USU Seeks Input from Students on Mental Well-Being

Students at Utah State University are invited to provide input on their mental health and well-being as part of the institution’s biennial survey to continually improve student wellness.

“We have participated in this survey in the past, and this data is a key part of our ability to assess students’ needs, and evaluate existing programs, like our wellness and suicide prevention programming,” said James Morales, USU vice president for student affairs.

The Healthy Minds Network survey will open March 21 – April 15 to all USU students — on any campus — who are 18 and older. Students will receive an email with a unique link to the confidential, 20 minute survey.

The Healthy Minds Study is a web-based, confidential survey that examines issues among undergraduate and graduate students. It launched in 2007 and has been used by more than 300 institutions.

USU’s participation will aid in the Utah System of Higher Education’s efforts to improve college student mental health and well-being across the state. It will also allow USU to gauge well-being over time and to monitor the effectiveness of programming.

For example, data from the 2020 survey showed more than half of students felt isolated from campus life during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this sense of disconnect tended to be greater in students from marginalized communities. This has led to USU finding ways to prioritize social connectedness efforts, such as an increase in our mental health outreach efforts on campus and more suicide prevention training.

Students who take the survey are automatically entered into a national drawing for one of two $500 prizes or one of 10 $100 prizes. The drawing will be conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, which administers the Healthy Minds Study, this summer. Additionally, participants are eligible for a random drawing for prizes available only to students at USU. Prizes include 25 gift cards to either the Campus Store, Amazon, or iTunes.

For more information on Healthy Minds Network, visit healthymindsnetwork.org/.