Health and Wellness Online
At WSU Global Campus, your wellbeing matters just as much as your academic success. Health and Wellness Online takes a holistic approach to helping you thrive by supporting every aspect of your journey — from managing stress and building healthy habits to staying active, connected, and resilient. We offer evidence-based programs, weekly workshops, fitness reimbursements, and on-demand resources that empower you to succeed in school and life.
Our goal is to help students strengthen all eight dimensions of wellbeing while supporting persistence in degree completion and reducing unnecessary challenges along the way. The program is led by our health and wellness coordinator, Shane McFarland, a public health professional with graduate training in prevention science and expertise in the following:
- mental health
- mindfulness
- violence prevention
- substance use recovery
- emergency medicine
- physical activity
- family health promotion
Evidence-based programs are designed and implemented using the best available research and data to ensure effectiveness and accountability. In health promotion and prevention science, these programs draw on established theoretical foundations such as public health theory, human development theory, and psychological theory. By grounding interventions in these frameworks, practitioners can more accurately identify the needs of a population, anticipate outcomes, and apply strategies that are more likely to create meaningful and sustainable change.
A program is considered evidence based when it demonstrates clear and replicable outcomes that align with its intended goals. This includes showing evidence of internal validity, meaning that can be attributed to the program itself rather than outside factors, and external validity, meaning that results are generalizable across different populations and settings. Furthermore, evidence-based programs are ideally data driven, using systematic evaluation, continuous monitoring, and feedback to guide decisions and improve outcomes over time. This approach ensures that interventions are not only theoretically sound but also practical, measurable, and adaptable to evolving needs.
At WSU Global Campus, we recognize that wellbeing is more than just physical health; it’s a balance of many interconnected dimensions that shape our daily lives and long-term successes. The eight key dimensions are:
- Emotional Wellbeing – recognizing, expressing, and managing your emotions in healthy, constructive ways
- Environmental Wellbeing – taking responsibility for and respecting both natural and built environments
- Financial Wellbeing – feeling secure and confident in meeting your financial needs
- Intellectual Wellbeing – staying curious, open to ideas, and motivated to learn and think critically
- Occupational Wellbeing – finding satisfaction and enrichment in your work or chosen occupation
- Physical Wellbeing – staying active and healthy, free from pain or limitations that impact daily life
- Social Wellbeing – building meaningful, respectful connections within your community and across cultures
- Spiritual Wellbeing – discovering purpose and meaning in life and your place in the larger world
Virtual Events
Each week, WSU Global Campus offers interactive events designed to support your academic success, personal growth, and overall wellbeing. These sessions cover a wide range of topics — from time management and leadership to mental health and personal safety — giving you practical skills you can apply in school and beyond.
Current and past event offerings include:
- Time Management
- Project Management
- Stress Management
- Mindfulness
- Campus Connect Suicide Prevention Training
- Bystander Intervention – Violence Prevention Programming
- Overdose Prevention and Naloxone Training
- Mental Health First Aid
- Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
- Bringing Baby Home
- Physical Activity and Exercise
- Leadership and Motivation
- Volunteerism
- Defensive Tactics and Personal Safety
Other programs can be developed upon request. All will meet with rigorous evidence-based standards. To suggest a program, please email shane.mcfarland@wsu.edu.
Pathways to Wellness
The Pathways to Wellness program takes you on a transformative journey through which you’ll uncover your strengths, enhance your wellbeing, and build the skills to support those around you. Through hands-on activities, engaging workshops, and reflective practices, you’ll be empowered to thrive in both your personal and professional life.
Learn more about Pathways to Wellness
Cyber Coug Fitness
Global Campus students can be reimbursed up to $125 each semester for a local gym membership or home fitness equipment by submitting receipts and completing healthy habits.
