{"id":454,"date":"2026-05-27T18:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T18:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/?page_id=454"},"modified":"2026-07-21T03:19:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T03:19:58","slug":"grief-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/grief-guide\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Navigating Grief at Vancouver Island University: Experiences and Perspectives of Students, Faculty and Staff <\/strong>
Variath, C.<\/a>, Gerassimova, A.<\/a>, & Bobkova, Y<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In academic environments, students’ experiences of grief may arise from various situations, including the death of a peer, faculty or loved one, serious illness, or other significant life events. Despite being a common human experience, grief is often difficult to navigate within academic contexts that emphasize productivity and performance. Existing literature suggests that students experiencing grief may feel isolated, unsupported, and uncertain about how to navigate academic expectations during periods of bereavement. To address gaps in student grief support needs, Vrije University Brussels (VUB)<\/a> developed a structured grief guide to support its students and faculty. In Canada, other post-secondary institutions such as the University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) and Brock University have adapted or are in the process of adapting VUB\u2019s grief guide that outlines available supports and offers guidance on navigating academic responsibilities during periods of loss to meet the needs of their respective student and faculty populations. While several resources exist at Vancouver Island University (VIU) to support students experiencing grief and bereavement, there is currently no formal grief or bereavement guide in place to help students navigate these experiences. The project objectives are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Objective 1:<\/strong> To explore VIU students’ experience of grief, loss, and bereavement and access to support within the university environment and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Objective 2:<\/strong> To develop a VIU-specific grief guide informed by existing models created by VUB and adapted by UBCO, and the findings from Objective 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Objective 1, we will use a critical qualitative approach. To gain a broad perspective on student experiences, data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with VIU students and faculty, as well as focus group interviews with VIU staff whose work impact students. Participants will be invited to share their experiences and perspectives related to grief, loss, and institutional support within the university context. Data will be analyzed using interpretive description methodology, and findings will be organized and reported in themes. In addition, an environmental scan of existing VIU and community-based resources available to support students navigating grief will be conducted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Objective 2, an advisory committee will be established, including key stakeholders and knowledge users. A VIU-specific grief guide will be co-created with guidance from the advisory committee, informed by findings from Objective 1 and the existing grief guides from VUB and UBCO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overarching aim of this project is to contribute to the development of more accessible, compassionate, and effective support systems within VIU, with the potential to improve students\u2019 experiences during periods of grief and loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REB File Number: 103968
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Navigating Grief at Vancouver Island University: Experiences and Perspectives of Students, Faculty and Staff Variath, C., Gerassimova, A., & Bobkova, Y. In academic environments, students’ experiences of grief may arise from various situations, including the death of a peer, faculty or loved one, serious illness, or other … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6129,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-454","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":507,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/454\/revisions\/507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/variath\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}