BSW Instructor Orientation

VCU students have free, 24/7 access to virtual care services with TimelyCare — the virtual health and wellbeing platform from TimelyMD, designed for college students. Students do not need insurance to access TimelyCare services. These are TimelyCare services that are available to students via the website or through the downloadable app: 

• TalkNow: 24/7, on-demand, crisis support which will connect students to a mental health professional to talk about anything at any time. Students can connect to TalkNow within minutes to discuss any level of concern, from conflicts with roommates to more serious mental health crises.
• Scheduled Counseling: Up to 12 scheduled telehealth counseling visits annually with a licensed mental health provider, either in Virginia or the rest of the United States. Choose the day, time, and mental health provider that best works for you.
• Scheduled virtual appointment(s) with a certified health coach to talk about nutrition, sleep habits, time management, and mindfulness and/or goal setting to enhance health and well-being. 
• Self-Care Content: Visit the “Explore” page within TimelyCare for guided self-care content, including yoga and meditation sessions, as well as group conversations with our providers on a variety of health and well-being topics.

Concerns From Students

Sometimes students express concerns about other courses, their field placement experience, or other parts of the program. If students share these with you, please refer them to their advisor. Their advisor is connected to all areas of the program and will make sure that their concerns are heard and, if necessary, elevated to the appropriate BSW program member.

Concerns About Students 

We are educating students to engage in professional and ethical social work practice. If you encounter students who have difficulties adhering to program standards, please submit an Early Alert (Progress Report) in Navigate. An Early Alert notifies the advisor of an issue. This could be an academic issue or a situation in which a student has failed to adhere to the VCU SSW Technical Standards. The Early Alert sends your report to the student's advisor, who will contact the student to discuss the issue(s). Read more about VCU's Early Notification Programs from the Office of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success.

Need more tailored support for a student in your class? Review the resources and reports from the Dean of Student Advocacy Office.

We also request that you submit a BSW Student Support Referral Form (requires VCU login) to alert the BSW program administration team of any academic or psycho-social concerns regarding students in our program. The form is for internal use to streamline our follow-up with students, and it will only be accessed by members of the BSW Program team. Even if you have provided outreach in other ways, we ask that you still use our internal referral form to ensure the student receives sustained outreach. This may mean that you submit an Early Alert, a report to the Dean of Student Advocacy Office, and the BSW Student Support Referral Form. We thank you for your patience and understanding of the need for redundancies to help ensure that no student slips through the cracks.