Supporting health and wellbeing in tertiary education settings

Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health is involved in promoting health and wellbeing in tertiary education providers. Tertiary education providers such as Te Pūkenga, universities and wānanga can positively influence the health and wellbeing on campus – for all staff and students.

Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health staff currently provide support, services and information to tertiary institutions including:

• Collaborating with ACC to reduce sexual assault on campus at Canterbury tertiary institutions with Universities New Zealand;
• Assisting in the development of campus wellbeing strategies;
• Supporting health and wellbeing initiatives on campus; and
• Helping run the Good One Party Register – an online party register primarily targeted at tertiary students that was developed in Canterbury.

Wellbeing and Vitality in Education (WAVE) is involved with tertiary education providers in South Canterbury.

Previous work has included:

• Involvement with the Tertiary Wellbeing Aotearoa New Zealand (TWANZ) network.
• Co-organising an annual South Island Tertiary Forum for staff and students. These events are an opportunity to discuss health and wellbeing issues and highlight current and future projects.
• Running regional workshops on issues such as drugs on campus; and
• Conducting the South Island Tertiary Health and Wellbeing Survey 2016. This survey involved 7 tertiary education providers.

Using the Okanagan Charter framework

The Okanagan Charter is an international charter for health promoting universities and colleges that was developed in 2015.

The Okanagan Charter has two calls to action:

1. To embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates; and
2. To lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.

Higher education providers are placed to create, share and apply knowledge and research to improve the health of people and communities both now and in the future.

• Download the Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges.
• Download the Generic Pledge to Adopt the Okanagan Charter (2016).
• Download Applying the Okanagan Charter for health promoting campuses in Aotearoa NZ (TWANZ 2018).

Documents

• Best Practice Guidelines to Support Refugee-Background Tertiary Learners in Aotearoa New Zealand (Tertiary Education Commission 2023).
• A Guide for Tertiary Education Organisations on Supporting Care Experienced Learners (Tertiary Education Commission 2023).
• Code of Practice for Pastoral Care of Domestic Tertiary Students (Ministry of Education 2021).
• The State of the Tertiary Education Sector in New Zealand (Tertiary Education Union 2019).
• Evaluation of Thursdays in Black at Lincoln University (Community and Public Health 2018).
• Applying the Okanagan Charter in Aotearoa New Zealand (Journal of Australia New Zealand Student Services Association 2017).
• South Island Tertiary Health and Wellbeing Survey: General report (Community and Public Health 2016).

• Health promotion in Tertiary Settings: Reducing alcohol-related harm (Community and Public Health 2015).
• Health Promotion in Tertiary Settings: Reducing alcohol-related harm – Next Steps (Community and Public Health 2015).
• Evaluation of the Good One Party Register (Community and Public Health 2015).

Downloads

Download or order resources from the Community Health Information Centre.

• Coping with exams.
• Behind the hype: Sports drinks (Health Promotion Agency).
• This isn’t love… this is control – unavailable as under review (Family Planning).

Links

• Tertiary Wellbeing Aotearoa New Zealand network.
• Universities New Zealand.
• Te Pūkenga.
• Tertiary Education Commission.
• Tertiary Education Union.
• Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) – replaces Sustainability in Tertiary Education New Zealand (STENZ).
• NZ Student Union Association.
• Achieve – post secondary education disability network.
• Healthy Universities (UK).