For Faculty and Staff: Support Student Wellness

As a faculty or staff member, your position gives you an opportunity to directly refer a student to a mental health professional or mental health services that can help. Your interactions with students puts you in a unique position to notice if they are experiencing signs of distress or if a more serious mental health problem may be developing. Students may even come to you when their mental health issues are interfering with their academics. This section can guide you to be prepared for those situations and act as a resource if those situations do come up.

Identifying a Problem

Mental health conditions are hard to identify. They are easier to hide than physical conditions. In your role, signs that you may recognize are changes in grade performance, excessive absences, changes in interactions, or changes in personal dress or hygiene. It can be difficult at times to tell whether a student’s behavior is indicative of a more serious problem, or to know what action to take to help the student.

Creating a Safe, Accommodating, Inclusive space

To create a classroom or space that is inclusive of students with mental illness:

• Be mindful that students with mental illnesses may need to take more frequent breaks
• Allow students to have food and drinks in class. This can help students with mental illnesses counter the side effects of their medication
• Provide testing accommodations such as extended time or a distraction-free testing environment
• Make yourself available to consult with students during regular office hours and through contact by email
• Demonstrate flexibility and fairness in administering policies and assignments
• Approach each student with an open mind about their strengths and abilities
• Clearly delineate expectations for performance
• Deliver feedback on performance, both positive and corrective, in a timely and constructive fashion

Academic Difficulty

It is sometimes assumed that students will seek help when they are struggling with a class. But for a number of reasons, students do not always feel comfortable asking for help. The following examples illustrate how to maintain high but realistic expectations for all students:

• If a student earns a C or lower, inform the student of the need for a meeting to discuss their performance.
• If a student is absent, show concern about their absence when they return by asking if things are okay.
• If there are repeated absences, request a meeting with the student to discuss the situation.

Optional Add to Syllabus Statement:

• You may experience situations or challenges that can interfere with your learning and personal well-being as a student. These might include strained relationships, stress, unstable housing situations, hunger, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, or loss of motivation. NLU has many resources to help with these or other issues you may experience. Free, confidential mental health and wellness services are available on campus by contacting the Counseling & Wellness Center at counseling@nl.edu or checking out nl.edu/wellness. Assistance with personal difficulties, including food and housing instability, is available by contacting the NLU Pantry at thrivecenter@nl.edu or https://nl.edu/foodpantry. Help is always available.