a) An overall description of what the practice is and what it intends to accomplish (purpose and objectives).

b) The key activities or core components.

c) Any relevant background information such as the history behind the practice, principles or values that support this practice, and the theories or research that were used to inform the practice.

a) Primary topic, issue, or need addressed (e.g., mental health literacy, personal skills development, institutional structure, etc.).

b) Target audience(s) of the practice.

c) Key population(s) the practice is intended to or does impact.

If you are applying ONLY for the Best practice continuum track, please proceed with this form. 

If you are applying ONLY for the Indigenous-specific practice track, do not proceed with this form and please complete the form at this link.

If you are applying for both the Best practice continuum and Indigenous-specific practice tracks, please proceed with this form AND complete the form at this link.

Describe the identified need related to student mental health and well-being that your practice is intended to address and explain specifically how the practice will address this need.  

In the response, be sure to:

a) Describe how the need was identified.

b) Explain who was involved in the identification process.

c) List the sources of information that support the identified need (e.g., Supporting research, student needs assessment results, aggregated data from mental health services or mental health promotion programs, institutional priority, etc.).

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the practice’s campus and community stakeholders and why they were engaged or partnered with.

Examples of campus stakeholders:  Student leaders, student groups including equity-deserving groups such as – but not limited to – BIPOC and racialized students and 2SLGBTQ+ students, student associations, student unions, international students, undergraduate or graduate students, faculty, staff, clinicians, leadership, administration, academic divisions, etc.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe any sources¹ (i.e., theories, guidelines, standards, etc.) that were used to develop and/or implement the practice.

In the response, be sure to:

a) Provide a citation for the source(s)

b) Explain why the source(s) was selected.

c) Describe how the practice was informed by the source(s).

Note: Feel free to submit a separate appendix of references at the end of the form if they exceed the character limit in the text box.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

¹ Examples of sources:  Student development theories, Health Belief Model, Social Determinants of Health/Systems Theory, Social Learning Theory, Social Ecological Model, Stages of Change Model, Logic model/Theory of Change, Mental health dual continuum model, First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework (Thunderbird Partnership Foundation), Post-Secondary Student Mental Health: Guide to a Systemic Approach (CACUSS), the Medicine Wheel, Marshall’s Two-Eyed Seeing Model, National Standard of mental health and well-being for post-secondary students, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, etc.

Regardless of whether or not it has been measured yet, describe what the practice is intended to achieve (i.e., intended outcomes or impact of the practice) including how it will benefit the key population identified in the practice summary.  

Considerations¹:

Outcomes:  Specific changes in participants’ behavior, knowledge, skills, status, or level of functioning.  Short to medium-term outcomes are generally attainable within one to three years, while longer-term outcomes are generally achievable within a four to six year timeframe.

Impacts²:  Fundamental intended or unintended change occurring in organizations, communities, or systems in the long-term as a result of practice activities (i.e., within the past seven to ten years).

In the post-secondary context, it is generally understood that measuring medium and long-term outcomes and impacts are challenging to attain given that college and university programs are time-limited (e.g., four years for undergraduate degree programs).

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

¹ Source (of outcomes and impacts definitions):  Adapted from W.K. Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide (2004).  Retrieved from:  https://www.betterevaluation.org/sites/default/files/LogicModelGuidepdf1.pdf

² In the post-secondary context, impact is most applicable to strategies and frameworks.

Describe initial practice successes or other indicators that demonstrate the practice is working.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Explain the plan to identify lessons learned that will be used to improve the practice, as an indicator of quality improvement.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the identified need related to student mental health and well-being that your practice is intended to address and explain specifically how the practice will address this need.  

In the response, be sure to:

a) Describe how the need was identified.

b) Explain who was involved in the identification process.

c) List the sources of information that support the identified need (e.g., Supporting research, student needs assessment results, aggregated data from mental health services or mental health promotion programs, institutional priority, etc.).

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the practice’s campus and community stakeholders and explain why they were engaged or partnered with. Please also describe how stakeholders, especially students, were engaged or partnered (e.g., co-design, advisory committee, feedback form, consultation sessions, etc.) with in the practice processes (e.g., needs assessment, planning, development, implementation, delivery, quality improvement, evaluation, dissemination).

