When will the mental health days occur?

In Fall of 2023, UMBC classes began on August 30th. The first pre-planned mental health day would be granted on October 4th, while preparing for midterms. The second one would given on November 29th, which is when professors are giving final projects and exams. Additionally, each student will receive one mental health day per semester that they may use at their discretion without academic penalty. 

How is improvement measured?

For measurement purposes, a self-report survey will be sent to students via e-mail at the beginning of each semester, after each mental health day, and at the end of each academic term. This will collect qualitative data by asking question with answers given as a Likert Scale such as “On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest), how would you rank your level of loneliness?” or “I feel like I belong and have established a community at UMBC,” with those answer choices being “Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree.” This specific questionnaire will report on student’s perceived mental well-being before, during, and after the semester. An additional questionnaire will be sent to students that asks more specifically about how each student spent their mental health days. It will ask questions such as “Which answer best indicates how you spent your mental health day (select up to 3 answers),” with the answer choices being “catching up/ getting ahead on academic responsibilities, self-care, exercising/ physical activity, catching up on sleep, receiving/ seeking out mental health services, and/ or socializing and doing leisure activities.” The data from these surveys will help administrators better understand how this intervention works and what the benefits are and if it needs to be tailored to meet specific needs of the student body.

Utilization of existing resources

Mental health days will create a more supportive and health environment at UMBC. It has been shown that mental health days or “days off” are exactly what a student needs to recharge during their semester. It gives them the opportunity to take charge of their own mental well-being and take the steps necessary to manage their mental health. Activities that can be accomplished on these mental health days such as exercising, meditation and mindfulness practices, socializing, being outside, or partaking in activities that bring students pleasure are all things that can overall improve mental health and student well-being. These activities could work in tandem to achieve benefits such as improved morale and attitude, increased productivity, improved physical health, and the decrease in mental health crises (Mayo Clinic, 2022). UMBC already has many health services through Retriever Integrated Health such as counseling services, health education, massage therapy, dietetics, and so many more (UMBC, OECR). Mental health days can be an opportunity for students to have the time to utilize these services and reap the benefits that are so often talked about by administrators.

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