Summary of WPI Mental Health Support and Research Initiatives
WPI takes a public health approach to mental health and well-being. This approach focuses on three complementary areas: promoting the well-being of the entire campus community, identifying and supporting individuals who may need assistance, and implementing effective response and postvention strategies.
While not exhaustive, the following highlights many of the initiatives WPI has implemented since 2021. These collective efforts contributed to WPI being named to The Princeton Review's 2026 Mental Health Services Honor Roll, which recognized only 30 colleges and universities nationwide for their commitment to student mental health and well-being.
Coalitions and Partnerships
WPI convened a cross-campus Mental Health and Well-Being Task Force to gather community input and identify opportunities to strengthen wellness across campus. More than 100 recommendations from this effort were subsequently implemented through a Mental Health Implementation Team composed of students, faculty, and staff.
In 2023, WPI established the Campus Wellness Coalition, a collaborative group of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to identifying campus needs and advancing a sustainable, community-based approach to well-being. The group helps guide wellness initiatives rooted in evidence-based practice.
WPI regularly solicits feedback through surveys and assessment efforts to ensure that student perspectives inform institutional planning and decision-making related to mental health and well-being.
The university also collaborates with regional and national partners as evidenced by the mental health panel and discussion hosted at WPI in partnership with U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern in 2022, regular participation in the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts (AICUM) mental health programming, and consultation with Riverside Trauma.
In 2024, WPI adopted the Okanagan Charter, joining a global network of institutions committed to embedding health and well-being throughout campus culture and operations. The charter provides a comprehensive framework for advancing the health of people, place, and planet across higher education.
WPI also actively participates in numerous professional organizations and coalitions focused on advancing health and well-being in higher education, including:
- United States Health Promoting Campus Network
- Action Network for Equitable Wellness (ANEW)
- University Health and Wellness Leaders
- American College Health Association
- Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors
- Higher Education Case Managers Association
WPI is also exploring a partnership with the JED Foundation, a national organization that supports more than 550 educational institutions through comprehensive approaches to mental health promotion and suicide prevention. (JED is in the process of merging with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.)
WPI offers dedicated philanthropic funds for alumni and friends to support the Center for Well-Being and other mental health promotion and suicide prevention initiatives.
Research-Informed Practice
WPI is a key partner in the Center for Accelerating Practices to End Suicide (CAPES), a $13 million NIH-funded research center operated in collaboration with UMass Chan Medical School. CAPES brings together researchers, clinicians, technology innovators, and individuals with lived experience to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based, technology-enabled approaches to suicide prevention. In 2026, the collaborative team submitted an additional $3.9 million NIH proposal to further expand this work. Examples of current initiatives include:
LEMURS (Leveraging Early Mental Health Uncovering Risk for Suicide). Through CAPES, WPI researchers are developing and evaluating AI-enabled technologies that help identify college students who may be experiencing elevated mental health risks, including suicide risk.
ARTEMIS (AI-driven Research Towards Elucidation of Media Impacts on Students). Supported through WPI's Catalyst Seed Grant Program, this interdisciplinary project examines how social media, digital technology, and psychological factors influence depression, anxiety, and well-being among college students.
WPI's Center for Well-Being further supports innovation through its Incubator for Well-Being Research and Innovation (IWell) Grant Program, which funds interdisciplinary projects focused on understanding and improving well-being outcomes.
In 2026, WPI also submitted a SAMHSA Suicide Prevention Grant proposal seeking approximately $500,000 to support additional prevention and intervention efforts.
WPI uses multiple assessment tools to understand the health and well-being needs of students and to evaluate institutional progress. These include the nationally benchmarked Healthy Minds Survey and WISHES (Wellbeing Improvement Survey for Higher Education Settings).
Since 2019, WPI has seen positive movement in well-being-related behaviors among students. WPI students report higher levels of flourishing and lower rates of stress related to interpersonal challenges, loneliness, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Students also report continued confidence in managing academic workloads and fewer concerns about balancing multiple commitments.
