Employee FAQ
Communicating with counselors via electronic communication
If a faculty member would like to consult with a counselor regarding a student they have concerns about in their class, please do not send an email with student identifiers in the message. Our counselors will not respond. Please send a generic message without identifiers, as email is not a confidential form of communication.
Referring a student in crisis
College employees supporting students in crisis and not able to connect with a counselor should consult with their supervisors for immediate needs.
Students threatening self-harm or harm to others need immediate crisis support. Please call 988 or 911 in these situations and follow up with Campus Security at 206.235.0911
Yes. You can reach out to a counselor, but the counselor cannot provide any information (or even confirm or deny that they are seeing/ have seen a student) unless the student has signed a release of information specifically designating the type of information to be shared.
Yes and no. If the student has signed a release of information and requested that the counselor attends a meeting to advocate for the student then it is appropriate for a counselor to attend the meeting as a student advocate. A counselor can still attend the meeting and provide general consultation regarding potential general classroom management strategies and accommodations but the counselor cannot discuss a student or provide information about a student without a specific release.
Yes, but counselors cannot perform disciplinary actions and counseling should not be part of a disciplinary consequence. Follow up regarding a student’s participation and progress in counseling will only occur at a student’s explicit request, once a release of information has been signed. A student has the right to refuse to release this information. Please note that this is also a situation where a CARE Team report should be submitted.
Request a counselor visit for an in-class presentation or wellness workshop through this form.