Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The 2023 BeWell incentive year starts on January 17, 2023 and closes on November 30, 2023.

You can earn incentives by completing wellness activities and tracking your healthy habits in your BeWell account from January 17 through November 30.

Your first step is to sign in to your BeWell account. From there, you can complete your user profile to customize your experience within the platform, including your communications preferences, preferred language, etc. You may also choose activities that are meaningful to your well-being. For every point milestone you complete, you will receive a taxable $140 incentive on your paycheck. You can achieve up to 30,000 points for a maximum incentive of $560.

November 30 is the deadline to complete wellness activities to earn points toward the $560 incentive. For other key program deadlines, visit the Deadlines page.

Yes, you must fully complete and log your healthy habits and wellness activities in your BeWell account and complete all Lifestyle Coaching appointments by November 30 to earn points.

Incentives are paid out within two pay periods after each reward increment is completed. If you reach 5,000 points by January 27, your first reward payout will be on your February 22nd paycheck.

Note that you must still be a benefits-eligible Stanford University employee at the time of payout to receive the incentive.

Dozens of free activities will be available throughout the year to help you focus on your well-being and easily earn your incentive. Example wellness activities include tracking your healthy habits such as sleep, nutrition, physical activity, and water intake, attending BeWell events, registering for free Healthy Living classes and recorded webinars, taking advantage of free personal training and fitness assessments, and more. See the Wellness Activities page for more ideas.

Sign in to your BeWell account on either your browser or mobile device and select “Stats” on the home screen to see everything you can track on the platform. You can either track manually by clicking the option and entering in your information, or you can connect a device or apps to track some options automatically. For instructions on how to sync your device, visit the Getting Started Guide.

If you choose to track your activities manually, you can track your current day or past activity; however, you will only receive points for activities tracked within the last 14 days.

When you sign in to your BeWell account, at the top of the page you’ll see a Rewards progress bar. For a detailed view of your Rewards, click on “Rewards” and select “Go to Rewards page”. The Rewards page shows your earning progress and how much you need to earn to get to the next payout level. Scroll down to see a detailed breakdown of points earned for each wellness activity and opportunities for more earning.

In the BeWell platform, click on “Health” in the top navigation bar, and you’ll see content and a link to the survey. If you haven’t registered in the BeWell platform yet, you’ll be prompted to do so.

Once you complete your Health Assessment, you can view or edit your results at any time. Click on “Health” in the top menu bar, then click the button to View Results or Re-Take Survey.

Click on “Programs” in the top menu bar, then select BeWell Check-in & Follow-Up and choose “Start Now.” You will be taken to the registration page where you can choose your Coach, select your date and time, and confirm your appointment. You can revisit this page any time to view your appointment details, access your Zoom link, or cancel/reschedule your appointment. You will also receive a confirmation email with all your appointment details and a link to cancel/reschedule.

There’s a 24-hour cancellation policy and participants can cancel/reschedule through our appointment scheduling system. If you need to cancel your appointment within that 24-hour window, you would contact BeWell by submitting a ServiceNow ticket and it would be considered a forfeited session.

This is not something you can change. The timeout is a necessary security feature to keep your personal health information secure.

There is a mobile app!  But before you can use it, you must sign into the BeWell platform via SSO from your computer – or from an internet browser on your phone – and set up your profile. Then, you can download the Virgin Pulse app from the Apple Store or Google Play and sync your favorite wellness devices to complete wellness activities and earn points. By downloading the app, you’ll also earn 500 points toward your incentive. Get more tips in the Getting Started Guide.

Yes, the Virgin Pulse platform, which manages the BeWell Program meets the highest standards for managing security risks, protecting health information, and meets Stanford’s rigorous security standards. For more information, visit the BeWell Privacy Notice.

The BeWell incentive program is available to all benefits-eligible Stanford University employees.

It is not required that you be enrolled in medical benefits through the university to be eligible.

Please contact BeWell by submitting a ServiceNow ticket for assistance.

Spouses are not eligible to participate in the BeWell Program. Spouses are eligible to participate in events, classes, workshops, webinars and coaching. They are welcome to register for Healthy Living classes.

As in prior years, retirees are not eligible to participate in the BeWell Program. However, they are welcome to register for Healthy Living classes.

As in prior years, BeWell is not included in the benefits package for postdocs, fellows and residents, so they are not eligible to participate in the program. However, you are welcome to register for Healthy Living classes.

Hospital employees have a separate wellness program, please visit the HealthySteps to Wellness website to learn more.

Once you are signed into the the platform or mobile app, navigate to “program”, then select “Healthy Living.” To start earning rewards, select “Start Now” to be taken to the Healthy Living registration page to explore and register.

You can earn the full 30,000 points required for your BeWell incentive through Healthy Living offerings. Point breakdown is listed under Wellness Activities.

For Healthy Living and Stanford Recreation and Wellness offerings, points are automatically added once attendance has been uploaded to the system. You do not need to join through the wellness platform to receive your points. It can take between two to six weeks after the completion of the activity for your points to be awarded.

Attendance is required to receive points for all Healthy Living classes. Specific attendance requirements vary by class and are communicated in the class description and confirmation email.

Some Healthy Living classes are recorded, which is noted in the class description. A temporary link to the recording, which is active for one week, is provided to all registered participants. Recordings of live classes are provided as a courtesy to allow you to review the course material or listen to information you may have missed. You must attend the live session to receive points.

