School of Education Healthy Learning Initiative

In line with WGU’s mission to “change lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity,” Dr. Mamie L. Pack began to lead the School of Education’s Healthy Learning Initiative in 2022. Central to the work are five Healthy Learning pillars: Professional Disposition and Ethics; Principled Leadership; Social and Emotional Learning; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and, Mental Health. Each pillar is reliant upon and intersects with the others.

“We will work to achieve this healthy learning and working environment by braiding our five Healthy Learning Pillars within our curriculum, degree pathways, policies, and practices to create environments where all individuals – faculty, staff, and students – can rise and thrive,” said Pack. “This framework of learning, support, collaboration, and continued professional growth and development provides opportunities for each of us to become our better selves.”

Our vision for Healthy Learning is to create curriculum, products, policies, and practices that attract, support, recruit and retain a diverse and engaged body of faculty and students we equip to become influential leaders. These leaders and learners will champion and model professional dispositions and ethics; diversity, equity, and inclusion; principled leadership; social and emotional learning; and mental health so they can do transformative work at WGU, in their careers, and their communities.

Pack defines Healthy Learning environments as safe environments that support individuals' and communities' academic, physical, psychological, and social well-being. “The five pillars provide critical healthy-learning focus areas that are key drivers of student and faculty academic and professional success,” said Pack. “These five pillars, while being powerful concepts individually, gain collective strength and create a thriving, healthy learning environment.” 

“At WGU, we weave these interconnected initiatives to create healthy learning environments that are intentionally designed, cultivated, and championed in a way that facilitates these three outcomes,” said Pack.

WGU and the School of Education are attracting increasingly diverse students and want to provide them with pathways, cultures, and environments that improve learning outcomes and close attainment gaps.

Foundational to this work, and all work in the School of Education is the tenet and shared belief that all individuals can learn. “We create space for students, leadership, faculty, and staff to expand their perspectives, value the lived experiences of others, and create brave spaces for all to rise and thrive,” said Pack. 

Pack says the School of Education maintains a deeply focused lens on the following groups: 

• First-time, Full-time
• Students of Color
• First Generation
• Low Income  

New federal data show that Western Governors University’s School of Education leads all institutions in the U.S. in conferring bachelor’s degrees in education. WGU’s School of Education conferred 4,669 bachelor’s degrees during the 2021-2022 academic year, according to the most recent data released by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). This accounts for 5.2% of all bachelor’s in education conferrals in the country, marking a notable increase for such conferrals from WGU, from 4.7% in 2020-2021, and 3.8% in 2019-2020.

This achievement highlights WGU’s commitment to providing pathways to opportunity for people who want to become teachers, while addressing the teacher workforce shortage and improving the overall quality of education delivered to students.

Central to this Healthy Learning work is the integration of a Restorative Practices Framework. “We integrate restorative practices in our healthy learning work as an alternative to punitive disciplinary practices,” said Pack. “Building a restorative community is a transformative process. 

We focus on resolving conflict, repairing harm, equipping learners, healing relationships, and accountability.”

“To achieve this transformative work, we have created a comprehensive, integrated, experiential, evidence-based professional development model to educate and prepare our leaders, faculty, and staff to create healthy learning environments. This integrated approach includes six steps below,” explains Pack.

“The goal is to create an environment where faculty are trained, supported, nurtured, and encouraged to engage in professional learning, act with integrity, assume responsibility for student learning, respond to the needs of a diverse education population and the greater community, and collaborate effectively with others.”

There are three guiding principles:

• Build a Sense of Belonging

Research indicates that students who feel a sense of belonging are less likely to drop out and more likely to engage and complete successfully. Belonging also supports a healthy faculty and staff environment. Examples from within the university are restorative practices, space for multi-dimensional learning, a culture of connection and belonging, shift from transactional to transformative.

• Commit that all Students Can Learn

By committing to this tenet, our faculty and staff embrace an open mindset that allows us to serve each student as an individual, meeting them where they are in their unique journey. This is evidenced by personalized support, empathy, and integration of the pillars into the curriculum.

• Create Working and Learning Environments Where Students, Faculty, and Staff Can Thrive

Healthy learning environments create a feeling of safety among learners. This is supported through the establishment and launching of healthy learning communities and professional development and curriculum integration of professional learning and dispositions.

“As noted in this article, A Framework for Professional Dispositions and Ethics has been built to deliver a comprehensive, integrated, research-based model that empowers opportunity for coaching supports geared toward the professional dispositions and ethics required for our students to be successful educators and leaders in their communities, “ said Pack. “Through faculty training and development, and curriculum integration our faculty can model and coach students toward success.”

Integral tto the braiding of the five pillars is the School of Education’s work with the Character Core Project, thanks to funding from the Kern Family Foundation. This research-driven work ranges from professional learning opportunities for K-12 educators to WGU faculty and staff development and curriculum integration. The project has identified a collection of character qualities that, developed over time through learning and life experiences, can bolster success and thriving with qualities such as curiosity, civic engagement, inclusion, compassion, courage, creativity, humility, and more.

WGU has a long-standing commitment to Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL is a lifelong process of developing skills that contribute to academic and career success, and overall individual and collective well-being. The five domains of SEL are Self Awareness, Self-Management, Interpersonal Communication, Executive Function, and Social Awareness. These domains can be applied in the lives of students, faculty, and staff across work, home, communities, and schools. Visit this page for helpful SEL resources.

WGU partners with leading student wellbeing and mental health support services to provide free resources aimed at helping students navigate personal, family, and financial challenges that can affect their academic progress and other responsibilities. Students receive free Mental Health and Wellness Services, 24/7 Crisis Support, and Referral to Local Basic Life Need Resources. Faculty may also access similar holistic support.

WGU’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program is robust and active, led by Jason Thompson, Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEI initiatives are aimed at building communities that value each individual and encourage open, respectful conversations. WGU is committed to promoting inclusion, respect, and acceptance of differences, equal opportunity, and diversity in all our operations and endeavors. The DEI team hosts the Advance Equity Speaker Series as part of this commitment. Monthly webinars are recorded and available to stream on demand.