Student Health & Wellness Division · University of Utah · n=40 responses
Forty of you took the time to fill out the pre-retreat survey. Some of what you wrote was honest. Some of it was vulnerable. A few of you were direct about things that are hard to say in a work setting. This document is what you told us — summarized in seven themes, with a sense of where we go from here. The retreat on May 8 is built around what you said. This document is built around making sure you can see that.
Two numbers tell the headline of the survey.
Most of you are connected to why we do this work.
Most of you are not sure where the work is going.
That gap is the story. You care about the work. You're less sure where the work is going. The good news is the connection is real and durable. The harder news is that the second number is the one we have to address — together.
Almost every response that named a strength named the same thing: this division cares about students. Even through burnout. Even through disappointment. That is not a given at every institution. It is the foundation everything else is built on.
Your responses surfaced seven themes — in the order you raised them, by how often each was named.
We don't know what other departments are doing. We want cross-department collaboration at every level — not just director-to-director.
The roadmap exists. We don't know it exists in a form that connects to our work. We want visuals, plain language, and to find ourselves in it.
"Game of telephone." We want to understand how decisions get made and hear them from the source — not through three or four layers.
We want specific, named recognition — not group thanks at staff meetings. The ratio of criticism to recognition feels off for some of us.
We're watching colleagues leave. The math on master's-level salaries doesn't work. This is the most emotionally charged theme in the data.
Clinical staff want clean, Medicat-integrated handoffs. A referral coordination program is in pilot — most staff don't know it exists yet.
The hardest theme. A few of us wrote about not feeling safe to ask questions, feeling unheard during personal crises, and cultural belonging.
Many of us wrote that the division feels like it operates in parallel rather than together — that we do our work, colleagues in other departments do theirs, and the seams are mostly invisible. Some of us named that this leads to duplicated effort. Some named that it leads to feeling alone. Several specifically asked for ways for non-director staff to know what's happening across departments — not just director-to-director.
How May 8 addresses itThe Interactive Activity is built around mixed-department teams. Director Speed Rounds make every department's work visible to every staff member in the room. Lunch seating is intentionally mixed. The Hub launches at every seat as the asynchronous home for cross-department awareness between retreats.
Being considered for after May 8A quarterly cross-department touchpoint. A rotating department spotlight on the Hub. Clearer internal communication about what each department is working on. These structures should be built with us, not handed down to us.
Many of us wrote that we don't have a clear picture of where the division is headed — what we're working on, why, and how it connects to the work we do. A few asked for a website where the division's initiatives, history, and direction would live in one place. That website now exists.
How May 8 addresses itThe opening of the retreat walks through the Strategic Roadmap and four division-level KPIs. The Programs & Initiatives section gives an in-depth review of four current initiatives. The new Strategic Initiatives page on the Hub launches alongside the retreat.
It's not that we disagree with the decisions. It's that we can't see how they get made. "Game of telephone" — by the time information reaches us, it has passed through layers and arrived without context. Several of us asked, plainly, that we speak plainly.
How May 8 addresses it"You Asked. We Answer." names how decisions get made and commits to two specific changes: (1) major divisional decisions communicated in writing with reasoning included, and (2) a monthly AVP office-hours session open to any staff member.
Recognition exists. Some of us wrote that it feels generic — and that mistakes get more airtime than contributions. Several used the word "validation" specifically. The ask is not for programs — it's for specific, named recognition from direct supervisors.
How May 8 addresses itDirector Speed Rounds now include a question: "Who on your team should be named today?" — each director comes prepared with a specific staff member and a specific reason. Staff Recognition Awards are integrated into lunch across four FY25 categories, announced as a surprise.
We're watching colleagues leave. The math on a master's-level salary at this institution doesn't work the way it should. This was the most emotionally charged theme in the survey. Several of us asked for it to be named out loud at the retreat. It will be.
Several clinical staff wrote that referring a student to another service is harder than it should be — unclear processes, unclear contacts, no reliable way to know whether the handoff worked. A few asked specifically for a Medicat-integrated referral process.
How May 8 addresses itThe Programs & Initiatives review names the Referral Coordination Program directly — what's built (consent infrastructure, opt-out form, staff verbal script, Medicat-integrated form), who's in pilot (CCW + UCC), and the rollout timeline (soft Fall 2026, full January 2027). A one-page take-home summary is distributed at the retreat.
The hardest finding in the survey. A few of us wrote about trust — specifically, about not feeling safe to ask questions, about feeling unheard during personal crises, and about cultural belonging in the division. The substance of what was written was hard to read. It was also exactly what we needed to see.
"You Asked. We Answer." includes Trust and Psychological Safety as Theme 5. My response on this theme will be intentionally smaller than on the others — about what I will commit to doing differently as a leader. Trust is rebuilt through behavior over months, not through a slot at a retreat.
Your words on what you're hoping for May 8.
"1 new relationship outside my department." "Connection with other offices." "A stronger sense of how our teams connect."
"Clarity on what our top priorities and focuses are." "Understanding how H&W ties into Student Affairs objectives."
"I hope to walk away feeling genuinely valued for the work I'm doing." "Appreciation. Acknowledge that we work hard."
"Action items. What can I do to help move the ball forward?" "Follow ups with how knowledge and clarity get re-incorporated."
Students don't know where to go and get bounced between offices until they've reached crisis. Warm handoffs and simplified access are the gap.
Students are struggling with isolation and loneliness. We may need to meet them where they are rather than waiting for them to come to us.
Students don't know what resources exist until they're in crisis. Awareness — not new programs — is the gap.
Do we do any after-college preparedness? Students don't know how to navigate adult systems without the built-in university net.
Not promises — commitments to an honest conversation.
Some of what's in here may be hard to read. If a theme surfaced something that's affecting your work or wellbeing, these resources exist for you:
Forty people filled out this survey. The honesty in what you wrote is the reason this document exists. The retreat on May 8 is built around what you said.
One of you wrote that you wished we could speak plainly. The cleanest gift this division can give in return is to do exactly that — at the retreat, in this document, and in the months that follow.
Speaking plainly is not a one-time event. It is a practice.
— Dr. Sherrá L. Watkins, AVP Student Health & Wellness · University of Utah · May 2026
Dr. Watkins serves on the NASPA 2025 Top Issues in Student Affairs Advisory Committee and is featured by name in the Health, Safety & Well-being follow-up brief. The reports below show what 144 vice presidents for student affairs nationally rank as their top priorities — including basic needs (67%), institution-wide collaboration on holistic well-being (66%), and integration of mental health services. Many of the patterns named at the May 8 retreat appear in these national findings.
The fourth resource — the new Standards for Campus-Based Advocacy Services (NASPA, Every Voice Coalition, NOVA · January 2026) — is the national framework for trauma-informed survivor advocacy on campus, relevant to our Center for Campus Wellness work and to interpersonal violence response across the division.