Professor Hippo-on-Campus Mental Health Education Program

Overview

Welcome to Professor Hippo-on-Campus Mental Health Education Program

This program teaches faculty, staff, teaching assistants, graduate students, and student leaders at McMaster University about student mental health and how to support students in a way that suits their role. Participants also learn the Responding to Students in Distress or Difficulty (RSDD) protocol, which teaches how to recognize and reach out to students in distress or difficulty and connect students with appropriate resources and support.

Professor Hippo-on-Campus is free and available to all McMaster employees.

Why was Professor Hippo-on-Campus created?

Demand for student mental health support and services is increasing on post-secondary campuses in North America. Campuses must develop systems and processes to ensure students receive the attention, support, and care that they need to thrive academically and personally. Building support and safety networks requires campus-wide engagement and culture shifts. At McMaster, we are committed to this endeavour.

Faculty and instructors (educators) and those who interact with, support, and supervise McMaster students in many other ways (navigators) are integral to this process. They should not be expected to be mental health experts or counsellors, but they are often ideally situated to recognize and respond to stressed and distressed students, start important conversations, and prevent unnecessary stress and distress. They must feel prepared and comfortable to address student needs in ways that are consistent with and appropriate to their roles.

The Professor Hippo-on-Campus program has been designed and tested to help accomplish these goals in an accessible and engaging format. You will learn what resources are available and what to do to support student mental health. Let’s start talking about the hippo in the room—mental health!

What is the evidence to support this program?

We are committed to continuous quality improvement and evaluation of the Professor Hippo-on-Campus program. We are also conducting and publishing research to study the effectiveness of our programs.

Research:

Professor Hippo-on-Campus: Developing and evaluating an educational intervention to build mental health literacy among university faculty and staff (2022)

What is the difference between Professor Hippo-on-Campus and The Working Mind?

Four ways to participate:

Core Program: 8 asynchronous, online modules through Avenue to Learn.
Staff & Faculty Workshops: 3-hour in-person workshop. Note: The Core Program must be completed before the workshop.
Graduate Student Program: Program designed specifically for graduate students, consisting of 4 online modules, with 70 min duration in total.
Paid TA Training: 1-hour online module option for Mandatory TA Training.

Thank you to our partners and supporters

COPYRIGHT© 2025. Dr. Catharine Munn. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University. All rights reserved. Registration Number: 1231757. The Professor Hippo Mental Health Education Program is provided for educational and personal use only. Any other use is strictly prohibited without permission. Your use of the Professor Hippo-on-Campus Mental Health Education Program is at your own risk as it is provided as-is. The author of the Professor Hippo-on-Campus Mental Health Education Program makes no warranties, either express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness or a particular purpose. If you have any questions about the copyright or reproducing the content, you may contact: munnc@mcmaster.ca.

Core Program

How to Register for the Core Program

The McMaster Okanagan Office of Health & Well-being is pleased to announce that we are partnering with McMaster Continuing Education to deliver the Professor Hippo-on-Campus Core Program (8 online modules through Avenue to Learn).

If you are already registered for a workshop and need urgent access to the modules, or have any other questions, please contact us at profhipp@mcmaster.ca

What will I learn in this program?

You will learn, along with Professor Hippo, about:

Why Professor Hippo-on-Campus?
Stress, Resilience and Coping
Emotions, Mental Health and Mental Illness
Creating a Mental Health Positive and Inclusive Learning Environment
Communicating with Stressed and Distressed Learners
Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress or Difficulty
Accommodations: Context and Process
Mental Health Matters for Educators and Navigators

How long will this program take?

The Professor Hippo-on-Campus e-learning modules run for approximately 3 hours total. Each module is about 10-30 minutes in length. The modules are best done gradually (e.g., 1-2 modules per day). Each module has a “resume” feature so if you do not finish a module at one time, you will be prompted to continue where you left off when you come back to the module.

Who can take this program?

