College Student Well-Being and Campus Wellness Center Design

Kim Rollings (University of Notre Dame School of Architecture)

College campus wellness centers are expanding from the typical focus on clinical treatment of physical health to also include support of holistic student well-being. Despite the transition towards this more holistic approach with expanded and improved services, literature documenting the role of college campus wellness center design in supporting student well-being is lacking. Considering that stress, anxiety, and sleep-deprivation are the top three self-reported impediments to academic success according to the U.S. National College Health Assessment, understanding the how the built environment can support student wellness is critical.

This presentation describes a campus wellness center redesign informed by environmental psychology, public and environmental health, and higher education literature that links the built environment to student health and well-being. Design principals that were considered included ambient environment characteristics, accessibility, inclusivity, privacy, social interaction, legibility, and restoration. These design principles were applied to the renovation of a midwest U.S. college campus’ wellness center offices and student spaces. The wellness center, which is separate from but located in the same building as the clinical student health care services, supports eight dimensions of student well-being via initiatives, services, and resources. Collaborative, restorative, and creative spaces are available to students, in addition to counseling and risk reduction services.

A two-year exploratory, multi-year pre-post study examined effects of the wellness center improvements. Student surveys before (n=1,419) and after (n=905) renovations assessed attendance, satisfaction, perceived affect, environmental experience, and use of various activity spaces and resources offered by the wellness center. Results indicated that the renovations were well-received and associated with improvements across all measured outcomes. Successes and limitations of the renovations and data collection approach will also be discussed.