Care and Support: FAQS

General FAQs

I am a family member/Faculty/Staff/friend/etc. and I have concerns for a student here at UVA, what should I do? 

• If the concerns are immediate safety concerns, please dial 911.
• If you have a non-emergency concern for a student please call Care and Support Services at 434-924-7133. Or, email us at [email protected].

Do I need an appointment to visit Care and Support Services? 

No! While appointments are appreciated, walk-ins are welcome! 

What does Care and Support Services do?

CASS provides inclusive support for all students with unmet needs to increase students’ ability to identify, reduce, and navigate barriers to their growth and well-being. This is done by providing direct student services and programming, and by creating and expanding support infrastructures.  

Is Care and Support Services the Dean of Students Office?

The CASS team was formally under the title of The Office of the Dean of Students. After careful consideration, the decision was made the name Care and Support Services better suited the needs of the office and who we are.  

Is it possible to remain anonymous when reporting a concern? 

While we cannot guarantee anonymity, we will make every effort to protect your privacy upon your request. 

Does Care and Support Services provide academic advising or counseling services?

No. While we are more than happy to help students navigate barriers across grounds, we leave the academic advising and concerns to our Association Dean/Academic Dean colleagues who are housed in the respective schools. CASS does not provide clinical counseling services. For clinical counseling services, we encourage reaching out to CAPS and TimelyCare.  

Do I have to meet with your office to withdrawal, return, take a leave of absence?

No. You no longer have to meet with our office to withdraw, return, and/or take a leave of absence from the University. If you would like to meet with one of our team members for further resources available to you, please contact us at [email protected] and we would be happy to set up an appointment! 

I would like to report hazing

If you have immediate concerns for anyone’s safety or well-being, please call 911. Otherwise, you can report hazing through the online reporting form JustReportIt! or by calling the Hazing Hotline at 434-243-HAZE (4293). 

Student FAQs

Will my conversation with Care and Support Services be confidential? 

Any conversations between you and a CASS team member will be completely private in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  

There are certain exceptions to FERPA’s privacy protections:

• If you want us to share particular information with others, we would be happy to do so with your consent.  
• In certain situations if we have reasonable concern for your health or safety, we may share limited information with our campus partners or with your emergency contacts.  
• We are responsible employees and required to report certain information to our University colleagues. For more information, please visit the policy here.

I am having issues with my off-grounds lease/housing, what do I do?

Our colleagues at Student Legal Services can assist you.

I cannot register for classes, what do I do? 

Please reach out to your Association Dean/Academic Dean specific to your school to help with issues registering for classes. If there is a Dean of Students hold or ODOS hold on your account, make sure you have completed all mandatory trainings in SIS and contact [email protected] to remove the hold.

I have to be absent from class for a couple days, what do I do? 

Please reach out to your Academic/Association Dean and/or individual professors for more assistance on class absence. The Care and Support Team does not excuse absences, however, for other supports please connect with a CASS team member.

I am having a roommate conflict/want to switch dorms, what do I do? 

Our colleagues at Housing and Residence Life would love to assist you with any on-grounds housing questions, you may contact them at [email protected] 

Does Care and Support Services contact family members? 

We will only contact your family when needed in accordance with University policy or at your request. Policy references here and here.

I have been experiencing a financial emergency, housing insecurity, and/or food insecurity, is there anything that can help me with that? 

Please reference the list of support for basic needs above.

Family FAQs

My student has mental health concerns, and I want to ensure they are connected to University resources. 

Please contact us at 434-924-7133 and/or [email protected] and we would be happy to help! We also suggest contacting CAPS for further/ongoing resources.  

What can family members expect to hear from the Care and Support Services Team? 

The University is required to notify parents of tax-dependent students for health and safety concerns such as psychological emergencies or alcohol/drug related arrests. Please see University policy for more detailed information: here and here. 

Will I be informed if; a break-in occurs near my student, when my student is in “trouble,” if my student goes to the hospital, my student fails a class, my student is not graduating, etc? 

 

• For the most part, it will be up to your student to relay information about how they’re doing back to you.  
• We will only contact you when needed in accordance with University policy or at your student’s request. See the policies above.
• Anyone who wishes to receive UVA Alerts via text can opt-in by texting “UVA” to 226787. This short code subscription service is available to anyone, anywhere. For more information, please visit here. 

Can you make my student contact me? 

We cannot have your student reach out to you. If you would like to perform a welfare check on your student, please contact the police of the student’s local jurisdiction. 

Faculty and Staff FAQs

I have concern for a student (ex. student is not coming to class, not turning in assignments, is disruptive in class, has concerning content in their assignment, has not responded to any messages, etc.) What do I do? 

There are many ways to report concern for a student! You can: call CASS at 434-924-7133, or email us at [email protected]

When can Faculty/Staff expect to hear from the Care and Support Services Team? Should I tell the student when I have contacted the CASS?

 

• You can expect to hear from us if we are working with a student to arrange holistic support.  
• If you contact our team with concerns about a student, we do recommend that you let the student know you’ve contacted us.  

Do I have to report what a student tells me? 

 

• If you are a responsible employee, you have an obligation to report certain information a student may disclose to you. Please make sure you're aware of this policy. 
• Aside from what you are required to report as a responsible employee, if a student shares with you that they are going through a hard time and the support they need may extend beyond what you feel able to provide, please reach out to our team.  

Will my conversation be confidential? 

The Care and Support Services team will do our best to keep your conversations with our team members private, but we cannot guarantee confidentiality.  

Am I expected to make accommodations for a student? 

If your student has accommodations through the Student Disability Access Center, you should contact SDAC directly if you have questions or concerns about providing those accommodations.