Questions and Answers About Campus Preparedness

How does UCSB identify students who are showing signs of distress?
We have had in place for several years now an early warning program whose goal is to help us identify and get help for students exhibiting signs of psychological distress. The program consists of outreach and training for staff and faculty to enable them to identify and respond to distressed students. An essential component of the program is a booklet titled 'Responding to Distressed Students' that is now in its second edition and has been distributed to every office and department on campus in hard copy form and to every faculty and staff member via a Web site (www.sa.ucsb.edu/distressedstudentsguide). The guide is used as part of the foundation for the training and provides information on identification of various symptoms of distress, suggestions for immediate response, and descriptions of campus resources that can be easily accessed. These resources range from psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors to campus police, judicial affairs officers and other administrators, like the dean of students, who regularly work with distressed students. In essence, we have created a safety net that alerts key campus staff who then quickly mobilize and develop an appropriate service response for students in psychological distress. This early response program works on behalf of both the distressed student and the campus community, hopefully identifying students early and getting them help before a crisis develops.

How does UCSB respond to a student in distress?
Another important facet of our response to the trend of more need for mental health services is the addition of a medical social worker to our staff. The medical social worker is a central component of our response system. He is on-call to the entire campus to help respond to students with mental health issues and to coordinate campus and community services to support the student and facilitate recovery. The medical social worker position has worked so well that the health center will be hiring another social worker who will begin in the fall.

Is UCSB prepared to deal with an emergency?
In the area of emergency planning, for some time now the campus has had a top level committee chaired by the vice chancellor for administrative services that has been addressing campus-wide emergency preparedness. Specific areas of the university, such as labs, residence halls, and critical student services, have detailed, stand-alone emergency plans that include staff training and testing. A lot of what we have learned from Virginia Tech points to the need for a sophisticated communication system that allows the campus to quickly contact all members of its community. We are in the process of testing and refining our existing emergency email notification system and our emergency telephone tree capability. We have emergency broadcasting capability through our campus radio station, and we are also finishing up an emergency information Web site. Most recently we have joined with other UC campuses to interview vendors for an emergency text messaging service and an emergency outdoor public address system. Housing and Residential Services is also investigating vendors for text messaging to students living in the residence halls. Of course, as we do this, we will make certain that we have a robust media campaign to ensure that faculty, staff, students, and their parents are aware of the emergency communication system that we have developed. Also, as a result of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the University of California Office of the President has formed a system-wide task force to address campus security issues; UCSB's Vice Chancellor Young has been appointed by President Dynes to serve on that committee.

What is being done about the rise of mental health needs across the UC system?
UCSB has assumed a leadership role in a task force formed at the UC system-wide level in August of 2006. Under the leadership of UCSB's vice chancellor for student affairs, Dr. Michael Young, and a faculty member from UC San Diego, Dr. Joel Dimsdale, the task force has undertaken an evaluation of the UC system's mental health services overall and has developed a set of recommendations for strengthening those services across the system. The Board of Regents has made an initial allocation of funds needed to begin implementation of some of the recommendations. A copy of this report can be viewed on-line at www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/sept06/303attach.pdf.

A Letter from the Dean of Students

Dear Parents and Family Members:

The recent tragedy at Virginia Tech shocked and deeply saddened our entire nation. It was an unprecedented act of violence, acutely and painfully reminding us that universities are not ivory towers insulated from the concerns and dangers of the real world.

It is a fact that over the past decade or so campuses across the nation, UCSB included, have been experiencing a steady increase in the number of students with mental health issues. Additionally, the severity of the conditions that universities are encountering is growing. A larger population of students with psychological conditions, some severe, appears to be a permanent characteristic of campus life. In other words, it is our 'new normal.'

Given this, it is important to keep in mind that the actions of the disturbed student at Virginia Tech are not at all typical of the vast majority of students with psychological conditions; his actions were an extreme and rare manifestation of mental illness. However, students with psychological conditions do have a different set of needs and expectations than we used to encounter, say, a decade ago. These students need a more extensive and intensive mental health support system from our counseling center, student health, disabled students program, residence halls, student life office, and other student services.

Sending a son or daughter off to college is a proud and happy moment. But with incidents like Virginia Tech on our minds, it can also be the source of anxiety. Parents want to be reassured that the campus can provide both appropriate student support services and proper security measures so that all students can be safe and successful.

We at UCSB have been aware of the trend in student mental health and for some years shave been working to better serve the students and the campus as a whole. It is my hope that the following set of questions and answers will help you understand how UCSB is prepared for an emergency, and how we are exploring new approaches in light of what happened at Virginia Tech.

As I stated earlier, we will be communicating with students, staff, faculty, and parents as we introduce new security measures and student support services. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me at (805) 893-4569.

Sincerely,
Yonie Harris
Dean of Students