Embedded Files
It's strange, the feeling of working somewhere but knowing there's a lot you don't know about the place you work, because of how siloed an institution can be. We encourage you to browse this resource as if you were a student, clicking on the buttons that best represent the concern you have for the student who prompted you to seek out this resource. In addition, the below information was written specifically to address common faculty questions:
As you have likely experienced, the academic and student affairs sides of the university don’t always talk unless a need is effectively communicated. This means a student may not be receiving all services they could potentially benefit from unless relevant offices know they have this need.
Below is a simplified version of CNU's organizational chart, to help you understand the established chain of communication at the university. You can also click here to see CNU's official organizational chart.
Student Distress
Student Distress
One of the major inspirations for creating this resource is that faculty do not always know of all the available resources to help students who are in distress. While faculty know to refer students to the Office of Counseling Services, did you know that there are times when there are also additional resources that may benefit a student in distress, and other times where there may actually be a more effective source of support than the Office of Counseling Services?
For example, the Office of Counseling Services is governed by the privacy restrictions of HIPAA, whereas most university offices are governed by FERPA. While FERPA also protects the privacy of students' personal educational information, it allow for more sharing between relevant parties than does HIPAA. This means that if you want support services on campus to be made aware of a concern about a student and to be able to reach out to that student, it may be more effective to share that information with another office on campus. You can learn more below about key offices on campus that can essentially act as "operators" in terms of connecting you and the student you have in mind with additional support resources.
Also, even with counseling, there are times where an off-campus counseling provider may actually be a better resource for a student than CNU's Office of Counseling Services. It is not your responsibility to determine the ideal counseling resource for a student, so you should not feel that burden, but you can let them know that there are other options if they express that they do not want to go to counseling on campus. It's never wrong to refer to a student to the Office of Counseling Services so that they can have a conversation with a counselor there to determine the best option for them. You can learn more about the Office of Counseling here. You can also encourage a student to learn more about off-campus counseling here.
Learn more about key resources at CNU:
Learn more about key resources at CNU:
Currently, the Associate Dean of Students, Brian Larson, is the best contact point for ensuring students' immediate needs are being addressed across all areas of wellness and officially communicated to all relevant parties across the university (with student permission). The Associate Dean of Students can be reached at 757-594-7160 or blarson@cnu.edu.
The Center for Student Success is the best contact point for connecting students with strategies and resources for academics and stress management. All Captains Care referrals go here, where they are then reassigned to all appropriate departments for follow up with the student. The Center for Student Success also directly makes contact with the student if faculty requests that they do so in the Captains Care referral. The Center for Student Success can be reached at 757-594-7684 or academicsuccess@cnu.edu.
Faculty sometimes are hesitant to refer an academic integrity or other student conduct issue to CHECS, for fear the student will receive a sanction greater than what is warranted. Learn more about the CHECS process by clicking the button.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects students' privacy. Faculty understandably want to honor student privacy and ensure compliance with this law; however, the law allows for the sharing of information to support students under certain circumstances. Learn more about when it is okay to share information about students you are concerned for by clicking the button.
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