Refer students to outside counseling services.

Call the student who requested off-campus counseling, confirm the insurance and availability details, and email the referral packet to the external provider. Copy the student on the exchange and ask them to sign and return the consent form by Thursday so we can release records.

Before I send the referral to the outside counselor, make it easy for the provider to accept: put the presenting concern and crisis history on the first page, list the campus contacts and emergency protocol next, and attach signed consent where possible. Flag anything that would make a provider hesitate to take the case so I can resolve it first.

A student asked me for an outside counseling referral but begged that I not tell their parents. They say their family would react badly. I am the advisor and afraid that refusing parental involvement could breach safety or campus policy. I cannot tell the student’s true level of risk and they resist a safety plan. What is the likely risk profile and the best immediate steps I can take that protect the student and keep me within policy?

We keep getting urgent referral requests after hours and spend staff time finding on-call providers, which delays help and stresses students. This pattern undermines our duty-of-care reputation. Which three operating changes and one communication template will stop last-minute scrambling and make after-hours referrals predictable?