RHS 226: College Student Mental Health and Wellness is a class offered at University Park as a way for students to fulfill their general health and wellness requirement with a focus on mental health rather than physical education.
The course was created by Jeffrey Hayes, a professor of education, when he began to think of the idea around five to six years ago.
Hayes began his career as a psychotherapy researcher, with an interest in how effective the practice is, especially for students of different cultural groups. Then, when the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) began around 20 years ago, he was “on the ground floor.”
The idea was that the country could benefit from well-collected data on college student mental health services offered at university counseling centers across the country.
Hayes said in 2005 there was a conference held at Penn State where around 58 representatives from different universities came to talk about this idea. Now, CCMH gets data from over 200 universities and over a million students.
“I’ve been doing research for the last 20 years or so on college student mental health, and I know there is chronically an imbalance between demand for services at the counseling center and staff availability,” Hayes said. “I thought…I might have a couple things to share with students on what I’ve learned.”
Because of this increased demand for mental health services among college students he thought there would be an interest in a course like RHS 226, so he put a proposal forward.
While he was met with some skepticism when he pitched the idea, one faculty member told Hayes his students wouldn’t be interested in the class, but after 10 days when the course was released, the maximum number of 35 students enrolled.
Now, he teaches the course in the Forum Building and has taught around 1,300 students across all sections.
According to Hayes, the semester begins with talking about the current state of college student mental health.
“‘There is a college student mental health crisis,’ — it’s a phrase you hear a lot,” Hayes said. “The sky isn’t falling. College student mental health is getting better in some regards and worse in others, and it’s important that we understand those nuances.”
Hayes said the class then dives into “how we know what we know” based on national and local surveys and research. After this, the course moves to common issues seen in college students like anxiety, depression, suicide, substance abuse, eating concerns and sleeping problems.
The course ends with “the good life,” according to Hayes. He talks to students about optimal mental wellbeing and explores constructs like identity flourishing, values and relationships between peers, partners, parents and themselves.
He said he ends the course in a way that tries to help students learn for themselves when they are at their best, depending on what they eat, how much they sleep, if they’re active and so on.
The Forum Building stands on Sunday, April 20, 2025 in University Park, Pa.
“I like the way the course ends on such a positive note,” Hayes said. “It can be heavy at times talking about anxiety — which is so prevelent — depression and suicide. Yet, there’s a way to present the information that makes it relatable to students and doesn’t sort of clobber students over the head and leave them feeling worse as a result.”
Sarah Kirtz is currently taking RHS 226 because she has an interest in mental health topics as an education major. Kirtz, a second-year studying elementary and early childhood education, said her advisor said students love the class when she initially told her she was considering enrolling.
Kirtz said she loves how much mental health resources on campus are emphasized in the curriculum and day-to-day lectures.
“College is such a hard time for some people. It’s really fun but it’s really different than anything we’ve ever experienced before,” Kirtz said. “This is truly how we as young adults go into the real world and try to find our own way of living.”
Hayes said the course does serve a “psycho educational purpose” because it teaches students the material they need to impact their own lives and relieve some “suffering” they may be experiencing or even help another student.
“There’s simply less stigma around mental health these days with college students than previous generations,” Hayes said. “So I think students are more psychologically sophisticated than was the case 15, 20, 30 years ago. I think students come to the course with an appreciation for the importance of psychological well-being already.”
Andrew Nadermann said he’s known Hayes for several years now, so when he became a part of the PhD program, they talked about him becoming a teaching assistant for the course.
Nadermann, a doctoral student studying counselor education, said he’s learned a lot from the course, especially being a practicing counselor with a large caseload of college students.
“It’s relevant, pertinent and I think even if you’re not somebody who is interested in going into the helping fields, helping professions, it’s just valuable to know what are the types of challenges that exist for college students around mental health and wellness,” he said.
Hayes said over the six times he’s taught the class, he’s loved teaching it and his time teaching in general. Despite the large size of the class, he said there’s great discussion and students are engaged in what’s being said.
“I think students learn not only about college student mental health, but about themselves as well,” Hayes said. “That’s how we try to teach the class is to encourage students to think about how the material applies to themselves, to people they know, people they care about.”
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