CAS Releases Updated 2026 Cross-Functional Framework for Advancing Health and Well-Being

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) has released the updated 2026 Cross-Functional Framework for Advancing Health and Well-Being, providing higher education leaders and professionals with a renewed resource for strengthening collaborative, institution-wide efforts to support health and well-being.
​
The 2026 edition replaces the previous Cross-Functional Framework for Advancing Health and Well-Being and reflects a renewed emphasis on collaborative strategies for holistic student support and the well-being of learners and professionals.

Health and Well-Being Across the Institution
Advancing health and well-being is rarely the responsibility of a single department, office, or professional. Complex and evolving needs require institutions to bring together multiple areas of responsibility, expertise, and perspective.

That is where a CAS Cross-Functional Framework differs from traditional functional-area Standards. Rather than focusing on the work of one program or service, Cross-Functional Frameworks help higher education professionals work across organizational and functional boundaries to address emerging, evolving, and ongoing issues through multidisciplinary collaboration. CAS Cross-Functional Frameworks provide an approach for bringing professionals from different fields and functional areas together around these shared challenges.

The Cross-Functional Framework for Advancing Health and Well-Being reaches beyond individual departments to provide a foundation for effective campus-wide processes. Its goal is to help institutions strengthen collaboration, respond to changing needs, and embed health and well-being more intentionally throughout campus life.

A New Structure for 2026
The 2026 update marks the first CAS Cross-Functional Framework to use a new organizational structure designed specifically around the work of cross-functional teams.

The Framework is organized into five areas:

• Charge & Operating Principles
• Continuous Improvement & Assessment
• Internal & External Communication
• Strategy, Approach, & Processes
• Team Organization & Leadership

Together, these areas provide guidance for creating and sustaining teams that can work effectively across institutional boundaries while remaining focused on shared health and well-being goals.

The Framework can support institutions at multiple stages of this work. It can be used to help design a new cross-functional team, assess the effectiveness of an existing team, support team member development, and evaluate impact and outcomes as part of a self-study or program review.

Building Collaboration That Creates Meaningful Change
The updated Framework recognizes that successful cross-functional work requires more than bringing representatives from different departments together. Institutions must establish a shared charge, develop effective processes, communicate across internal and external audiences, assess progress, and create the leadership and organizational structures necessary to sustain the work.

Using the Framework as a guide, rather than a rigid set of instructions, teams can develop strategic and sustainable approaches that support the health, well-being, and success of the broader campus community.

The CFF can also be used alongside relevant CAS functional-area Standards, allowing institutions to connect the work occurring within individual programs and services with broader, campus-wide health and well-being efforts.

Informed by Expertise Across Higher Education
The 2026 Framework was developed with contributions from professionals representing institutions and organizations across higher education and related fields.

Framework authors include Gina Abrams, International Institute of Restorative Practices; Stacy Andes, Villanova University; Dan Bureau, University of Kentucky; Jacob Eubank, City University of New York-Lehman; Jason Vlastaras, Texas State University; Alic Czachowski, Columbia University; Brandon Joseph, Western Washington University; Rebecca Kennedy and Wendy Reed, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Ashley Netanel, Swarthmore College; Marcy Stidum, Kennesaw State University; and BJ Taylor and Jayme Trogus, West Chester University. The Framework was edited by Léna Crain of Baldwin Wallace University.

Their collective expertise helps ground the updated Framework in the realities of collaborative work and the evolving health and well-being needs of today's campus communities.

Explore the Updated Framework
The 2026 CAS Cross-Functional Framework for Advancing Health and Well-Being is now available in PDF and ePub formats.

Whether your institution is developing a cross-functional team, strengthening an existing collaborative effort, assessing its impact, or looking for ways to more intentionally embed health and well-being throughout the campus community, the updated Framework provides a foundation for moving that work forward.
​
Explore the 2026 Cross-Functional Framework for Advancing Health and Well-Being in the CAS Store.