Prevention-Focused Efforts
WPI established the Center for Well-Being as a dedicated campus hub that provides leadership, programming, resources, and support focused on mental health, resilience, belonging, and flourishing. In addition to its programs, the Center serves as a welcoming space where students can gather, reflect, recharge, and connect with others.
Prevention-focused efforts include:
- Establishment of the CARE team
- Training of faculty/staff for identifying at-risk students
- Wellness Days each academic term that provide dedicated opportunities for rest, reflection, and wellness programming.
- Expansion of wellness courses and the restructuring of the Physical Education requirement as the Wellness and Physical Education requirement, allowing students to satisfy the requirement through courses focused on mindfulness, stress management, meditation, and related topics.
- Enhanced opportunities for peer connection, student-faculty engagement, and involvement in student organizations and community-building programs.
- Project Connect and additional social programming initiatives, such as a social media detox, that help students develop meaningful relationships and reduce social isolation.
- Mental health awareness and response training for residential advisors, student leaders, faculty, staff, Peer Well-Being Ambassadors, and other campus stakeholders, including QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Suicide Prevention training and Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress training.
- A comprehensive first-year welcome experience that introduces students to mental health resources, campus support systems, and healthy habits before and during their transition to WPI. This includes a pre-arrival mental health education module completed by nearly 90 percent of incoming students.
- Redevelopment of the Insight curriculum to increase mental health awareness among first-year students.
- Introduction to Mindfulness course – strong student response; 5 sections per term with 15 students.
- The Mindfulness Institute of Emerging Adulthood (MIEA) is offering Teaching Mindful Moments, a practical 5-week online training that equips faculty to incorporate brief, evidence-based mindfulness practices into their courses. These micro-practices can support student focus, stress management, emotional regulation, and connection. Pilot: 23 faculty trained this summer
- Professional Learning Community Grants for faculty:
- Alternative grading: Members of the PLC will consider four pillars for growth-based grading as they refine, implement, and reflect on alternative grading practices
- Inclusive, Adaptive and Open Learner-Centered Teaching Practices: These projects aim to create a collective learning space at WPI for staff, faculty and students to understand neurodiverse learners’ experiences, discuss support strategies, and implement adaptations.
- Creation of a make-up exam center and updates to faculty guidance regarding academic flexibility and student support.
- Development of Herd Highlights, a biweekly communication that promotes campus resources, well-being initiatives, deadlines, and engagement opportunities.
- Centralized resource information through the Student Resources and Support website and Gompei's Guide and the WPI Safe mobile application.
- Support for student organizations focused on mental health and well-being, including Active Minds, SMART (Students Mentoring Active Responsibility Together), and the Student Mental Health Committee.
Outreach, Intervention, Screening, and Care
Students have access to individual counseling, group counseling, and skills-based mental health programming designed to support a range of student needs free of charge offered by licensed clinicians.
WPI conducts an initial screening process for students seeking counseling services to help connect them with the most appropriate level of care.
The Student Development and Counseling Center offers daily walk-in counseling hours, allowing students to meet with a counselor without a prior appointment.
The university strengthened its continuum of care by expanding off-campus referral networks and implementing 24/7 on-call counseling services through ProtoCall. Support services available through WPI and national contacts (including 988) are printed on the back of student identification cards and through the WPI Safe mobile app, ensuring students have access to support whenever they need it.
WPI has made substantial investments in student support staffing, including four new positions within the Student Development and Counseling Center (three counselors and one case manager), four additional academic advisors that reduced advisor caseloads by approximately 26 percent, a dedicated CARE Team coordinator, and expanded staffing in other student-facing offices. WPI also hires per-diem counselors to manage peaks in demand.
The university revised its postvention protocols in 2022 and again in 2026 to align with emerging best practices and guidance from the JED Foundation.
WPI also maintains structured pathways for students of concern through the CARE Team, case management support, behavioral intervention processes, and coordinated outreach efforts across campus partners.
Grounded in a public health framework, WPI's approach recognizes that promoting mental health requires attention to the well-being of the entire community while also providing targeted support for those who need it. The university's investments in prevention, care, research, and partnerships are evidence of a sustained and ongoing commitment to fostering a healthy, supportive, and thriving campus environment.