Health, Well-being and Safety

Putting student well-being first.

Health, wellness and safety are critical components to student success at Cal Poly.

Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success is committed to delivering best-in-practice programs and services that meet the physical, mental and emotional needs of our students. In doing so, our mission is to empower students with the tools and knowledge needed to thrive, be well and achieve lifelong success. 
 
Visit the CH&W website for complete details and to make an appointment. Learn more about how we’re cultivating well-being and success for students, view the strategic plan. 

Supporting Basic Needs

"We aspire to be a trusted resource and a refuge of belonging that rewrites the narrative of well-being."

— Campus Health & Wellbeing Vision  

Cal Poly’s Basic Needs programs seek to ensure that all students have access to the resources needed to focus on their education and success. We have created comprehensive services that include food resources, housing support, financial wellness, mental health and other resources and support on and off campus.

• Students receive one-time financial emergency assistance through the Cal Poly Cares grant program. We distributed $483,134 to 542 students in the 2023-24 academic year to cover emergency medical expenses, short-term emergency housing, and academic supplies due to unforeseen incidents that come up during a students’ life. 
• Visits to the Cal Poly Food Pantry have grown. The pantry had a total of 94,000 visits in the 2025-26 academic year, including 11,100 unique visits. The pantry rescued 120,000 pounds of food.

Campus Health and Wellbeing

Campus Health and Wellbeing (CH&W) promotes well-being for the success of all Cal Poly students. Located next to the ASI Recreation Center in the Health Center (No. 27), CH&W offers health, counseling and psychological, and well-being services. Most services are free to students. In 2025-26, there were 32,866 visits to Health Services on the San Luis Obispo campus in 2025-26, a 2% increase, and 2,696 visits on Solano campus.

In recent years, CH&W has expanded its access and services to students, including:

• Hiring more mental health counselors to increase the counselor-to-student ratio to 1:1,000, which aligns with national industry best practices. The ratio is up from 1:2,850 in 2012. Three clinicians specialize in BIPOC care.
• Creating Mustangs for Recovery, the first-of-its-kind program in the CSU supporting students that offers alternatives, support, community and events geared toward students in recovery.
• Expanding health education and promotion, including the expansion of the Safer program to six full-time staff members, including on campus advocate at Cal Poly Maritime Academy.
• Creating a new strategic plan to guide CH&W’s mission and vision of cultivating well-being and success for students, includes four pillars: Embed diversity, equity and inclusion in all we do; embrace a culture of continuous improvement; provide high-quality, coordinated care; and cultivate our team.

After-Hours Support

Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success has created a list of important contacts so students can save them to their devices and reach out whenever they need support. The after-hours support webpage has links to vCards to campus and community resources for health and safety, on-campus housing and other important contacts.