Educators (those teaching and supervising students academically):
- Sessional instructors
- Faculty
- Research Assistants
- Postdoctoral Fellows
- Clinician Educators
- Residents
- Fellows
Navigators (those interacting with, supporting and supervising students in other ways):
- Administrators
- Full-time staff
- Part-time staff
- Contract staff
All Employees of McMaster (those who have access to Mosaic can register)
Teaching Assistants (TAs) may take the core program, but are strongly encouraged to complete a separate 1-hour module specifically designed for TAs. Visit the TA Training tab to learn more.

Will I receive a certification?

Participants who complete all of the following steps to certification will receive a “Certificate of Attendance” for completing the Professor Hippo-on-Campus program.

Steps to Completion and Certification	Timeline
1. Fill out the eligibility form here. You will receive an email with further details.	Complete anytime. Allow up to 7 business days to receive the information.
2. Enrol in the term course on Mosaic, using the self-enrolment link that you will receive in your email.	Anytime within the current term.
3. Follow the steps listed in the course announcement on A2L, and complete the consent form. We kindly ask that you also complete the Pre-Survey, so we can continuously improve our program	Within 2 weeks (after registration)
4. As soon as you complete the Pre-Survey, you will be given a code and can start accessing the 8 modules in Avenue to Learn. The full content takes about 3 hours, but you do not need to do all at once. You must complete the “Module Completion Quiz” (takes 1 minute) when you’ve finished the modules.	Before the end of the term
5. Complete the Post-Survey, after the quiz and module completion. The link to this survey will be sent to your email by the program within 2 business days of completion.	Within 4 weeks after completing the “Module Completion Quiz”.
6. A digital Certificate of Attendance will be issued by McMaster Continuing Education at the end of each term, and you will receive it to your email.	About 10 days after the end of current term.

What are the benefits to having this certificate?

This training will ask you to:

Reflect on what you know about mental health
Gain confidence in supporting students or others in your life
Apply the Responding to Students in Distress and Difficulty (RSDD) protocol
Direct students to the appropriate resources on campus or in the community
Take pro-active measures in building a mental health-inclusive classroom
Consider how you can work with others to address the “hippo in the room” (i.e. decrease stigma around mental health)

In addition to all of the practical skills and knowledge you will:

Receive a Digital Certificate of Attendance and can say you are a certified Professor Hippo-on-Campus participant
Be able to request a printable sign or sticker which lets others know you care about student mental health. Simply drop us an email at profhipp@mcmaster.ca, and we’ll coordinate a convenient pickup arrangement for you.
Be eligible and can be contacted about future educational or training opportunities offered by Professor Hippo-on-Campus at McMaster
Retain ongoing open access to the most up-to-date set of modules and all of the attached resources on Avenue to Learn, which you can access 24/7/365
Be able to have your name shared with McMaster leadership and the McMaster community (optional) to let them know you are a student mental health supporter

This is a ‘club’ you can join and a certificate you can receive for free!

Staff & Faculty Workshops

Please note that all workshops are currently on hold while our office transitions to our new home within the Office of the Provost portfolio.

Overview

To benefit from this workshop, you must first complete the Professor Hippo-on-Campus Core Program (8 modules), which takes around 3 hours on Avenue to Learn and is best done gradually over days to weeks. This workshop builds on and applies the online module content, which will not be reviewed in depth in the workshop to allow for more interaction and case discussion.

To learn more about how to register for the online module, please refer to the Core Program tab.

Workshops are facilitated by Dr. Catharine Munn, Creator & Lead, Professor Hippo-on-Campus Program, and Advisor to the Provost (Special Projects, Mental Health). For further information or questions, please contact profhipp@mcmaster.ca.

Register for Upcoming Workshops

Please note that additional dates will be added throughout the academic year for other groups. If you are interested in attending a workshop but none are available for your employee group or faculty, please email us at profhipp@mcmaster.ca to learn what other opportunities are available.

Open Session (Staff and Faculty)

The following workshops are open to faculty and instructors (not TAs or RAs) who teach or supervise students as their primary role, as well as all employees of McMaster who frequently interact with students in their role in some capacity.