Recordings of select archived Healthy Living webinars are also available as a free resource on the Healthy Living registration site. These archived webinar recordings are eligible for incentive points. Click Offerings by Type on the left, then select Recorded Webinars. You must login with your SUNet and watch at least 80% of the webinar recording to receive points.

Classes with a date range are held weekly unless specifically stated otherwise in the class description.

The costs of all Healthy Living classes are listed on the Healthy Living registration site. You can also find free Healthy Living classes by typing the word “free” in the search field on the top of the page.

The cost of all Healthy Living classes is clearly listed on the Healthy Living registration site. There is currently no way to search or sort by cost.

The points for each type of Healthy Living offering is listed on the Wellness Activities page of the BeWell website and on the Healthy Living program card on the BeWell platform. Click the links to be taken to current offerings of that type or choose Offerings by Type on the Healthy Living registration site.

The Staff Training Assistance Program (STAP) provides reimbursement for tuition, registration fees and required textbooks for any training activity directly related to your job or a career development effort. Approved Stanford Healthy Living classes are also eligible for STAP. Regular or fixed-term employees working 50% time or greater are eligible for STAP. Faculty, students, temporary employees, retirees and other non-staff University affiliates are not eligible for STAP assistance. Find more information at Cardinal at Work’s STAP page.

Registration for all Healthy Living offerings can be paid using STAP or with a credit card. If you are not eligible for STAP or do not have enough STAP to cover a class, simply complete your registration with a credit card. Please note that you must register for Healthy Living offerings by 5 p.m., August 30, to apply your 2023 STAP funds.

All Healthy Living offerings are available to postdocs and faculty.

The At-A-Glance is a one-page document of all Healthy Living classes for the current quarter.

Visit the Healthy Living registration site and click Login with SUNet in the upper right corner, then click on My Classes. You will see a list of all the Healthy Living offerings you have registered for during the current year.

Yes, Healthy Living offers evidence-based wellness apps, including Headspace, Sleepio, WW – Weight Watchers, and more. Go to the Healthy Living registration site, choose Offerings by Type, and select Wellness Apps.

Scheduling, cancellation and rescheduling links are located in a participant’s appointment confirmation and reminder email(s). There’s a 24-hour cancellation policy and participants can cancel/reschedule through our appointment scheduling system. If you need to cancel your appointment within that 24-hour window, please notify your coach. That session would be considered a forfeit and may impact your ability to receive points. Email healthyliving@stanford.edu if you have any questions.

To cancel a Healthy Living class, please email healthyliving@stanford.edu. You must contact Healthy Living at least 24 hours before your first class or coaching appointment to receive a refund or credit. There are no credits or refunds for apps. All app purchases are final. A $10 processing fee will be charged for all credit card refunds.

You can earn points for all physical activity by tracking it on the BeWell platform. Click on Stats on your BeWell platform and add steps, workouts, and more. You can enter information manually or sync your wellness device to earn points automatically through your daily movement.

You can earn the full 30,000 points required for your BeWell incentive by participating in activities through Stanford Recreation and Wellness. Point breakdown is listed under Wellness Activities.

Earn points every day by tracking your physical activity and sleep by using a device synced to your BeWell account. BeWell’s new mobile app, powered by Virgin Pulse, makes tracking easy to complete. For instructions on how to sync your device and apps, visit the Getting Started Guide.

Select Program then click on Recreation & Wellness Offerings. Click on the links in the description to be taken directly to the offering you are interested in, or select Start Now to be taken to the Stanford Recreation & Wellness website to explore and register.

By joining either the Cardinal or Platinum Group Fitness Pass or the Virtual Fitness Membership, you can earn 5,000 points each, for a maximum of 20,000 points per year. Please allow up to four weeks after the end of the quarter for this activity to show as completed.

Free Fitness Assessments for BeWell-eligible faculty and staff are available at Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation (ACSR), 341 Galvez Street. Starting in January 2023, BeWell participants are eligible to participate in two Fitness Assessments per calendar year. To register, visit the website, sign the waiver, then select “Register for an in-person fitness assessment session” on the left.

To cancel a personal training or fitness assessment appointment, please refer to the online instructions and tutorials.

Stanford Recreation and Wellness offerings are available to all Stanford employees at the same price, regardless of BeWell participation. Find more information on group fitness options for faculty and staff, here.

You can only earn points specifically for personal training through the free BeWell-eligible personal training with Stanford Recreation and Wellness. However, you can earn points toward your incentive for any physical activity as long as you track it in the BeWell platform, either manually or automatically by syncing your device.

If this is a membership or account troubleshooting issue with Recreation and Wellness offerings, please contact recmembership@stanford.edu.

For questions regarding fitness offerings, please contact Stanford Recreation and Wellness at recprograms@stanford.edu.

For questions regarding BeWell-eligible fitness assessment and personal training, please contact facultystaffwellness@stanford.edu.

Please contact recwellsupport@stanford.edu for more information on why your points aren’t displaying correctly.

Submit a ServiceNow ticket for assistance with BeWell, Healthy Living, or Lifestyle Coaching.

If you have questions about the BeWell platform and/or Virgin Pulse mobile app, get help online at virginpulse.zendesk.com. You can also call the Virgin Pulse help desk at 1-844-207-9672 Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT, or email support@virginpulse.com.

You can also  register for an appointment to get support with BeWell platform set-up from a BeWell team member.

For questions about Stanford Recreation and Wellness offerings, please contact the following:

• Membership or account troubleshooting issues contact recmembership@stanford.edu.
• Fitness offering issues contact recprograms@stanford.edu.
• Fitness assessment or personal training issues contact facultystaffwellness@stanford.edu.