Promising Practices in Wellbeing: Shifting systems, culture, and operations

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” – Proverb

We’ve heard the sage advice about small actions leading to big results. But still it’s true: moving from learning to doing is challenging across the board, and systems-level wellbeing work is no different.

But we also know the power of shared experience and connection—a learning community in action. And now, we have four schools who can attest that it is possible to begin moving beyond the programs, and start making small steps in shifting systems, culture, and operations.

NIRSA Wellbeing Collaborative, in partnership with Wellfleet

Last October in partnership with Wellfleet, NIRSA launched the Wellbeing Collaborative: a year-long, high-impact initiative that supports campus recreation departments in embedding wellbeing into their culture, operations, and strategy.

This first-of-its-kind pilot brought together four campuses—the University of Utah, Towson University, Radford University, and Western Michigan University—who used NIRSA’s Recreation for Wellbeing online course as the foundation for learning, received guided coaching from NIRSA Health & Wellbeing Advisory Group members, and are now excited to share with their campus recreation colleagues their learnings via the NIRSA Promising Practices multi-modal learning experience.

The downloadable pdf “Beyond the Program: Small Steps in Shifting Systems, Culture, and Operations” is now freely available for campus recreation professionals to explore key insights around:

• Moving from programs to systems
• Making wellbeing everyone’s work
• Starting small to change the system

See how four campuses worked through challenges where they achieved successes and discover what they’re still wrestling with nearly nine months into their respective journeys.

“Our team is oriented towards big dreams, big ideas, big goals. Taking the time to stop and recognize where the small wins and small changes can happen—it’s a lesson we have to remind ourselves of,” says Shannon Moore, Health Educator at Radford University.

“It’s a learning curve for everyone—being able to ensure that we set ourselves with realistic goals is one of the biggest takeaways. We’d rather do it right than do it on someone else’s timeline,” says Blaine Spencer, Assistant Director, Sports at the University of Utah.

Spend some time answering the questions for reflection at the end of the Promising Practices document and start making plans to continue your learning journey with your NIRSA colleagues on September 3, 2026.

NIRSA Wellbeing Collaborative, in partnership with Wellfleet FREE Webinar

On Thursday, September 3 at 1:00pm Eastern/10:00am Pacific, campus recreation professionals can attend a free webinar highlighting each of the four schools who participated in NIRSA’s pilot Wellbeing Collaborative, as they reflect on their year-long experiences. This is your chance to ask questions from representatives from these four leading schools.

Participation is limited to 100 spots, so be sure to secure your FREE spot!

Apply to take part in NIRSA’s next Wellbeing Collaborative

For 2026-2027, your school can be a part of NIRSA’s second class of Wellbeing Collaborative schools. This second ever collaborative will bring together four more campuses who will use NIRSA’s Recreation for Wellbeing online course as the foundation for learning, receive guided coaching, and disseminate multi-modal learnings via the NIRSA Promising Practices model.

Partnership with Wellfleet

NIRSA is grateful for Wellfleet’s partnership in this initiative. As part of its Campus Health 360 strategy, Wellfleet actively seeks opportunities to collaborate with organizations that share its commitment to supporting healthier campus communities.

Campus Health 360 was designed to improve healthcare and wellbeing outcomes for entire student populations. Its reach goes beyond Wellfleet members—they aim to broadly impact campuses by sharing expertise in college health, offering proven tools and resources, and fostering collaborations that drive meaningful change.

Wellfleet, Wellfleet Student, Wellfleet Special Risk, and Wellfleet Workplace are marketing names used to refer to the insurance and administrative operations of Wellfleet Insurance Company, Wellfleet New York Insurance Company, and Wellfleet Group, LLC (known in California only as Wellfleet Group, LLC dba Wellfleet Administrators, LLC). All insurance products are administered or managed by Wellfleet Group, LLC. Product availability is based upon business and/or regulatory approval and may differ among states.