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Paul C. Perrine
Dean of Students
Phone: 828.771.3800
Student Life Home

Warren Wilson Early Support Network

The Goal of Early Support Network

The goal of the Early Support Network is to function as a safety net so that students can be successful during their time at Warren Wilson.  We do so by providing timely and supportive intervention for students who are experiencing difficulties or may be presenting a risk to themselves or others.  Any time you as a student, faculty member, or staff member have a concern about a student, you should contact the Early Support Team immediately.  Concerns you may want to report include:

You may also want to alert us if you know of a student who is dealing with a family, relationship, or peer situation where the student may benefit from additional support and/or assistance.

The Early Support Team

When you send an email to Early Support it will be opened by the administrative assistant in the Office of Student Life and you will be alerted that your concern has been received. By sending an email to the early support email address, it provides us a way to track communication most effectively.  After receiving the email, the administrative assistant will forward your email to the Early Support Team who may suggest or initiate an immediate intervention or bring the concern to the Early Support Team meeting.  The Early Support Team is generally comprised of the Dean of Students, the Student Life Administrative Assistant, a representative from the Work Program, Academics, Admissions, and Residential Life, the Director of Academic Support Services, and the Educational Access Coordinator. This group meets at the same time every week and decides upon an intervention strategy as appropriate.  Interventions may take the form of an employee or ES Team member reaching out to a student to let them know of the concerns and offer available resources and support, RA or RD check-ins, advisor or counselor out-reach, or follow-up through Academic Support or the WPO.  A member of the group will then get back to the person sending the concern if it is appropriate to share information.  A record of emails and interventions is stored in a data base available only to the Early Support Team.

In addition to reporting the concern, we suggest that you talk with the student about your concern and make sure the student is aware of available campus resources.  In cases where the student is in extreme distress or is expressing an intent to harm self or others, immediate intervention is appropriate and you should either contact the Counseling Center and/or the Student Life Office.  After hours you should either dial 911 or contact Public Safety on the emergency cell phone; they will contact the appropriate staff member to assist you.  It can also be very stressful to be in a supportive role with a student who is experiencing distress.  Please keep in mind that counselors are available to provide support and consultation to you on best methods for giving care and setting boundaries. 

Confidentiality

The guiding principle behind sharing information about a student is to provide support to that individual student and any others in the community who may have been affected by the student’s behavior.  Information will be shared only with members of the Early Support Team and those other individuals who have a specific reason to be informed.  While others within the community can decide about sharing information based on what is in the best interest of the student and/or the community, counselors are able to share information only when there is an immediate threat to the student or others. 

Contact Information

Early Support Team: earlysupport@warren-wilson.edu

Student Life Office: 828-771-3800 or studentlife@warren-wilson.edu

Counseling Center: Art Shuster-828-771-3773, Anne Lundblad-828-771-3700, Jil Meadows-828-771-3905

Public Safety: Daytime-828-771-3029, evenings/weekends only-828-230-4592