Frequently Asked Questions

JED Campus is a signature program of The Jed Foundation (JED) designed to empower colleges and universities with a framework and customized support to enhance student well-being and prevent substance use issues and suicide. By becoming a member of JED Campus, a school demonstrates its commitment to the emotional well-being of its students. JED Campus schools embark on a strategic collaboration with JED that not only assesses and enhances the work that is already being done but also helps create positive, lasting, and systemic change in the campus community.

There are two program options that schools can participate in.

JED Campus is a 4-year partnership in which participating schools receive:
• Assistance in building a multi-disciplinary team to work on this initiative with support and involvement from senior leadership on campus
• The JED Campus baseline assessment measuring systems, policies and programs as well as a post-assessment in year 4 measuring systems change achieved during the program
• Two administrations of the Healthy Minds Study survey in year 1 and year 4 measuring students’ attitudes, behaviors and awareness on emotional well-being and substance use issues
• A comprehensive feedback report outlining areas for enhancement and growth
• A site visit to conduct a student focus group, review feedback, and begin strategic planning
• A mental health strategic plan with objectives and action steps for implementation
• Ongoing support from a dedicated JED Campus Advisor throughout the 4-year program
• Membership in our Learning Community where schools share resources and ideas with each other
• The Playbook – an online resource library organized around the JED Comprehensive Approach
• Support in the final year focused on sustaining the gains made while in the program
• A membership logo signifying the institution’s commitment to improving the emotional health of its students and working toward the reduction of suicide and serious substance misuse
• Discounts to numerous programs and services that enhance the supports available to students and staff
• Access to JED’s You Can Help Trainings for faculty and students
• After completion of the 4 year program, membership as a JED Campus alum with ongoing access to the Learning Community and Playbook as well as continued discounts for future administrations of the Healthy Minds Study

JED Campus Fundamentals is an 18-month program in which schools receive:
• Ongoing support from a dedicated JED Campus Advisor for the duration of the program
• Assistance in building a multi-disciplinary team to work on this initiative with support and involvement from senior leadership on campus
• The JED Campus baseline assessment measuring systems, policies and programs
• A comprehensive feedback report outlining areas for enhancement and growth
• A virtual visit to review feedback and potential recommendations
• A mental health strategic plan complete with detailed objectives and action steps for implementation
• Access to the Learning Community, Playbook, and trainings for the duration of the program
• A membership logo signifying the institution’s commitment to improving the emotional health of its students and to reducing suicide and serious substance misuse

JED Campus Fundamentals schools can request an in-person campus visit and/or add an administration of the Healthy Minds Study for an additional fee. They can also continue to access the Learning Community and Playbook beyond 18 months for an additional fee.

The JED Campus feedback report contains suggestions—not mandates—for colleges and universities to consider in order to enhance their policy and programming efforts. The feedback report assesses campus resources in relation to the JED Campus Comprehensive Approach To Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Suicide on College and University Campuses, a consolidation of factors known to help in promoting emotional well-being, preventing suicide, and limiting substance use; it also provides an initial analysis of the results of the Healthy Minds Survey, if conducted by the school.

The JED Campus Member Logo is given to higher education institutions upon entry into the program. The Member Logo recognizes a school’s dedication to supporting the emotional well-being of its students and remains valid through the duration of the program. The Member Logo shows students, their families, and others that the school has committed to assessing and enhancing its mental health and suicide prevention efforts.

The Member Logo is not a certification and does not necessarily indicate a school's achievement of a certain set of standards. The Member Logo also does not guarantee that students on the participating campus will avoid mental health problems, rather, it demonstrates the school's commitment to promoting the emotional well-being of its students.

Over the course of the program, schools will collaborate with advisors from the JED Campus team to identify resources, programs, policies, etc. to address identified gaps in order to strengthen the mental health safety net on campus.

If you are interested in learning more about the financial investment of participants in JED Campus and JED Campus Fundamentals, visit our JED Campus Fees and Funding Opportunities page at https://jedfoundation.org/jed-campus-fee-and-payment-options/

Don't hesitate to reach out to the JED Campus team at jedcampusinfo@jedfoundation.org to learn more about our program fees and available assistance in applying for funding opportunities.

JED Campus will make many recommendations for improvements and enhancements in a school’s services and programs. A participating school may choose to allocate additional funding to address some of these areas, but the JED Campus team will always offer cost neutral alternatives whenever possible. Additionally, with focused attention on student wellness, schools may see reduced cost through elimination of redundancies in services and programs; and schools may also see improved student retention.

The first two semesters of both programs are the most time intensive and team members should expect to meet at least monthly during this period. The first semester is used to build the team and complete assessments. The second semester continues with the campus visit and strategic planning activities. Once implementation begins towards the end of the first year, teams typically split into focused work groups and the full steering committee need only meet 1-2 times per semester while the strategic plan is being implemented.

The time it takes to complete the JED Campus assessment will vary. We recommend that members of the interdisciplinary team work together to complete the assessment. Most campuses are able to complete the assessment in less than two weeks but some take up to two months. In addition, we have heard that the act of completing the assessment as a team is a terrific learning experience for new and experienced staff alike.

