Evaluating the Efficacy of a Personal Wellness Workshop Series on ASU Honors Students

Burnout due to work and school-related stress negatively impacts college student’s confidence, motivation, and mindset. Burnout can manifest as lower quality of a student’s education, performance, relationships, and overall well-being. Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory™ - General Survey for Students: MBI-GS (S), researchers assessed the effectiveness of a five-part workshop series titled “A Series on Self-Reflection, Self-Understanding, and Strengthening the Mind,” focused on improving burnout symptoms in students attending ASU’s Barrett, the Honors College, against a control group of non-workshop participating honors students. Data was collected through MBI-GS (S) evaluation surveys after each workshop attendance, via the daily honors newsletter, and through subject interviews. The researchers conducted a qualitative study consistent with case studies and focus groups. Descriptive statistics of survey responses were quantified in Excel, representing varying burnout levels in honors students throughout the Spring 2023 school semester. Overall, the surveys from the workshop attendees and Honors Digest students yielded insignificant differences in burnout levels. The eight interviewee case studies emphasize the complex influences of culture and environment on burnout. While burnout levels between Honors Digest students and workshop attendees were insignificantly different, each interviewee student presented changed perspectives on their studies and themselves.