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Okanagan Charter

In April 2023, Northern Michigan University was the 17th adopter of the Okanagan Charter in the United States, which now boasts 29 higher education institutions, four of which are based in Michigan.

Origins of The Okanagan Charter

The Okanagan Charter was an outcome of the 2015 International Conference on Health Promoting Universities and Colleges. The Charter development process engaged researchers, practitioners, administrators, students and policy makers from 45 countries. At the Conference, 380 delegates critiqued and refined the Charter in a design lab and development sessions. On the final conference day, higher education leaders and delegates signed a pledge to bring the Charter back to their settings to inspire and catalyze further action towards the creation of health promoting universities and colleges. 

The Commitment

The Charter has two calls to action: Embed health into all aspects of campus culture, across the administration, operations and academic mandates; and lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.

“Since adopting the Okanagan Charter, we have been even more deliberate in prioritizing the wellbeing of the whole person. It is critical that every student and employee at Northern receives the attentive and intentional care they need to become the best version of themselves on campus and wherever their path leads them,” said Brock Tessman, president of Northern Michigan University. “The role of higher education is about more than teaching, but about tending to the holistic development of everyone that has chosen Northern for their education or career.”

The Purpose of the Okanagan Charter

  • Guide and inspire action by providing a framework that reflects the latest concepts, processes and principles relevant to the Health Promoting Universities and Colleges equitable health movement, building upon advances since the 2005 Edmonton Charter.
     
  • Generate dialogue and research that expands local, regional, national and international networks and accelerate action on, off and between campuses. 
     
  • Mobilize international, cross-sector action for the integration of health in all policies and practices, thus advancing the continued development of health promoting universities.

The Progress

Since adopting the Okanagan Charter, Northern has thoughtfully implemented multiple changes through the Charter’s calls to action, including:

  • Finalizing an organizational structure earlier this year with an intentional focus on wellbeing of person and wellbeing of place, with the appointments of AVPs of Campus WellBeing, Diversity & Inclusion, and Sustainability.
     
  • Developing a Multicultural Advisory Council, a Sustainability Advisory Council, and a WellBeing Advisory Council. These councils will include collaboration and input from all facets of the university and community.
     
  • Utilizing the Healthy Minds Survey and other tools within a health equity framework to more deeply examine mental health, service utilization, sense of belonging and related issues among Northern students and employees to identify areas for improvement.
     
  • Adopting a Carbon Neutrality plan and making a commitment to reduce energy use  and carbon footprint by 2050. The plan also articulates a commitment to divest from fossil fuels and increase investments in sustainable endeavors. 
     
  • Hosting holistic wellbeing experiences, which integrate the environment, inclusivity and wellbeing.
     
  • Providing staff and students culturally responsive development opportunities to build resilience, competence, personal capacity and life enhancing skills.
     
  • Creating collaborative protocols and systems between the Health Center and Counseling and Consultations Services to increase accessibility.

The Okanagan Charter empowers us to develop and deliver inclusive, person-centered, culturally responsive programming and events–within a health equity framework–to students, staff, and faculty that demonstrate that we know, value, see, and understand them as a people,” said Shawnrece Campbell, Ph.D., assistant vice president of diversity & inclusion.

eleven people standing outside the NMU WellBeing Center for a ribbon cutting ceremony

The dedication ceremony of NMU’s WellBeing Center on Thursday, September 28, 2023.

WellBeing Center and Care Team

In August 2023, Northern opened its newly constructed WellBeing Center, which houses both the Health Center and Counseling and Consultation Services. The $6.5 million 13,500-square-foot WellBeing Center can comprehensively address the mental and physical healthcare needs of Northern employees and students under one roof.

Northern also created a Case Administration and Resource Education (CARE) Team, a critical extension of Northern’s commitment to wellbeing, and consists of a campus-wide team of experts to provide free support services to vulnerable students. It uses a case management system to provide standardized, yet individually tailored interventions to help clients achieve their goals, as well as connect students and others visiting the office to the myriad of resources available through the WellBeing Center and other campus departments.

In its first year, the CARE Team has already connected with more than 700 students, and opened more than 100 formal cases. Students average more than 2.5 hours of contact time per case with the CARE Team, which consists of personnel with expertise in student affairs, academic affairs, human resources, mental and physical health, student conduct and campus safety.

Over the past year, we have worked diligently toward our goal of integrating health and wellbeing into every level of campus, a strategy which has informed how we connect with our students and each other,” said Abigail Wyche, assistant vice president of Campus WellBeing. “The Okanagan Charter provides us with the framework we need to make thoughtful decisions and prioritize initiatives focused on holistic health that will positively impact our students, our employees, our community and beyond.

