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Explanation building iteratively analyzed rival accounts of the fall break policy implementation. Survey findings showed limited student perception of workload changes (36.9% before; 29.6% after), while focus groups and professor interviews highlighted the fall break’s timing effects on experience and perceived mental health impact, suggesting earlier baseline data could have reduced implementation issues; policy learning is transferable beyond one institution.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/policy-implementation-in-higher-education-the-dynamics-of-a-fall-break/596986/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/policy-implementation-in-higher-education-the-dynamics-of-a-fall-break/596986.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Danger Angel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What was the main goal of the research?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"To understand factors influencing implementation of a fall break mental health policy in higher education through critical analysis, comparing known best practices with a specific exemplar case.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What did the surveys indicate about student workload perceptions?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Overall, only 36.9% of students perceived increased workload before the break and 29.6% perceived increased workload after the break.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How did the study explain differences found in student and professor experiences?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Focus groups and professor interviews indicated that the timing of the fall break shaped how students and professors experienced it and how they perceived its impact on student mental health.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},596986,1793151542,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":41,"preview_page_count":4},962090769052,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Policy Implementation in Higher Education: The Dynamics of a Fall Break  \nKelly A. Pilato, Madelyn P. Law, Shannon A. Moore, John A. Hay, & Miya Narushima  \nBrock University  \nAbstract  \nA case study using mixed methods that critically appraises the implementation of a mental health policy in higher education in the absence of evidence to inform the policy using an exemplar case from one mid-sized post-secondary institution was the motivation for this research. Explanation building was used to iteratively analyse data on rival explanations ofthe implementation of the fall break policy. Analyses from the surveys revealed that overall, only 36.9 per cent of students perceived an increase in workload before the break and only 29.6 per cent of students perceived an increase in workload after the break. However, the focus groups and professor interviews revealed that the timing of the fall break had an impact on how students and professors experienced the break and their perceptions on its impact on student mental health. If baseline data regarding the implementation of the fall break would have been collected prior to its implementation, we could have possibly avoided the implementation issues that arose. While this research provides an exemplar case of a fall break policy at one post-secondary institution, the policy learning is universal.  \nKeywords: policy implementation, fall break, mental health, policy evaluation, higher education  \nIntroduction  \nStudent’s mental wellness has become a priority in post-secondary institutions with the increasing prevalence of mental health issues reported by students (Zivin et al., 2009). As a result, many post-secondary institutions have implemented a variety of policies and initiatives in an effort to reduce academic and personal stress (Martin, 2010; Mowbray et al., 2006; Tanenbaum, 2005) indicating that post-secondary institutions recognise the seriousness of the mental health issues encountered by their students. For many of these post-secondary institutions, the implementation of a fall break is one such policy (Poole et al., 2018). While many post-secondary institutions have implemented a fall break policy, this break varies by length and placement within the semester.  \nAlthough evidence on the fall break is limited, available research indicates that the variability in the timing and placement of a fall break can influence the successful implementation of the policy (Agnew et al., 2019; Hulls et al., 2018; Poole et al., 2018). Illustratively, in their research, Poole et al. (2018) found that the timing of the fall break, falling so soon in the semester, created confusion for students about its intent. Similarly, Hulls et al. (2018) found that the timing of the break had a negative impact on students’perceptions of stress and their ability to relax relative to the winter term break which falls later in the semester. Thus, while it is important that post-secondary institutions recognise their responsibility to address student mental health (Lisnyj et al., 2020), it is imperative that any policy to address this be implemented effectively in order to actually benefit students (Heck et al., 2014). Though the creation of the fall break policy was based on good intentions, implementation decisions made during its creation  \nwere based on institutional factors that were influenced by the increasing uptake of the policy at other institutions and the growing demand for mental health supports by students (Pilato et al., 2021a). As is so often the case in higher education,“there are regulative and normative institutional pressures that can influence decisions to take visible action to demonstrate their conformity to global norms, while still pursuing local missions.”(Klassen & Sá, 2020, p. 159).  \nConsequently, it is important to evaluate the implementation of policies in higher education in order to understand their degree of effectiveness (Nilsen et al., 2013; Reale & Seeber, 2013). It is here ","cbCaiu4K5hcCKafW","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiu4K5hcCKafW","pdf",328675,12,"English","# Introduction\n# Purpose\n# Policy Appraisal Framework","[{\"question\":\"What was the main goal of the research?\",\"answer\":\"To understand factors influencing implementation of a fall break mental health policy in higher education through critical analysis, comparing known best practices with a specific exemplar case.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the surveys indicate about student workload perceptions?\",\"answer\":\"Overall, only 36.9% of students perceived increased workload before the break and 29.6% perceived increased workload after the break.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the study explain differences found in student and professor experiences?\",\"answer\":\"Focus groups and professor interviews indicated that the timing of the fall break shaped how students and professors experienced it and how they perceived its impact on student mental health.\"}]","Policy Implementation in Higher Education - The Dynamics of a Fall Break | PDF",1792084142]