CARE Management
College comes with a great deal of experiences. It can be transformative, enriching, joyous, chaotic, and sometimes just plain hard!
While you have your Class Deans to support you with your academic path, your CARE Management team (Connect Advocate Reflect Empower) is here to help you navigate the rest. Meet the team.
Need Help Now?
- In case of an emergency, call 911 or Public Safety’s Emergency Line at 802-443-5911.
- TalkNow through TimelyCare provides 24/7 access to mental health support. You can speak with a counselor at any time from anywhere simply by opening the TimelyCare app or visiting go/timelycare in a browser and selecting TalkNow.
- Help Starts Here: Call 211 connects you to expert, caring help and every call is completely confidential.
What We Do
We support all students who may be having difficulty in navigating challenging situations beyond academics. we offer check-ins, problem solving, and referrals to other offices to support students in creating their independent goals and increasing their sense of thriving in the Middlebury College environment.
Things to Report
Human behavior lies along a continuum. We become concerned when a student’s behavior is causing distress to themselves, disrupting the residential or academic environment, and/or making others feel unsafe or distressed.
Please avoid labeling students with mental health issues (e.g., is depressed, acting manic, etc). Instead, stick with concrete behaviors (e.g., crying in class, speaking rapidly, jumping from topic to topic).
- Increases in anxiety, worry, fear, or feelings of being overwhelmed
- Excessive fear of public places (outside of “stay home” advice)
- Paralyzing fear about the future
- Increase in potential mental health symptoms
- Changes in engagement
- Isolating/withdrawing from others
- Not “showing up” for class
- Missing assignment deadlines
- Unusual talkativeness
- Decrease in engagement/talkativeness from what is “normal” for them
- Racing thoughts, hard to follow
- Distractibility
- Changes in affect/emotions
- Feelings of hopelessness
- Excessive crying
- Increased energy
- Abnormally upbeat, jumpy, or wired
- Increased activity, energy, or agitation
- Exaggerated sense of well-being and self-confidence (euphoria)
- Decreased/increased need for sleep
- Decreased ability to focus or concentrate
- Decrease academic/work performance
- Missing assignments
- Poor attendance
- Decrease in self-care/hygiene
- Changes from previous level (pre-COVID-19)
- Not sleeping
- Unhealthy coping strategies
- Increase in alcohol or drug use
- Increase in risky/impulsive behaviors
- Disruptive behaviors
- Sudden anger
- Noticeable changes in personality
Using the CARE FORM
The responsibility to support and care for one another is a core component of the Middlebury College community.
What faculty see in the classroom can be fundamentally different from what a residence director sees in a residence hall, a coach sees during practice, a job supervisor sees at work, a Public Safety officer sees when doing rounds, or a trusted mentor hears from a concerned friend. The CARE Network allows us to take in all of this information and utilize it to support students.
One way we can do this is by sharing our concern if we notice someone struggling. The CARE Management form allows faculty, staff, and students to note challenges to a student’s success and well-being. See some examples of behaviors worth noting.
Through CARE Management forms, the Student Affairs team can evaluate a situation and work collaboratively to develop an effective response.
Faculty might use the CARE Network to complete certain administrative tasks:
- Incomplete requests
- Course warnings
- Administration Committee petitions
Students might use the CARE Network to do the following:
- Request a fifth course
- Extend a leave of absence
- Submit an Administration Committee petition
- Express concern for a friend through the CARE form
The CARE FORM
Following are some of the ways that our community can use the CARE Network to support student success.
Contact Us
We collaborate regularly with campus partners and act as knowledgeable referral agents for a wide variety of college resources. While Care Managers frequently work with students experiencing challenging circumstances, we are also available for proactive success and support planning.
Reach out to middcares@middlebury.edu, call/text 802-443-3340, or stop by our office on the second floor of Stewart for additional information.
Land Acknowledgement: Middlebury College sits on land which has served as a site of meeting and exchange among indigenous peoples since time immemorial. The Western Abenaki are the traditional caretakers of these Vermont lands and waters, which they call Ndakinna, or “homeland.” We remember their connection to this region and the hardships they continue to endure. We give thanks for the opportunity to share in the bounty of this place and to protect it.