Wellness Days Could Strengthen Student Success at Hood

By Kylie Lancaster//

It is estimated that more than half of enrolled college students experience higher-than-average stress levels, and institutions need to create remedies that address this problem.

Officials at Towson University, located about an hour from Hood, recently announced that they are adding wellness days to their attendance policy. These  days are excused absences from class designed to positively impact students’ well-being. Students at Towson are allowed one wellness day per course each semester, which cannot be used during final exams, clinicals, internships, or placements at external sites.

Given the common attendance policies set by professors at Hood College, implementing wellness days—or something similar—would benefit students’ health and academic success.

In my experience, many professors at Hood allow two absences per semester, and some even count excused absences toward that limit. This provides only two missed classes in roughly 79 days of the semester for any doctor’s visits, illnesses, or emergencies. In most of the syllabi I have received, it also states that any absences exceeding the allotted two will result in a penalty on the final grade.

Being a college student is difficult. The average experience involves a minimum of two classes a day, course readings, and studying while also being social and meeting basic human needs. On top of this, it is uncommon at this institution to meet a student who is solely focused on their education without any distractions or outside stressors, such as athletics or work.

If a wellness day policy similar to Towson’s were implemented at Hood, it would give students the opportunity to take a day to rest without worrying about an absence. Ideally, granting wellness days would also prevent burnout and improve class participation in the long term.

Some individuals may hesitate to adopt a policy that allows an additional absence, fearing it may cause students to lose motivation to attend class or hurt their ability to meet expectations in the workforce. However, if clear boundaries are established for the use of this excused absence, I do not foresee these concerns becoming critical issues for the hardworking and motivated students at Hood.

Officials at Hood and the Student Government Association should consider initiating a conversation about wellness days and what such a policy would entail at our institution. Doing so would demonstrate the college’s commitment to students’ academic success while also recognizing the importance of mental health in higher education.

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