Designed for use with students as they transition to and through college to help address common issues that impact student success.

The college years can be challenging for so many different reasons. Sometimes it seems like nobody is willing to say that out loud. Wellstart, a program of the American College Health Foundation, is a four-module course designed to offer information on common areas of concern for students as they transition to and through college. This course focuses some much-needed attention on these often-weighty issues and does so in a way that explains a lot of the science behind what students might be feeling.

Some of the Wellstart topics are:

• Saying goodbye to home and hello to college life
• Loneliness
• Stress
• Identity

Each module includes questions to help students think about their own experiences, thoughts, and feelings so they can better understand what they need to make their college years successful. Also included in this course are some short surveys to help students quickly assess signs and symptoms of anxiety and mental distress. Mental health resources and strategies are included throughout the course. This course may also be used as professional development for students who are in roles such as resident advisors, peer health educators and club leaders and who because of their positions, interact regularly with first year students.