Examples of campus stakeholders:  Student leaders, student groups including equity-deserving groups such as – but not limited to – students who identify as Black, Indigenous, racialized and/or 2SLGBTQ+, student associations, student unions, international students, undergraduate or graduate students, faculty, staff, clinicians, leadership, administration, academic divisions, etc.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe any sources (i.e., theories, guidelines, standards, etc.) that that were used to develop and/or implement the practice.  The source(s) must be grounded in evidence or informed by a theoretical approach(es)¹.  Sources can also come from an authoritative or credible source(s)².

In the response, be sure to:

a) Provide a citation for the source(s).

b) Explain why the source(s) was selected.

c) Describe how the practice was informed by the source(s).

Note: Feel free to submit a separate appendix of references at the end of the form if they exceed the character limit in the text box.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

¹ Examples of sources grounded in evidence or informed by a theoretical approach(es):  Student development theories, Health Belief Model, Social Determinants of Health/Systems Theory, Social Learning Theory, Social Ecological Model, Stages of Change Model, Logic model/Theory of Change, psychotherapy approaches, clinical guidelines (e.g., American Psychological Association, Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments, etc.), evidence-based psychotherapies (cognitive-behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy), etc.

² Examples of authoritative or credible source(s):  Post-Secondary Student Mental Health: Guide to a Systemic Approach (Canadian Association of College & University Student Services and Canadian Mental Health Association, 2013), National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students (Canadian Standards Association, 2020), Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting University and Colleges (2015), etc.

A) Describe the evaluation plan, including all the following:

I) State the duration of the evaluation since practice implementation.

II) Explain who participated or is participating in the evaluation.

III) List the evaluation question(s) or aim(s).

IV) List the metrics (e.g., variables, outcomes, outputs) that will be measured or are in the process of being measured to demonstrate the practice is effective.

V) Describe the methods or tools that are being used or will be used to collect data (e.g., pre- and post-session evaluation form, focus group, interviews, observation, document review, etc.)

VI) Explain how these data will be or are being analyzed.

B) Provide a brief summary of initial evaluation results or outcomes demonstrating the effectiveness of the practice.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the process used for identifying lessons learned to improve the practice, as an indicator of quality improvement.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe any plans that demonstrate potential for the practice to be maintained (e.g., development of sustainability plan outlining resource requirements).

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the identified need related to student mental health and well-being that your practice is intended to address and explain specifically how the practice will address this need.  

In the response, be sure to:

a) Describe how the need was identified.

b) Explain who was involved in the identification process.

c) List the sources of information that support the identified need (e.g., Supporting research, student needs assessment results, aggregated data from mental health services or mental health promotion programs, institutional priority, etc.).

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the practice’s campus and community stakeholders and explain why they were engaged or partnered with. Please also describe how stakeholders, especially students, were engaged or partnered (e.g., co-design, advisory committee, feedback form, consultation sessions, etc.) with in the practice processes (e.g., needs assessment, planning, development, implementation, delivery, quality improvement, evaluation, dissemination).

Examples of campus stakeholders:  Student leaders, student groups including equity-deserving groups such as – but not limited to – BIPOC and racialized students and 2SLGBTQ+ students, student associations, student unions, international students, undergraduate or graduate students, faculty, staff, clinicians, leadership, administration, academic divisions, etc.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the sources (i.e., theories, guidelines, standards, etc.) that were used to develop and/or implement the practice.  The practice must be informed by theoretical approaches and practice-based evidence/research or (controlled) research.

In the response, be sure to:

a) Provide a citation for the source(s).

b) Explain why the source(s) was selected.

c) Describe how the practice was informed by the source(s).

Note: Feel free to submit a separate appendix of references at the end of the form if they exceed the character limit in the text box.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the evaluation plan, including all the following:

a) State the duration of the evaluation since practice implementation.

b) Explain who participated or is participating in the evaluation.

c) List the evaluation question(s) or aim(s).

d) List the metrics (e.g., variables, outcomes, outputs) that were measured to demonstrate the effectiveness of the practice.

e) Describe the methods or tools used to collect data (e.g., pre and post-session evaluation form, focus group, interviews, observation, document review, etc.)

f) Explain how these data were analysed.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Provide a summary of evaluation results that clearly link positive outcomes to the practice.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe how a quality improvement process was implemented.

