Guide to Assisting Students
 |
For most students at the University, personal and academic pursuits provide healthy experiences with positive results. However, for some, this time of growth produces high levels of anxiety, distress, and poor choices, such as high-risk drinking and/or drug use. As a faculty member or teaching assistant (TA), your on-going relationship with students allows you to detect changes in an individual’s behavior that may signal a more serious problem.
You can play a unique role in assisting students through a difficult situation or experience. Students appreciate faculty and TA opinions and you can serve as a reliable and confidential source of information about the resources already in place at the University.
Faculty and TAs are not expected to take on the role of counselor, but they can identify students in distress and provide appropriate assistance. For this reason, the University Advisory Committee on Alcohol and Substance Abuse has developed a brochure titled “Recognizing and Assisting Students in Distress: A Guide for Faculty and Teaching Assistants.”
