Brandeis Core Requirements are a system designed to ensure every graduating student has the skills needed to enter the professional world. Part of those requirements, to the chagrin of some, are health classes—which may potentially be grueling, yet highly necessary. According to Brandeis’ Core Requirements, all students must take three Health, Wellness, and Living (HWL) courses during their undergraduate years—barring some sort of special academic exemption. However, Navigating Health & Safety, or HWL 1, must be taken in a student’s first semester at the university. Among the dozens of sections, all students must participate in a scavenger hunt organized by the Office of Health and Wellness Promotion (HAWP) to begin Unit 1 of the course.
After downloading the Actionbound app and scanning the HWL syllabus’ QR code to onboard, students track down offices based on the list in the app. Each station has a neon yellow paper with a QR code to progress in the scavenger hunt, with most accessible 24/7; however, at the Gender & Sexuality Center, you must wait until office hours to access the QR code on the second desk to the right.
Those in HWL 1 for this module—or half a semester—who have not started the scavenger hunt yet are strongly urged to begin as soon as possible, per HAWP. Those taking the course in the second module, beginning Oct. 16, have more time to consider this reflection on what may be grandiosely called “The Great QR Code Hunt” for article glorification.
In all seriousness, this assignment takes less than 30 minutes to complete while walking around campus; however, many students share QR codes for convenience. While clever, these students may not know where their resources are located going forward. Additionally, this will limit opportunities for faculty to meet first-year students as they navigate campus while searching for QR codes. Building these connections early is critical to feeling safe, comfortable, and included during undergraduate years and beyond. This addition to the Navigating Health & Safety curriculum is a positive, as many students prefer it to the essay that was once required. True participation in this first semester activity is an irreplaceable experience whose impact will certainly last longer than the current academic period—Fall 2026. After all, the university wants the best for its student body, and HWL 1’s recent changes to its first unit have so far proven a modern curricular success in university health academia.
