60-minute sessions – more on that to come) we thought a brief primer in the form of some FAQs could help everyone understand the ins and outs of the meeting.

There’s a lot to know – How do I get the member discount on my registration fees? How many hotels offer the conference rate? Will meals be included? Can I add something to my registration? – and we want you to be able to find the answers! We are always happy to answer any questions you have by phone or email, but the FAQs are another fast and easy way to get the information you need.

Check out the FAQs here and please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you don’t find what you are looking for.

One of the easiest ways to get in touch with a large group of people these days is through webinars. These large virtual meetings are especially helpful for college health professionals with colleagues all over the country, and the world. Webinars allow a large group of individuals to come together to share ideas and ask thoughtful questions in a free and interactive setting. 

ACHA is pleased to offer webinar services through GoToWebinar.com, a simple and convenient means to host meetings for up to 100 people. Some ACHA webinars will come from sections, committees/coalitions, or affiliates, while others will be speakers solicited by ACHA. Continuing education credits may also be available for webinars that qualify.  

Recent webinars include “The Art and Science of Coalition Building,” “Using Environmental Management Strategies within a Coalition,” and “Focus Groups in Health Education Practice: An Introduction.”

If you have an idea for a webinar, contact your section, committee/coalition, or affiliate leadership for more information.

Remember a few years ago, when you attended that session at the Annual Meeting? And now something has come up on your campus and you could really use what you learned at that session – if only you could figure out where you stashed that handout. 

Or maybe you need some information on a unique-to-college-health issue; there’s a good chance that one of the hundreds of sessions offered at the ACHA conference over the last several years addressed that topic. But is there any way to view those presentations, even the ones from five years ago, without having to track down the speaker?

Yes, there is! 

After each meeting we post copies of presentation slideshows and handouts so that our members and attendees can check out sessions they missed, review sessions they attended, share information from an interesting session with other colleagues, or view a slideshow along with the purchased audio recording to get a fuller learning experience. In years past, the handouts stayed on the website for about eight months or so and then we took them down.  

We realized, though, that we were sitting on a gold mine of resources. Every year, approximately 130 meeting sessions on just about every conceivable college health topic are presented, and these presentation slide shows contain an enormous amount of information. Sometimes it’s information that’s not readily available elsewhere. And so we present to you the Archive of ACHA Annual Meeting Final Programs and Presentation Handouts! 

We have re-posted session handouts and slideshows as far back as 2009. We’ve also posted the conference programs dating back to 2005, just in case anyone needs to access them.

We rely on the speakers to provide us with copies of their presentations so that we can post them online – not all speakers give us anything, but we still have an ample selection. Please look through the archive next time you need more information on anything from concussions to benchmarking to emergency response and so much more.  Please note that the handouts and slide shows were accurate at the time of the presentation but may not contain up-to-date information, so it’s advisable to check current resources.

And if you attend a great session at the meeting, please encourage the speaker to send us a copy of their presentation so we can post it.