Office of the Dean of Students staff work collaboratively with partners across campus to support students through whatever challenges they may be facing. We help students connect with the resources appropriate to their individual needs and consult with staff and faculty who are concerned about a student.
Who is a student of concern?
Academic Indicators
- Repeated absences
- Missed assignments, exams, or appointments
- Deterioration in quality or quantity of work
- Extreme disorganization or erratic performance
- Written or artistic expression of unusual violence, social isolation, despair or confusion, preoccupation with suicide or death
- Continual seeking of special provisions (e.g., extensions on papers, make-up exams)
- Patterns of perfectionism: (e.g. inability to accept any grade but an A)
- Overblown or disproportionate response to grades or other evaluations
Behavior or Emotional Indicators
- Personal tragedy or significant problems
- Family problems
- Severe anxiety or depression
- Expressions of hopelessness
- Angry or hostile outbursts or aggressive comments
- Financial burdenIsolation or inability to locate student
Physical Indicators
- Self-harm or threat to harm others
- Deterioration of physical condition
- Frequent or chronic illness
- Disorganized speech confusion
- Excessive fatigue or falling asleep in class
When should I refer a student of concern?
- If you are concerned about the welfare of a student, yourself, and/or other students.
- If a student asks for help in dealing with personal issues that are outside the scope of your role as a faculty or staff member.
- If your efforts to manage a concern has not resolved the problem.
- If you have referred the student in the past and there seems to be no improvement or things are getting worse.
- If you are unsure where to refer a student or how to address concerning behavior.
The situation is urgent if:
- There are written or verbal statements that mention despair,
suicide, or death.
- Severe hopelessness, depression, isolation, and withdrawal
- Statements that suggest the student is “going away for a long time”
- If a student is exhibiting any of these signs they may pose an
immediate danger to self or others you should stay with the student and contact University Counseling Services at (617) 552–3310
- After hours you can access the Psychological Emergency Clinician by calling UCS at 617-552-3310 and pressing option 2.
Call University Counseling Services @ 617-552-3310
The situation is an emergency if:
- Physical or verbal aggression is directed at self, others, or property
- The student is unresponsive to the external environment; s/he is incoherent, passed out, disconnected from reality/ exhibiting
- psychosis, or displaying disruptive behavior
- The situation feels threatening or dangerous to you or others
- Imminent threats to safety
Call the BCPD Emergency Line @ 617-552-4444
How to refer a student of concern
Speak directly with the student
- Meet individually and in a quiet place
- Set a hopeful tone
- Express your concern and caring
- Point out specific behaviors you’ve observed
- Listen attentively to the student
- Avoid making promises of confidentiality
- Suggest resources and referrals
Connect the Student to Resources
- Explain the limitations of your knowledge and experience
- Provide name, phone number, and office location of the resource OR walk the student to the resource
- Frame any decision to seek help as a smart and mature choice
- Realize that your offer of help may be rejected
- Follow up with the student
Consult and Report
- When in doubt, consult!
- There are many staff with expertise on campus who can support you, including the DOS team, UCS, BCPD and resources listed here.
- You must report any concerns about a student’s current or previous suicidality to the DOS team
- Call 617–552–3470 OR fill out our online form at bc.edu/outreach
No! FERPA, which protects the confidentiality of student records, allows you to disclose your observations about a student’s behavior, and
permits you to disclose any information about a student with other BC employees for a legitimate educational purpose, which includes
disclosures made in connection with maintaining the safety of the University, providing a service or benefit to the student, or any task
related to the effective functioning of the University. FERPA also permits disclosures in connection with any health or safety emergency if the
disclosure is necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or others.
Important Resources
Office of the Dean of Students
617-552–3470 | Maloney 445 | bc.edu/dos
Center for Student Wellness
617-552-9900 | Gasson 013/025 | bc.edu/student-wellness
University Counseling Services
617-552–3310 | Gasson 001 | bc.edu/counseling
BCPD (non-emergency line)
617-552–4440 | Maloney Hall | bc.edu/bcpd
Women’s Center
(617) 552–3489 | Maloney Hall 441 | bc.edu/wc
Sexual Assaul Network
617-552–2211 | Maloney Hall 441 | bc.edu/sanet
University Health Servcies
617-552-3225 | 2150 Commonwealth Ave. | bc.edu/uhs
Campus Ministry
617-552–3475 | McElroy 233 | bc.edu/ministry
Disability Services
617-552–3270 | Maloney 445 | bc.edu/disability
FAQ
No. The Dean of Students Office is not a confidential resource. Information shared with our team does, however, remain private and is shared only as needed among staff members to coordinate support for a student.
Our team is available to talk through any challenge a student is facing. Perhaps you are experiencing a difficult adjustment to academic responsibilities, and are unsure of how to best communicate with your instructors. Our team can help you to communicate with your course instructors, and/or your academic dean. If you are struggling with a family matter, physical or mental health need and it is impacting your ability to engage with class, our team can provide guidance and connect you with resources to move forward. If you are experiencing a transition moment - as in, you are considering a leave of absence, or transferring out of BC, we can help talk through the required steps. If you are unsure of where to go for support, our team can help simply by redirecting you to the best resource available.
When coming in for a meeting, you can anticipate meeting 1:1 with a member of our team for approximately 30 minutes. During this meeting, you and the team member will discuss the concerns shared with our team, and overall, your support system at BC and beyond campus. We will collaboratively brainstorm additional supportive measures that may help you as you navigate the concerns we discussed. As part of this conversation, the team member will offer to help connect you with another campus resource, if that is what would be helpful.
Yes. Depending on a student’s needs, our team will continue meeting with a student until the presenting concerns are resolved. Our team is an ongoing resource and source of support for students, and even if a significant amount of time has passed since meeting with us, students are able to reach out for support as needed.
The Dean of Students Support team will only contact a student’s family or emergency contact on file with the University in the event of a health and safety emergency. In other words, only if the University is worried for a student’s immediate health and safety will we contact family.
University Counseling Services is a confidential resource that provides individual and group therapy, psychiatry, and emergency mental health support.
Student Support Services within the Dean of Students Office is not a confidential resource, and works with students to problem-solve and strategize a plan for navigating concerns. As part of that, our team can communicate with other University offices to coordinate support options. Our office provides care for individual students, while also balancing that care with campus safety needs.
The decision to pursue a medical leave of absence can be a difficult and necessary one. Our team is available to talk with you about that process at any time, and when on a medical leave of absence, remains a point of contact for students. You will need to submit a “Withdrawal / Leave of Absence Form."
We recommend speaking with your Academic Dean about your decision, as they review all medical leave requests. Once approved for a medical leave of absence, you will have 72 hours to move out of campus housing.
It can be difficult to know the best next step when you are worried about a friend or roommate. We encourage you to consult with the DOS Support team to discuss the situation and receive advice about possible next steps. Please know that there is always support on campus, University Counseling Services and Residential Life staff are other examples of staff who may help you navigate.
You can schedule a meeting with a member of our team by either calling our office at 617-552-3470, emailing us at student.support@bc.edu, or coming to our office in Maloney 448.