York University is committed to fostering well-being across our campuses.
In support of the University Academic Plan (UAP 2020-2025) priority of Living Well Together, York University is mobilizing resources to provide an inclusive and supportive environment that promotes positive well-being among all members of our community.
These efforts will be bolstered with a holistic Well-being Strategy focused on understanding the current needs and priorities of the York community through a pan-university approach addressing well-being across all York campuses and sites. The goal of the strategy is that students, staff, faculty and instructors can flourish and be well in this shared environment.
About the Strategy
Well-being Strategy Structure
As the strategy begins to take shape, our Project Sponsors, Executive Committee and advisory groups will work together to establish well-being benchmarks and leverage evidence-based tools to inform future priorities.
History of Well-being at York
For several years, our framework has been informed by the creation of new connections within the York community, as well as efforts to improve well-being at the institutional level. Learn about the foundation established by staff, students and faculty at York in helping to bring our strategy to life.
Our Goals
Phase One
- Complete well-being assessments on York’s campuses
- Implement Canadian Campus Well-being Survey
- Host community engagement sessions
- Create a Well-being Strategy
- Host an Okanagan Charter Signing event
Phase Two
- Bring Well-being Strategy to life
- Enhance Well-being Strategy structures across all campuses
Guiding Principles & Documents
The Well-being Strategy will be guided by the Okanagan Charter, the National Standard for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post Secondary Students and the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. These documents will be used to inform future engagement, identify priorities and shape the direction of a future strategy. York is dedicated toward becoming a signatory of the Okanagan Charter and to ensure that well-being is embedded into all aspects of university so that as a community we can all be well together.
Okanagan Charter
The Okanagan Charter is an international charter, this document guides post-secondary institutions across the world to build health promoting university and colleges. The Okanagan charter calls upon post-secondary schools to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.
York is committed to signaling a formal commitment to supporting well-being on our campuses through an Okanagan Charter Signing event. This commitment sends a powerful message about the type of institution that York aspires to be—one that well-being is central to everything the university does.
Read the Okanagan Charter (PDF).
Mental Health Commission of Canada: National Standard for Mental Health & Well-Being for Post Secondary Students
The National Standard for Mental-Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students is a set of flexible, voluntary guidelines to help post-secondary institutions support the mental-health and well-being of students through long-term planning. Following a socioecological model, this standard provides various audit tools and assessments to help guide universities at identifying opportunities to enhance well-being on campus. It is grounded in continuous improvement to support post-secondary institutions with meeting key well-being and mental health outcomes.
The Well-being Strategy is guided by this standard in helping enhance the well-being of all students attending York University. This standard will help with raising awareness about well-being and decrease mental illness-related stigma and provide an overall healthier and safer institutional environment for everyone. It is important to provide opportunities for students to succeed and flourish during their post secondary journey while gaining the life and resiliency skills that students can use at school, at work, and in daily life.
Mental Health Commission of Canada: National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace
The National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace consists of a set of voluntary guidelines, tools and resources intended to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work through long-term planning. Following a risk management and harm reduction approach, this standard provides a framework and assessment tools. It is grounded in continuous improvement to help organizations of all types guide current and future efforts in a way improve psychological health and safety in the workplace.
The Well-being Strategy is guided by this standard as well-being levels directly affect levels of student, staff, faculty and instructor satisfaction, as well as employee engagement.