Advocating for more inclusive and accessible environments: Learning from the successes of the pandemic

The Advisory Committee of the Wellness Collaborative has remained active over the course of the pandemic. We have requested to meet our senior administration to discuss timely opportunities to foster wellbeing in the learning environment for the remainder of the Winter 2022 term and beyond. We are also looking forward to the opportunity to share these key messages with President Goel at our March 4, 2022 meeting.

The Advisory Committee is guided by Waterloo’s Commitments to the Okanagan Charter[i] which calls on higher education institutions to embed wellness into all facets of operations, culture, and academic mandates to improve the wellbeing of the university community[ii]. We know that the wellbeing of students and employees has been impacted throughout the pandemic[iii]^,[iv]. Equity-deserving groups, who face systemic barriers to wellbeing and belonging in higher education, continue to be disproportionately impacted by the pandemic[v]. University teachers and their teaching practices are strong determinants for students’ wellbeing[vi]. Teaching practices that foster student wellbeing are often aligned with what is already known about effective teaching practices[vii].    

Based on our collective experience and knowledge, the Advisory Committee discussed strategies that promoted wellbeing and equity of student and instructors, while still delivering high quality education. There is an urgent need to revisit these lessons learned and leverage their strengths for this Winter 2022 semester. Specifically, the following have been identified for implementation in Winter 2022:

• Options made available to transition to credit/no-credit
• Flexibility in teaching and assessment formats to support accessibility, inclusion and wellbeing
• Consideration of in-person exams to address safety and anxiety for COVID-19 and to allow flexibility for students and instructors. 

In addition, we have heard from diverse perspectives a shared concern about clarity and communication about return to campus efforts from leadership. Many members of our community would like further dialogue to address questions that affect their safety, health, and wellbeing, as well as their understanding of how to engage with in-person learning moving forward.

We recognize that there are benefits to both in-person and virtual work and learning experiences. Our hope is that we do not lose sight of the strengths we have gained over the past two years, and that thoughtful consideration is given to how we can leverage the benefits of virtual learning and work for the Winter 2022 semester and beyond.

The return to campus is a divisive issue in our university community. We have heard that students and instructors have unique, yet similar concerns. Our hope is that these concerns can be addressed collaboratively, so we do not loose sight of our common goals for high quality education, research, mentorship, and wellbeing. Our approach to collaborative leadership for health promoting universities can support mutual sharing and learning, trust and relationship building across our institution, which is necessary for navigating these complex issues[viii]. We are hopeful that together we can alleviate some of the unintended negative impacts of returning to campus and the switch to in-person learnings. As such, we would greatly welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you and determine how we can be of service to these efforts that span across our institution.