Act 15’s impact on UWRF’s HEAL 108 course

The UW–River Falls General Education and University Requirements Committee voted Oct. 31, 2025, to remove HEAL 108 from the university’s general education requirements. The proposal still needs approval from the Faculty Senate.

HEAL 108 is currently part of UWRF’s general education goal five: Evaluate individual responsibility to self, society, world. The course includes 13 online modules and a physical activity component tracked with a Garmin-brand smartwatch. Students are required to visit the Falcon Center 15 times during the semester.

“We’ve been very intentional with the design and curriculum of this course. It was fully redesigned with the opening of the Falcon Center almost 10 years ago,” said Paul Shirilla, chair of the Health and Human Performance Department. “Students who have healthy behaviors are more likely to stay in school, graduate, be retained and perform better academically. We offer this course to more than 1,000 students a year and do our best to make it applicable and relevant for all of them.”

Shirilla noted that current students will still be required to take HEAL 108. “When changes are made, they happen on a catalog year basis,” he said. “If these changes are made, the earliest catalog year they would apply to is fall 2026, though it will probably be later than that.”

The committee’s vote was narrow, and the Faculty Senate will make the final decision.

The proposal stems from Wisconsin Act 15, approved July 3, which aims to standardize general education requirements across UW campuses to ease student transfers. The UW System Board of Regents has proposed a Core General Education Requirement model of six broad categories, covering 10–12 courses and 30–36 credit hours. The model allocates four to eight credit hours to natural science and wellness.

“No one has an interest in getting rid of Health 108. It is a matter of trying to fit into this new structure that is being mandated,” Shirilla said. “It really came down to a math problem. Even though Health 108 is only one credit, keeping it would put us over the threshold. Other UW schools are maintaining wellness as a requirement. We wish we were one of them, but as it stands right now, that’s not the case.”

Concerns about the course’s removal have focused on student mental health. Nine of the 13 online modules address mental health.

“It was only two years ago that we had a number of mental health crises on our campus,” said Jodee Schaben, associate professor and director of the Health and Wellness Management undergraduate and graduate programs.

“Based on data from the National College Health Assessment, 75% of UW students report three or more major stressors that negatively impact their academic performance. Our students still need support with regard to mental health.”

The Health Department echoed this concern in a letter to the committee, referencing multiple student suicides in fall 2023. Several students criticized the reference.

“Using a tragic event that touched the lives of students and community members in River Falls to attempt to prove a point was not the most professional or effective method,” said student Zoey Haugen.

“While I believe there is some truth to what the letter states, I do not believe the current format of HEAL 108 is the best support the university can offer.”

Student opinion overall appears to favor removing HEAL 108. The Student Government Association passed a resolution stating the course is not seen as beneficial.

“But it also kind of sucks that there isn’t a good health class,” said student Robin Anderson. “It felt like such a filler class and it wasn’t actually about health. It was, ‘Go exercise, because exercise is good for you.’”

The proposal to remove HEAL 108 remains under review. The Faculty Senate will vote on the measure, and if approved, changes would take effect no earlier than fall 2026. Until then, the course continues to be required for current students as part of UWRF’s general education curriculum.