By Myara Gomez
Staff Writer
The College sent out a ACHA-NCHA survey and golden ticket opportunity to students on Feb. 14. The email stated that some students would be “randomly selected to participate in a survey about students’ health and wellness.”
The NCHA survey, which is formally named the National College Health Assessment, was created by the American College Health Association. This questionnaire assessed student life on campus including their behaviors, habits and perceptions. Some of the topics covered were drug use, sexual health, nutrition, safety, violence and mental health.
“The information gives us a snapshot of student concerns and struggles. The information can then be used to develop health and prevention programming and interventions for students.” said Mark Forest, assistant vice president for health and wellness and director of counseling and prevention services.
The survey will remain open until early March.
Students are told to keep an eye out for their “golden ticket,” as they might have a chance to receive a prize for completing the survey.
“The Golden Ticket is a marketing strategy we use to encourage students to complete the survey,” Forest said. “The concept is taken from the movie ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,’ where children who receive a Golden Ticket inside of a chocolate bar get to tour a chocolate factory. In this case, all TCNJ students who get the survey have a “Golden Ticket” of an opportunity to make their voices heard and in the process, are then eligible for one of many prizes.”
Students can receive a free parking pass or a gift card to campus town or to Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic or Athleta if they receive a golden ticket.
“I really appreciated that this survey was sent out as it was really helpful [in] assessing my mental and physical health,” said freshman iSTEM and elementary special education major Samuel Regen.
In this year’s survey there were a few questions related to Covid-19, with the intentions of having students reflect on the past 12 months of their life.
“I feel that randomly selecting students at TCNJ may help gain their perspective, but it’s essential to have the survey sent school wide to ensure that the health and wellness of all students is being taken into consideration,” said freshman biology major Ria Patel.
Forest said that many of the health and wellness staff are content programmers and will use the survey results to inform decisions on what kind of programs will be helpful to students at the College.
If a student is in need of counseling, they can contact caps@tcnj.edu. The Counseling and Prevention services office is open Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Eickhoff Hall.
