The Holy Cross Student Campus Assessment, Response & Education, or CARE, Team provides coordinated support for students in distress, addressing concerns about a student’s behavior, academic progress, and personal issues, including physical and mental health.
The CARE Team gathers information from personal contact with students and referrals from members of the Holy Cross community, to include faculty, staff, students, or concerned parties, as well as family members. A goal of the team is to provide a structured, collaborative and supportive approach to address concerns that may adversely impact a student’s academic and personal success.
The CARE Team is not a substitute for other campus systems of support and does not bypass established protocols or procedures, such as academic policies, leave policies, student disciplinary procedures, threat assessment, and/or Public Safety responses to incidents.
The CARE Team is committed to the following:
- Identifying students of concern who are in need of coordinated support;
- Collecting and analyzing information to determine appropriate support for students;
- Recommending interventions as appropriate to assist with students’ success;
- Connecting students with support resources both on and off campus;
- Coordinating care between and among varied College constituencies;
- Providing follow-up care to assist with students’ well-being and academic success;
- Engaging students’ families when appropriate; and
- Maintaining student privacy as required by law and handling all matters with discretion.
Referring Student Matters to the CARE Team
Campus members are encouraged to report concerns about students who may be in distress or whose behavior is disruptive to others in the community. In cases of emergency, individuals are instructed to call the Department of Public Safety (508-793-2222) or 911 off campus, first. The CARE Team plays a secondary role to all urgent circumstances and should be contacted only after initial emergency notifications are made.
In non-emergency situations, faculty, staff, students or external constituents can provide information to the team through a number of channels. They include, but are not limited to, personal interaction, telephone call, or email to the chair of the CARE Team, Paul Irish, or through an online form. Faculty members are encouraged to also shared concerns with the student’s class dean. Each report should include as much detail as possible about the behavior and/or incident of concern. If a concern is submitted online, the reporter will also receive an acknowledgement of receipt if the reporter provides contact information.
Reasons to refer a student to the CARE Team include, but are not limited to:
- Concerns about a student persist despite attempts to engage the student with campus resources (e.g., class dean, Counseling Center, Chaplains’ Office, Health Services, Accessibility Services, Academic Services and Learning Resources);
- Student displays a pattern of concerning behavior, including, but not limited to, missing classes / assignments, chronic health issues, psychological distress, alcohol and/or other drug abuse, or displays forms of inappropriate behavior;
- Student shows significant and marked changes in behavior, mood or affect;
- Student's academic or social performance deteriorates;
- Statements or actions of self-harm; and/or
- Student's behavior reflects increased hopelessness or helplessness.