Worried about a Student

Some of the circumstances in which the Student Concern Form may be used include (but are not limited to):

• A student has stopped engaging meaningfully or completely with their study, and you believe that this may be due to health and wellbeing issues.
• A student has shared suicidal feelings with you, or has disclosed information which makes you think that their mental health is of concern, and you need to ensure they receive the appropriate support.
• A student’s behaviour is disrupting the classroom learning and you believe that this may be due to a health or wellbeing issue. 
• A student is showing signs of risky behaviour which may involve alcohol or drugs. 
• You want to make Student Advice & Support aware of something which concerns a particular student.

If you would like Student Advice & Support to be aware of something affecting a student but don't have immediate concerns for their wellbeing or safety, you can use the form to notify us of this. If we are already aware of the student, we may incorporate this as part of a wider discussion, or if we aren't we can look to reach out and offer appropriate support.

Depending on the concerns raised, we may do one or more of the following:

• Contact the student and offer support. Please be aware that we generally rely on the student choosing to engage with support.
• Contact the person who submitted the form to discuss their concerns and offer advice on how they can support the student.
• Liaise with other support services within or outside the University of Aberdeen who may already be supporting the student.
• Liaise with appropriate members of the student’s personal support networks to help ensure the student receives support from those who are closest to them.
• Support the student to access appropriate external services such as a GP, local crisis services or psychological and psychiatric services
• Where a student appears to be missing, work with the University of Aberdeen's Security Team and the Police to try to establish if the student is safe.

The Student Concern Form and the Student Advice & Support email account and phone number are monitored between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Friday. Within these hours, we aim to respond to any concerns as soon as possible within a 48-hour timeframe. 

The form is not routinely monitored during weekends, bank holidays and the University’s closure periods.

We will confirm that we’ve received your request and will follow up with the student as appropriate. Depending on the circumstances, we may not be in a position to share any further information with you. However, if your concerns persist, please contact us again. 

In consultation with the student, we may establish ongoing communication with you or someone else from your School/Section, in order to jointly support the student and help keep them safe and well. 

We are open and transparent with students and would usually share information with them about concerns raised to us, including general information about the source of these. If you would prefer to have a conversation with an Adviser about your concerns before submitting these via the form, please contact the team on 01224 273935 or student.support@abdn.ac.uk.

Student Suport Services offer private advice and support to all students, and will usually only share information with academic staff/School(s) if a student's circumstances are likely to impact their studies or their engagement with their course, or if the student has provided consent to share information.

Student Support teams encourage students to discuss their circumstances with their School(s) when this is the case, and encourage an open dialogue about support needs. If you have contacted Student Support about a student of concern, Student Support will confirm when they have managed to contact the student, but will only share further information with the student's consent.

If you have referred a student to the service for any other matter, Student Support will explore with the student, whether they wish for an update to be provided to their School(s).

Support Services are not able to provide an update to any concerns raised by another student, or a third party/friend/family member, but will always encourage students to make contact with someone who has raised concern. 

It is important to remember that if you are concerned about a student, you do not have to deal with this alone. Get others involved where you can and seek expert help if appropriate. It may be beneficial to discuss your concerns with a colleague, or with another trusted person.

If you're a student, Student Advice & Support will be able to help you.

If you're a University of Aberdeen staff member, please discuss support with your line manager and/or get in touch with the University’s Support Services.