Make Higher Education Healthier

Health Standards for Colleges & Universities

Colleges and universities have a great opportunity to make the healthy choice the easy choice for students and staff by adopting a 100% tobacco-free campus policy, offering worksite wellness programming for staff and offering free or low-cost health and wellness resources to students.

By implementing changes to improve the health of your employees and students through our WellSpot Designation program, schools can play a role in positively impacting the health of the community. We support Louisiana colleges and universities by providing the resources and tools you need to encourage healthy habits like physical activity, healthy eating, stress management and quitting tobacco.

Gina Marcel, director of Human Resources at Fletcher Technical Community College, is one of the many college administrators in Louisiana who has taken the lead in moving the health of her community forward by becoming a WellSpot. Like Gina, change can begin with you—take the lead in your community today!

Want to implement or expand your worksite wellness program? Eligible WellSpots can receive up to $3,000 to make sustainable changes that support employee health and wellbeing at their worksite.


Level-up Your College or University

Colleges and universities that meet certain benchmarks can be designated as a Level 1, 2 or 3 WellSpot, with Level 1 being the highest.

Level 3

  • Tobacco-free policy
  • Three additional benchmarks of choice

Level 2

  • Tobacco-free policy
  • Five additional benchmarks of choice

Level 1

  • Tobacco-free policy
  • All benchmarks met

WellSpot Benchmarks for a Healthier College or University

Well-Ahead is here to help educators and administrators be leaders by becoming a WellSpot. This designation ensures that the students you teach have a healthy environment to learn, while also positively impacting the health of your staff. When you implement these evidence-based benchmarks, you will improve the health of your staff and students and move Louisiana’s health forward!


Our Partners


Citations:

Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Tobacco Use and Dependence Guideline Panel. National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK63952/

2  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008;57(45):1226–8. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5745a3.htm

American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control Report for Louisiana. Retrieved from: https://www.lung.org/media/press-releases/louisiana-sotc-2020

The Business Case For Breastfeeding. Published in 2008 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-home-work-and-public/breastfeeding-and-going-back-work/business-case

Adult Obesity Rates, State of Childhood Obesity, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/adult-obesity/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Facts About Hypertension in the United States. https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Diabetes Quick Facts. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/quick-facts.html