CARE Team Referrals

Counselors consult with North employees who want to facilitate student referrals or to discuss ways to be helpful to students exhibiting distress. Below are strategies for helping.

Preventive Education

Early in the quarter, before student needs arise, tell students about North support services such as The Math Learning Center, Page One, Disability Services, Advising, and Counseling. Faculty members often mention Counseling services in class and link students with the Counseling homepage northseattle.edu/counseling through their faculty webpage or other electronic means. If you want copies of a brochure describing Student Success Services, to distribute in class, please call the Counseling front desk at 934-3676.

Compassion, Communication, Consultation and Referral

Students can feel alone when faced with academic and life challenges. These can interfere with school success and well-being.

Employees may be the first people to notice evidence that a student is in distress such as: significant decline in quality of academic work, repeated absences, tearful or anxious or irritated behavior, statements or writing about personal problems or losses unrelated to classwork, or expressions of concern by classmates.

Distressed students have reported that they have been helped when the faculty member/employee calmly, kindly, quickly and firmly (compassion):

• Brings the distressed/concerning behavior to the student’s attention and, if relevant, respectfully remind students of campus/classroom behavioral expectations (compassion and communication) e.g. “I notice that you haven’t turned in the last two assignments and your test scores dropped dramatically from test one to test two. I’m concerned because you need to pass this class at 78% in order to move to the next level.”
• Expresses concern for the student’s well-being and a willingness to help the student connect to appropriate referrals (compassion, communication and referral). e.g. “Even mature and motivated students, like you, often face obstacles and the college has resources designed to help students succeed. I’d like to connect you to our (Math Learning Center, Page One, Counseling faculty) who help students with (name concern the student has described).”

Employees are encouraged to consult colleagues, supervisors, Deans, Disability Services, International Programs and others, for supportive assistance in developing help-strategies, classroom management techniques or customer-service techniques, and/or as referral resources (compassion, communication, consultation and referral).

Contact the North Seattle College CARE Team

North Seattle College treats the health and safety of our students and employees with the utmost seriousness. The college is committed to promoting a safe campus environment and to providing support to those in distress. In order to provide the appropriate support in a timely manner, North has created the Communication Awareness Referral and Education (CARE) Team. For information on how to handle behaviors or situations of concern, click here for guidance.

The CARE team is a flexible interdisciplinary team of campus professionals who consult regularly, and encourage campus awareness and communication about health and safety concerns. The CARE team consults with and coordinates service referrals to trained community organizations which are qualified to provide assessment, response and which offer 24-hour access to services. If you observe specific student behavior that can be perceived as possibly threatening to self or others, email NSCcares@seattlecolleges.edu or contact the Dean of Student Support. CARE does not replace standard classroom management techniques. For employee situations, please report to Campus Human Resources at 206-934-7792.