If a student needs help that you don’t feel comfortable or qualified to provide, you should feel free to refer that student to someone or someplace else.  However, referring students elsewhere needs to be done with great sensitivity.  Special care needs to be taken to make sure the student realizes that you do care about the student and that you are not just making light of their concerns.  In addition, forethought is needed to increase the chances that the student actually follows through on your referral.  One option is to walk the student to the office to which you are referring that student.  Another option is to introduce the student to the resource over the phone.  With the student in your office, call the office to which you are referring the student.  After explaining that one of your advisees would like to schedule an appointment, you can hand the phone to the student to work out the details.

Resources for Faculty

• Guidelines for How to Make Referrals to Counseling Services
• Guidelines for Making Referrals from Career Development and Civic Engagement
• Who to Contact If…
• Counseling Services
• Career Planning and Internships
• Student Support Services
• Multicultural and International Student Affairs

Retention Alert System

Whenever you are concerned about a student, you should let someone know about your concerns. No one individual shoulders all the responsibility for making sure students are successful at Simpson and earn their degrees. Members of both the student development and academic affairs staffs work together to support students and address problems that arise. The link above will provide instructions for submitting a retention alert. If you would prefer, you can also send an e-mail to retention@simpson.edu or call a member of the Students of Concern Team.