THE AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH FOUNDATION INCORPORATED

ACHF is aiming to consistently provide materials, resources, and awards that will better college health. College health is an ever-changing landscape; as technology advances, so do the challenges college students face. Thirty years ago, students didn’t need to worry about their screen time, why vaping is terrible for your health, or how social media can lead to low self-esteem. New vaccines and prescriptions come out which require new policies and information to be created and shared. ACHF strives to keep in step with these changes and publish relevant materials to address them as they arise, and to keep healthcare professionals and students well informed.

ACHF works with key Association Board Members, Foundation Board Members, Advisory Committees, Coalitions, Task Forces, and staff to learn about the challenges schools are facing regarding college health and well-being and cultivates projects that would benefit student health and well-being. ACHF actively solicits funding and partnerships throughout the year to bring these projects and resources to life.

Also, every year ACHF awards several funding opportunities to members with innovative projects that they want to test on their campus. It is essentially “seed money” to spur innovation in college health and well-being.
ACHF is also a sponsor of sessions at the ACHA Annual Meeting and helps to support relevant speakers to come and educate members on college health and well-being topics.

ACHF has several funds that support different initiatives:

• The Murray DeArmond Student Activity Fund supports students traveling to the Annual Meeting every year.
• The Clifford B. Reifler Fund supports the Journal of American College Health.
• The Gallagher Koster Innovative Practices in College Health supports an annual award for innovative projects.
• The Stephan D. Weiss, Ph.D. Mental Health Fund for Higher Education supports a writing prize.
• All other seven funds support Annual Meeting Sessions and other relevant projects as they arise.

Two ACHF College Well-Being Awards are offered annually to institutions of higher education to create or improve underlying campus infrastructure (e.g., networks, resources, tools, structures, coalition-building) in a manner that raises the well-being of students as evidenced through creative programming and outcomes research initiatives.

Over $125,737 has been awarded by ACHF to recipients pursuing projects that could benefit college health. Over 57 monetary awards were given between 2004-2018, which equates to 57 new projects targeting college health concerns.

For example, University of South Carolina was a 2018 ACHF award recipient and created the “Hear Me Out: Mental Health Matters” podcast. This podcast features student stories and pro-active messages to de-stigmatize mental health, normalize help-seeking behaviors, and increase bystander accountability, while connecting students to on campus health and well-being resources.

ACHF has put out two publications on meningitis B, one for students and one for health care professionals, and a brochure on treating college students with type 1 diabetes. ACHF is currently funded and working on several other partner projects including:

• A whitepaper on “Framing Well-Being in a College Campus,” which will create an organizational collaboration of thought leadership on well-being and wellness for colleges and universities.
• The First-Year WellStart program, which will bring together experts in the field of college mental health and well-being to create a comprehensive training program that will be offered to colleges for incoming first-year students. The program will cover protective factors (e.g., individual characteristics, social support, and campus culture) in addition to providing resources for students who already may be suffering from depression and anxiety. Metrics will be monitored regarding that number of institutions using the training program as well as the number of students who take the online program.
• The National College Well-Being & Depression Playbook: ACHF will explore innovations that are currently being used to address the surging demand for mental health services on campus, such as tele-counseling, wellness coaching models, and crisis intervention technologies. Additionally, the Playbook will evaluate new models in building school and individual well-being and will identify best practices that can be leveraged (e.g., mindfulness training, self-help applications, etc.). Metrics will be monitored regarding that number of institutions accessing the National College Well-Being Playbook.

ACHF is actively seeking new partnerships and has a list of projects, whitepapers, and educational publications that they are attempting to fund.