In the response, be sure to:

a) Explain who was involved in this process.

b) Describe any techniques, models, or tools that were used to implement this process.

c) Provide a description of changes made to the practice because of this process.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Please state the date (approximate month and year, if possible) when the implementation of the practice began.  Describe how the practice was maintained over time to achieve desired outcomes.  

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the identified need related to student mental health and well-being that your practice is intended to address and explain specifically how the practice will address this need.  

In the response, be sure to:

a) Describe how the need was identified.

b) Explain who was involved in the identification process.

c) List the sources of information that support the identified need (e.g., Supporting research, student needs assessment results, aggregated data from mental health services or mental health promotion programs, institutional priority, etc.).

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the practice’s campus and community stakeholders and explain why they were engaged or partnered with. Please also describe how stakeholders, especially students, were engaged or partnered (e.g., co-design, advisory committee, feedback form, consultation sessions, etc.) with in the practice processes (e.g., needs assessment, planning, development, implementation, delivery, quality improvement, evaluation, dissemination).

Examples of campus stakeholders:  Student leaders, student groups including equity-deserving groups such as – but not limited to – BIPOC and racialized students and 2SLGBTQ+ students, student associations, student unions, international students, undergraduate or graduate students, faculty, staff, clinicians, leadership, administration, academic divisions, etc.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the sources (i.e., theories, guidelines, standards, etc.) that were used to develop and/or implement the practice.  The practice must be informed by theoretical approaches and practice-based evidence/research or (controlled) research.

In the response, be sure to:

a) Provide a citation for the source(s).

b) Explain why the source(s) was selected.

c) Describe how the practice was informed by the source(s).

Note: Feel free to submit a separate appendix of references at the end of the form if they exceed the character limit in the text box.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe the evaluation plan, including all the following:

a) State the duration of the evaluation since practice implementation.

b) Explain who participated or is participating in the evaluation.

c) List the evaluation question(s) or aim(s).

d) List the metrics (e.g., variables, outcomes, outputs) that were measured to demonstrate the effectiveness of the practice.

e) Describe the methods or tools used to collect data (g., pre and post-session evaluation form, focus group, interviews, observation, document review, etc.).

f) Explain how these data were analysed.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

In the response, be sure to:

a) Explain who was involved in this process.

b) Describe any techniques, models, or tools that were used to implement this process.

c) Provide a description of changes made to the practice because of this process.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Provide a summary of evaluation results that clearly and/or consistently link positive outcomes (i.e., short, medium, and long-term) and/or impacts to the practice.  In your response, please include the time period over which the outcomes and other variables were measured.

Suggestions for inclusion:

a) Describe the evaluation design used to control for external factors.

b) Include the measures used and whether they are validated measures.

c) Explain any potential biases and how they were discounted.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe how the practice was maintained and achieved desired outcomes over time.  Please state the duration of the practice since start of implementation.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe how the practice has been implemented in another setting or with a different population and demonstrate that the results were replicated. 

In the response, be sure to:

a) Describe the replication process.

b) Describe any adaptations that were made to the original practice.

c) Provide a summary of evaluation results that demonstrate the practice results were replicated.

For the purposes of this submission, practice replication can be within an organization (i.e., in different faculties or across different student groups) or by another organization, community, etc. 

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)

Describe how the practice has been externally validated to contribute to improving the evidence base, such as through a peer review process, external evaluation, or dissemination of a report or product.  In your response, provide citations and/or links to any articles, journals, reports, external evaluations, etc.

Note: Feel free to submit a separate appendix of references at the end of the form if they exceed the character limit in the text box.

Examples:  Peer-reviewed journals (may be in the process of being reviewed), published external evaluation or report on the practice outcomes, inclusion in a legacy product or “best practices” toolkit from an authoritative or credible source(s), etc.

(Recommended character range: 700 to 1000 characters)