There are no sessions currently scheduled. Please continue to monitor for updates.

Faculty-Coordinated (Open to Staff & Faculty)

The following workshops are open to staff and faculty members from each respective faculty. All individual faculty workshops will be booked through each Faculty Dean or Designate. Please contact your Faculty Dean or Designate if you’re interested in participating.

There are no sessions currently scheduled. Please continue to monitor for updates.

Senior Leaders (including Chairs and Directors)

There are no sessions currently scheduled. Please continue to monitor for updates.

Graduate Student Program

Overview

The Professor Hippo-On-Campus Graduate Student Mental Health Education Program is designed specifically for all graduate students. This program is an extension of the Professor Hippo-on-Campus Mental Health Education Program for faculty and staff, tailored to meet graduate student needs.

Many graduate students oversee undergraduate students in TA, supervisory, or research assistantship positions, interact with many graduate student peers, and can experience distress or mental health difficulties themselves during graduate school. The Professor Hippo-On-Campus Graduate Student Mental Health Education Program will help graduate students build the knowledge to approach and address situations that arise and understand the relevant resources available at McMaster.

The free online training modules are 70-minutes in duration and cover topics such as:

Contemporary views of mental health
Creating inclusive and mental health-positive environments in keeping with your roles during graduate school
Communicating with and responding to students and peers in distress and recommending appropriate resources

This training equips graduate students with essential mental health literacy and actionable skills required to be successful as a figure of support that others in the academic environment may look to in times of need.

How to Register

This program is open to all McMaster graduate students. To register for this online module please fill out this Microsoft Form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at gshippo@mcmaster.ca

What is the purpose of this optional program for graduate students?

Many graduate students oversee undergraduate students in TA, supervisory, or research assistant positions, interact with many graduate student peers, and can experience distress or mental health difficulties themselves during graduate school. The intent of this program is to help graduate students build their mental health literacy, that is their knowledge, skills, attitudes and confidence, to support themselves and other students in distress and difficulty and to build more inclusive and mental health-positive learning and teaching environments at McMaster.

Who developed this program and who facilitates the workshops?

This current graduate program has been developed and tested over 2 years in a pilot project. Dr. Catharine Munn and an occupational therapist have developed the content with input from students, faculty and staff; they and other trained healthcare professionals will be leading the workshops.

We have evaluated this program and our faculty and staff program in depth, with consideration for improved knowledge, skills and confidence, satisfaction, impact and safety. Please contact us if you’d like more information on this process or results, which have very high satisfaction rates!

Additionally, McMaster School of Graduate Studies (SGS) is supportive of this program and has contributed to its development and promotion.

Is this the same as the TA training: Professor Hippo Mental Health in the Classroom?

While having some shared content, this is distinct from the TA training that we developed and you may be aware of, an optional online module (with no workshops) that can be selected by TAs within their 5 hours of compensated training offered each semester.

Learn More About the Research Behind this Program

Professor Hippo-on-Campus Mental Health Education Program for Graduate Students Learn More

This research study was funded by the McCall MacBain Foundation

GrowGrads Learn More

Paid TA Training

Training Option

All McMaster TAs are required to complete 5 hours of mandatory training, including 2 hours of training they can choose from a list of electives. One of the elective choices is a variation of the Professor Hippo-on-Campus program, called Mental Health in the Classroom.

In a one-hour module, you will:

Learn more about mental health and accommodations to help you and your students in your role as a TA
Recognize and communicate with students in distress
Be a part of the Professor Hippo-on-Campus community, which consists of staff, faculty, and other TAs

Interested?

Please select “Mental Health in the Classroom” through the mandatory TA training offered by MacPherson on Avenue to Learn. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at profhipp@mcmaster.ca

Are you interested in attending a future synchronous workshop where you will learn to apply the knowledge from this module? Email us for more information.

McMaster Okanagan Office of Health & Well-being logo.