Student life is a period of unique change filled with many challenges. As a member of the VIU community you have the opportunity to support students who may be struggling with issues that affect their academic performance and well-being. Counselling Services supports faculty and staff in a number of ways:
- Orientation to counselling services
- A counsellor will come to your class to provide a brief orientation to your students
- Consultation
- discuss a concern about a particular student
- A student may be on your mind and you want to debrief or get another perspective
- Contact us at 250 740-6416.
Student Behaviours that disrupt the learning environment - Conduct Issues
yelling, inappropriate language, sending numerous emails or phone calls - some inappropriate content, refusing to follow directions, threats, etc
- Contact:
- Director Student Affairs 250 740-6406
- Office of Student Conduct Support 250 740-6594
- Director, International Student Services 250 740-6384
- Security 250 740-6600
- The Early Alert System
- Use if there is no immediate threat
- Can link student with useful resources to address their situation
- Does not go on any student record
- Collaborative Assessment Referral & Education Committee
- Students may need extra support or intervention, this committee has representatives from across the campus
- Risk & Threat Assessment team
- For any safety concerns you may have
- Identify & Respond to Student Needs - Summary page of behaviours in students, appropriate responses & contacts at VIU
- UnMasking Distress From BCIT recognizing distress, how to respond, refer & more resources for your classroom
Take a moment and read this wonderful article by Kathleen Bortolin on why we matter and how we can do better: universityaffairs.matter-here-maybe/?
Here is a resource on workplace mental health: www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com With links to other resources and useful information such as Canada's legal requirements to support mental health.
Requests for letters
- The Health and Wellness Centre (Counselling and Medical Clinic) occasionally receives requests from students for letters to facilitate a late withdrawal application, medical notes for missed classes, or to support requests regarding academic accommodations such as extensions on due dates. We take these requests seriously and use our professional judgment to discern whether a student is experiencing challenges with mental/physical health and well-being that interferes with their academic success.
- We can best make judgments about requests for letters when we have an ongoing clinical relationship with the student. Should a student request a letter during an initial visit to the Health and Wellness Centre, it is possible that this request may be declined on the basis of a lack of clinical information.
- When possible, we encourage students to advocate on their own behalf and communicate with instructors directly. In many cases, instructors can make valid evaluations of a students’ circumstances and the resulting impact on academics without having to refer to the Health and Wellness Centre, e.g. absences due to flu/illness, major loss/grief, difficulty with basic needs such as housing, or other life stressors that arise for students.
- Information about the late withdrawal application process, may be found on the Registrar’s website: https://www2.viu.ca/facultyhelp/Lates.asp . Information about the Disability Services accommodation process may be found here: https://live-viu-services.pantheonsite.io/disability-services/accommodation .
- We appreciate your understanding and support. Should you have any questions about the Health and Wellness Centre and the services provided, please feel free to contact the Coordinator of Counselling, Michelle Daoust, or the Director, Student Services, Bryan Tinlin.
Workshops for Faculty
Capacity to Connect: Supporting Students in Distress + Supporting Life: Suicide Awareness Workshop - New 2 hr Combo!
Feel free to request a workshop for your department or area 250 740-6416. Or chat with a team member for more information. In this workshop we have combined our previous workshops addressing working with stressed students and suicidal students. Most faculty gave us the feedback that they wanted this single, more indepth workshop.