The department of Student Affairs Planning, Assessment & Research provides quality assessment services, resources, and assessment training for departments of the Texas A&M University Division of Student Affairs and Student Organizations. One of the department’s biggest commitments to the student body of Texas A&M is the annual administration of the Well-being Improvement Survey in Higher Education Settings (WISHES) survey.

WISHES is a national level instrument created as a collaborative between eight higher education institutions, including Texas A&M. Participating universities can choose their own sampling and administration methods, add custom questions and have immediate access to raw data. These factors make WISHES a valuable tool for assessing the student experience.

The survey was first administered in the 2021-2022 school year and covers topics such as overall health, psychological distress, suffering or struggling, flourishing, belonging at Texas A&M, resilience, binge drinking, health and academic risks, engagement in extracurricular activities, having a friend or a mentor, and professors who make them excited about learning and care for them. In the past 3 years, data has been collected from 20,360 responses.

“The goal of the data is truly just to improve students' overall wellbeing, whatever that looks like,” Associate Director of Student Affairs Planning, Assessment & Research Kelly Cox said.

Several departments in the Division of Student Affairs have used the data collected by WISHES to make changes to improve student wellbeing. Fish Camp adjusted its programming to focus on feelings of belonging and mental wellbeing. Mental health programming was added both in Fish Camp staff training and the camp itself. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life used the data in similar ways, focusing in on belonging and mental wellbeing and using the statistics from the service to promote the value of Greek life to the student experience. The office also used the data to support enhanced education and training to address hazing and alcohol consumption.

Cox said that the data in the survey can be useful in all facets of higher education, even outside of student affairs. She also said that responding to the data doesn’t have to be as monumental as creating new programming, but changes can come from the ways staff interact with students. “On an individual level, like an advisor to an organization for example, there are easily things that you could be incorporating by just having conversations with students,” Cox said. “Making personal connections and knowing resources to refer students are things go a long way in terms of well-being.”