Work Scholars Program

male wearing a black jacket and green hat standing in a workshop

Vision & Concept

  • Students receive work-based learning, competitive pay, and academic credit for certain NMU courses
     
  • Employers provide curriculum insight and build connections with faculty and students to support recruitment opportunities
     
  • Together, NMU and employers provide earlier and progressive connections for students than they would through a traditional internship, fostering mentorship and meaningful career opportunities upon graduation

Aligned with State Population Growth Objectives

The Work Scholars Program aligns with one of the state population growth objectives, "enhance job placement and retention." 

Note: Research findings from Boston Consulting Group revealed that work-based learning partnerships and post-graduation incentives were the only recommendations forecasted to drive direct population growth

Growing Michigan Together Council – Higher Education Workgroup Recommendations

 
Recomended Strategies

These recommendations will have a significant impact on population growth and higher education attainment, likely reversing the state's current brain drain and bringing us to a top-quartile state in attainment. 

Increase Enrollment

Create a K-14 public education system by providing graduating high school students with two years of tuition at a community college or public university. 

Support early college credit uptake and universal Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) or opt-out as a high school requirement.

Improve Transfer/Completion Success

Make the transition from community college graduate to university junior status seamless.

Form advisory group to reimagine higher education funding process, led by proper higher education stakeholders, to ensure competitive, sufficient, sustainable funding that enables increased student success and graduate retention. 

Enhance Job Placement and Retention

Support, formalize, and grow employer partnerships to enable greater student exposure to real-world, on-the-job experience for credit and/or payment. 

Directly influence reversal of "brain drain" by incentivizing recent graduates to seek employment and live in Michigan. 

Opportunity

  • Three medical device manufacturers in the Marquette area (Able Medical Devices, Resolve Medical Technologies, Mount Mfg, & Longyear) are poised for short- and long-term growth, which is inhibited primarily by the number and quality of CNC machining and CNC programming professionals

  • Enrollment opportunity for NMU Engineering Technology programs

  • Collaboration with K-12 school districts for career exploration opportunities

Pilot: Medical Device Manufacturing

 

Mapping NMU CNC Certificate Curriculum with Work-Based Learning Modules

Dr. Cale Polkinghorne led a working group w/industry partners to align learning objectives for Engineering Technology courses with work-based learning modules  

Multiple Pathways - This important work is key to ensuring that students can achieve academic credit through their Work Scholars experience at either at Able Medical Devices, Resolve Surgical Technologies, or Mount Mfg 

Special thanks - Wes Sramek (Resolve Surgical), Jesse Nye (Mount Mfg), and Rob Kinney (Able Medical) for their time and dedication to this effort!

Next Steps

  • Report to the Committee on Undergraduate Programs (CUP) to eliminate one course, add another, and update curriculum within existing courses to keep up with technology and changing processes within the medical device industry 
     
  • Develop a process for students to receive NMU credit for learning objectives achieved through Work Scholars experience, including a designated representative at each partner site who reviews and signs off on tasks completed within the workplace
male instructor and male student working on a machine

Issues to resolve

  • Aligning the Work Scholars experience with the current advanced placement process
     
  • Allocation of costs for the credits
     
  • Grade assignment for Work Scholars credits
     
  • Process for applying credit to student transcripts using the work scholars model (Registrar)
     
  • Addressing the potential impact on traditional enrollment for the courses taking place at NMU (i.e., How to keep traditional courses going if Work Scholars becomes the preferred pathway for credit?)
     
  • Current pilot capacity for three employers is approximately 6 Work Scholars per semester
three male students working on a machine

Sharing the NMU Student Story

From the classroom to meaningful careers, NMU Marketing & Communications team is curating the stories of NMU students and recent graduates into a power message for future Wildcats while also helping to celebrate these unique industry partnerships

Special thanks – Mike Forester, Brooke Whaley, Ryan Sullivan, Dr. Cale Polkinghorne, and Alex Carpenter (NMU Mechanical Engineering Technology Student)

Future Opportunities

 

Career Exploration & Connecting Activities

NMU and industry partners have a shared interest in growing the potential of the Engineering Technology program and the Work Scholars experience

  • “Manufacturing Day” – An idea currently in discussion with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center to showcase career opportunities and new manufacturing technologies with middle- and high-school students
     
  • Upskilling for current employees
     
  • Idea: Manufacturing Advisory Council
    • Intentional forum to foster trust-built relationships and strategy around mutually beneficial initiatives
    • Membership inclusive of diverse industry perspectives, NMU faculty/program leadership, and economic/workforce development partners
    • Action Oriented