Each college/university will assemble an interdisciplinary, campus-wide team to steer JED Campus at their institution. Given the breadth and depth of the assessment, no single individual will be able to answer all the questions. As such, the school’s JED Campus team group should all take responsibility for completion of the assessment.

JED Campus is based upon The Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention on College and University Campuses, which was developed and reviewed by multiple experts in mental health and higher education and is considered a consensus best practice by the AFSP/SPRC best practice registry (for more information: https://www.jedcampus.org/our-approach/). This model is based on the Air Force suicide prevention program, which has been shown to decrease rates of suicide, homicide and accidental deaths. JED Campus combines the content of the Comprehensive Model with expert recommendations regarding factors related to preventing substance use issues in young adults.

Additionally, you can view the 2020 JED Campus Impact Report here.

While many schools have adopted elements of the JED Campus approach and a number have based their mental health support systems upon it, it is only partially implemented at a significant number of colleges. Most schools provide direct counseling services, yet, often there is not a holistic, public health, campus-wide approach to mental health. Schools that already demonstrate a comprehensive approach to mental health on campus report that participation in JED Campus alerted them to areas for improvement that they did not realize they had and further strengthened their policies, systems, programs and practices. Participation in the program can support all schools in exploring new ideas for enhancing the great work in process, and finding innovative ways to support the emotional well-being of their students. Finally, in the four year program, the analysis of the pre- and post- JED Campus and Healthy Minds Study assessments provide schools with evidence of the impact of systems change on student outcomes.

Emotional health is a campus-wide issue that impacts and involves multiple campus departments and stakeholders. To be most effective in the JED Campus effort, a school is asked to form an interdisciplinary team to work on systemic strategies for promoting emotional health and preventing substance use issues and suicide. A commitment from and participation by senior leadership is key to the integration of efforts on campus.

While the composition of teams will vary from campus to campus, it is recommended that the following offices be represented on the JED team when possible. Schools may build upon an existing team if one exists:

•Senior Administration (President’s or Provost’s office)
•Academic Affairs Leadership (Deans, Department Chairs, etc.)
•VP of Student Affairs, Dean of Students (or equivalent)
•Academic Advising
•Career Services
•Communications/Marketing
•Counseling Center staff
•Disability/Accessibility Services
•Facilities, Dining, and/or Transportation staff
•Faculty
•Financial Aid/Financial Literacy staff
•Health Center staff
•Health Promotion/Substance Use Support Services (if separate from Health or Counseling)
•Institutional Research/Effectiveness (or equivalent person to help with data)
•Legal Affairs/General Counsel
•Residential Education/Life staff
•Security/Campus Police
•Students (RAs, Peer Educators/Mentors/Advisors, Student Government, leadership of formal and/or informal student groups/organizations, identified mental health/substance misuse allies)
•Athletics (if relevant)
•Chaplaincy/Ministry staff (if relevant)
•Fraternity/Sorority Life (if relevant)

We expect that assembling the team will be an individualized process. For some colleges, a team may already be in place. For others, building a team may include forging new relationships among appropriate departments.

The student voice is critical to the success of JED Campus. JED collects information directly from students through the Healthy Minds Study (if conducted) and through a student focus group conducted as part of the campus visit. Additionally, it is recommended that students be involved on the JED team or task force that is developed on campus to provide ongoing input and participation into the process. Also, It will be very important for JED Campuses to develop a communication plan to regularly share information with students and all campus stakeholders regarding progress on the JED Campus project, and offer additional opportunities for input and participation throughout.

No. Only participating schools can decide whether and what information will be shared publicly. JED Campuses sign an agreement with JED which assures confidentiality of school information. A school’s assessment, feedback and strategic plan will never be shared publicly by JED. At times, JED will publish findings about all JED Campuses in aggregate to show the need for mental health services that is present on campuses and to demonstrate the progress JED Campuses are making towards addressing these needs. But at no time will individual school information be released to the public unless the school consents to be featured in a media article, whitepaper, or case study.

Additionally, while JED receives Healthy Minds Study data from the University of Michigan, JED does not receive any student identifiers and does not store Healthy Minds Study data separately from the University of Michigan storage system. Any Healthy Minds Study data received by JED is only used to help inform the development of recommendations as part of the strategic planning process and is never shared publicly.

The Equity in Mental Health Framework (EMHF) found here provides a model to guide colleges and universities in developing, implementing, and refining on-campus programs to support the emotional well-being and mental health of students of color. It was created in partnership by The Steve Fund and JED. It is based on a systematic literature review, a survey of existing evidence-based programs, expert input from mental health and higher education leaders, and a survey of more than 1,000 students.

The Framework and corresponding online toolkit provide recommendations and implementation strategies to support administrators, decision-makers, providers, and students in their campus-based efforts to reduce mental illness stigma, increase support and proactive responsiveness, improve campus climate, and provide system wide opportunities to help all students thrive. The EMHF framework and recommendations are integrated into the JED Campus assessment and feedback process, and designed to be employed at any stage of on-campus programming development and implementation. The recommendations are designed to address challenges faced by campuses, provide insight on program implementation, and share best practices for collaborations within and across campus programs.