Offered Alternative - Poster Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 8th IPPA World Congress 2023

Positive shift: creating a whole college well-being culture (#868)

Kerry Sanderson 1
  1. GateWay Community College, Phoenix, AZ, United States

Background

As the very first Community College of Well-Being, GateWay Community College is committed to well-being for all by cultivating an environment of meaningful learning, engagement and connection. Based in the rigorous science and application of positive psychology, we have undertaken a transformative culture shift, embraced by both leadership as a key strategic priority and in grassroots efforts across our campuses, to implement our 5C’s of Well-Being Culture framework: Character, Connection, Care, Career and Contribution.

Aims

Research in positive psychology demonstrates that evidence-based positive interventions and practices bring beneficial and additive outcomes for students and educators. Our 5Cs of Well-Being Culture bring GateWay’s efforts together under one overarching commitment to positively impact the college and our broader community.

Method

The 5C’s support and enhance our efforts to cultivate well-being and success, both inside the classroom and out:

-Creating a strengths-based culture through college-wide use of VIA Character Strengths 
-Supporting meaningful connections between all community members to support students’ sense of belonging
-Taking care of psychological, physical and emotional well-being, including mindfulness, habits of mind and movement
-Providing an integrated experience focused on making decisions that contribute not just to career success, but life success
-Building connections to the greater community so that students (and employees) can elevate their personal contribution to make an impact that is socially and personally significant

Results

In this session, I will share our transformational story - including the successes and the challenges:

-the foundational work of designing the 5C’s, creating a comprehensive multi-year Well-Being Action Plan to align with and inform our College Strategic Plan
-the design and implementation of parallel employee and student positive psychology focused programming and measurement of well-being literacy
-weaving the 5C’s and well-being in wonderful and unexpected ways into the everyday life of the college community

Conclusion

Learning Outcomes:
-Understand how change management can be leveraged to shift an institution's culture
-Explore positive psychology applications in a college setting 

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