Resources for Faculty

We recognize you often are the first to notice when a student is in distress. In addition, you may need information about your own emotional and mental health. While you'll find information in the self-help section, the information below is directed towards you specifically.

• FERPA and Confidentiality from the U.S. Department of Education
• On-line workshops on Students in Distress from Pennsylvania State University

Guidance on Disturbing Writing by Students

"Responding to Disturbing Creative Writing: A Guide for Faculty and GTAs" from the University of Colorado at Boulder English department

"Responding to Students in Distress" from Virginia Tech Dean of Student Affairs

College Boost Counseling in Wake of VA Tech: NPR "Talk of the Nation" program that featured Greg Eells as a guest. There is a beginning segment encouraging faculty to ask students about writing that is disturbing (Tristan Davies, Senior Lecturer at John Hopkins University addresses this).

Tom McGuinness of Boston College has been working with the faculty in their Freshman Writing Seminar in helping them identify and deal with "troubling texts" for many years. Tom did a presentation on this work at the 1995 AUCCCD conference and is open to people contacting him (mcguines@bc.edu) for more information. He also identified the "When Creative Writing Provides a Clue" article from Inside Higher Ed.

"Responding to Disturbing Content in Students' Work" brochure from Binghamton University.