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UTampa Cares

A Systemic Approach to Improving Student Success Through Increased Emotional Well-being

UTampa Cares staff helping students

The University of Tampa's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), UTampa Cares, is an integral component of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) reaffirmation of accreditation process. UTampa Cares is a systemic approach to improving student success through increased emotional well-being. 

UTampa Cares Student Programs

Personalized Support

Academic Success Coaching

Academic Success Coaching will provide students with proactive, personalized support to address challenges and build the skills necessary for their success. Housed in the Office of Academic Success Initiatives, the program is designed to support first-year students in their transition from high school to college by helping them adjust to the academic, social and personal differences between those experiences. First-year students will be assigned to a full-time staff coach to help them set goals, identify potential barriers, build skills and engage campus resources. Coaching meetings can be initiated through self-selection, invitation, response to an early alert or a Midterm Progress Report and proactive outreach.

Office of Academic Success Initiatives
UTampa Cares staff helping students.

Goal Setting

Peer Wellness Coaching

Peer Wellness Coaching will provide students with the opportunity to assess their current wellness status, examine improvement opportunities, and set goals. Housed in Wellness Services, the program is open to all students but is specifically designed to support second-year students as they continue their college journey. Students will work with trained peer coaches to provide them with an accountability partner to address barriers they are encountering and build the skills necessary to meet their individualized wellness goals. Peer coaches will be prepared to refer students to campus resources, including counseling, as needed.

Peer Wellness Coaching
Students talking at a table.

Building Skills for Life

Emotional Well-being Workshops

Resilience Reset: Resilience Reset is a 90-minute workshop designed to teach students useful skills for addressing common concerns, such as anxious feelings, stress and loneliness. Hosted by Wellness Services, the workshop will build student confidence in their ability to effectively deal with challenging situations. The workshop will help students learn to manage difficult emotions with flexibility, practice mindfulness and clarify their personal values and goals. It is designed to be interactive and provide students with an opportunity for reflection, journaling and practicing the skills learned in the workshop.

 

Academic Skills Workshops: Academic Skills Workshops will help students build skills critical to their academic success. Facilitated by academic success coaches, the workshops will cover topics such as navigating academic policies, study skills, time management and motivation and procrastination. Workshops will be scheduled to align with the academic calendar so that students can build relevant skills when they are most needed.

Resilience Reset
Students in conversation.

UTampa Cares Faculty/Staff Programs

For Faculty and Staff

Community of Care Toolkit

The Community of Care Toolkit is designed for faculty and staff as a one-stop resource to support student emotional well-being. The toolkit provides the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to become better equipped to refer students to well-being resources. To support easy access and integration, the toolkit will be housed as a course in Spartan Learn. Faculty and staff will be able to opt-in to access the site using a self-enrollment link.

Community of Care Toolkit
Red Folder Student Referral Guide
UTampa Cares staff helping students.

Goals, Outcomes, Resources

Through an intentional focus on increasing student resiliency and sense of belonging, UTampa Cares is prioritizing the following goals:

  • Implement new non-clinical programs focused on skill building to support student emotional well-being.
  • Provide additional support for faculty and staff to refer students to well-being resources.
  • Students will build the skills necessary to accomplish their academic and personal goals.
  • Students will identify resources to support their academic and personal success.
  • SSO 1: Fall-to-fall retention of FTIC students will increase.
  • SSO 2: Persistence of FTIC students from the sophomore to junior year will increase.
  • SSO 3: Students will report an increase in resilience.
  • SSO 4: Students will report an increase in sense of belonging.

The Need for This QEP Topic

Emerged from on-going, comprehensive planning and evaluation:

  • Key institutional assessments, including Healthy Minds Study student survey, NSSE and external CAS review of Wellness Services.
  • Institutional data, including counseling services utilization, withdrawal forms and retention data.
  • Planning related to mental health services, JED Campus partnership, SAMHSA grant, Student Affairs Strategic Goals, increasing retention and the University’s Comprehensive Plan.
  • Co-Director: Donald Painter, Senior Director, Academic Success Initiatives
  • Co-Director: Gina Firth, Assistant Vice President, Wellness
  • Assessment Chair: Ana Maia, Associate Dean, Student Affairs Program Effectiveness
  • Marketing Chair: Addie Carothers, Director, Wellness

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