Helping Undergraduate Students in Distress

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
Amended

Key Contacts

If you have questions, please contact CLAS Undergraduate Programs.

Applicability

Faculty, Staff, Instructors

Procedure

Please review this guidance from the CLAS Dean's Office and CLAS Undergraduate Programs when working with students in distress.

Emergency Numbers and an Overview of Resources

Feelings of distress can happen at all hours and supportive resources are not always immediately available. Outside of traditional office hours, please contact the UI Support and Crisis Line. This will provide you with 24/7 access to a crisis counselor for assistance. You can connect with them by calling or texting 1-844-461-5420 or visiting their website to access online chat (https://mentalhealth.uiowa.edu/ui-support-and-crisis-line).

Please notify Dean of Students and CLAS that you made a referral to the above resources, noting student name, class, and situation, see below for contacts.

CLAS Undergraduate Programs

The Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and office staff consult with CLAS instructors on a range of concerns, including student absences, SDS accommodations, academic probation, academic misconduct, course complaints, late drops, late or retroactive withdrawals, or other issues. Visit this directory page for more information.

120 Schaeffer Hall
319-335-2633
​clas-undergrad@uiowa.edu
https://clas.uiowa.edu/students

CLAS Undergraduate Student Academic Concern Form

The academic staff in CLAS Undergraduate Programs (120 Schaeffer Hall) have created a reporting form for instructors to use when concerns arise related to a student in one of their courses. If you have a student you are concerned about, please fill out the online reporting form. You will be asked to share your name, the student’s name, and a brief summary of the concern then CLAS staff will determine the appropriate outreach and resources to support the student.

Reasons instructors might use the CLAS Undergraduate Student Academic Concern Form:  

  • Student has stopped coming to class or stopped submitting assignments with no communication for more than a week.
  • Student has not responded to your attempts to outreach via email or ICON website.

Office of the Dean of Students Reporting Form for a Student Concern or Issue

The Dean of Students has a student concern/issue reporting system that can be used for concerns related to the code of student life, student conduct, fraternity/sorority concern and other matters related to student behavior or concern around student wellness and basic needs. Please also refer to the Dean of Students Quick Help Guide for supporting students. Reasons instructors might contact the Office of the Dean of Students:

  • Student has shared concerning information with you.
  • Student appears to need support related to their well-being.
  • You are concerned about a student's in-class behavior
  • Student might need to be connected to additional resources on campus.

Additional Campus Resources

Dean of Students - Student Care and Assistance
Student Care and Assistance provides assistance to students experiencing a crisis or an emergency situations. Call or email to report a concern or to consult about a student who is having problems.

Student Care and Assistance
135 Iowa Memorial Union
319-335-1162
dos-assistance@uiowa.edu

​Early Intervention Team (EIT)
If you have a student who could benefit from additional support, contact the Early Intervention Team (EIT). The EIT provides support and coordinates the necessary resources to get the student back on track.      

Danielle Martinez
Academic Support and Retention
319-335-1497
danielle-martinez@uiowa.edu 

Sexual Harassment Resources
The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) coordinates the university's response to reports of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking when those reports involve members of or visitors to the university community. Call or visit the web page to report or to confer.

Title IX and Gender Equity Unit
455 Van Allen Hall
319-335-0705
oie-tixge@uiowa.edu

Student Disability Services (SDS)
The office facilitates academic accommodations based on a student's eligibility. The student must apply and present the required medical documentations. The student must request accommodations for each semester needed. The office also consults with faculty, staff, and students about related issues.

Student Disability Services
141 University Capitol Centre
319-335-1462
sds-info@uiowa.edu

Threat Assessment Team (TAT)
The Threat Assessment Team (TAT) is a multi-disciplinary team includes people with backgrounds in human resources, student life, health care, and law enforcement that supports campus safety by assessing, monitoring, and providing support for people exhibiting unusual distress, fixated grievances, or troubling behaviors, and intervene with supportive campus resources to maintain campus safety. Note that University offices, including this one, are closed on weekends. Please call 911 for help or 319-356-5275​, Iowa City Police; police will check on a person and their safety if a concern arises. 

Eli Hotchkin, Director
319-384-2955
uitat@uiowa.edu

University Counseling Service (UCS)
3223 Westlawn S.
319-335-7294

  • Guide for Faculty and Staff from University Counseling
  • University Counseling Appointments: Same Day and Crisis Management
  • Kognito, an online, easy to use, avatar based training program to assist you with identifying the markers for suicidal thinking and intent. Kognito walks you through the steps of identification, teaches you easy to use language for intervening with a student for whom you have concern, and then shares with you resources for the University of Iowa campus.  Takes no more than an hour, is highly interactive, and can provide you the information you need to act in confidence in critical situations. Enrollment Key: Iowa 29

Information regarding FERPA

  • The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) permits communication about a student of concern in connection with health and safety issues to an appropriate campus resource. Anything related to health and safety of a student is a legitimate educational interest to the parties receiving the information (Dean of Students office and CLAS Undergraduate Programs). 
  •  It is imperative in these situations that academic staff members who can provide appropriate assistance are notified and provided with the full information that the faculty member has available. More information can be found at https://dos.uiowa.edu/policies/student-records-policy.
Tags
Help | Distress | Emergency | Undergraduate | Student