Recognize when your student may need help, encourage effective next steps, and understand when a family member should contact Trinity.
College students are expected to take an active role in solving problems and seeking support. Families can help most by listening, asking questions, and encouraging the student to contact the appropriate Trinity resource.
Start by listening
Before offering a solution, help your student explain what is happening and how it is affecting them.
- Ask what they have already tried.
- Ask what kind of help they want from you: listening, planning, or taking action.
- Encourage them to identify one manageable next step.
- Avoid assuming that one difficult conversation or week reflects the whole semester.
Help your student choose a resource
Different concerns call for different starting points.
Academic difficulty: professor, adviser, Academic Success, tutoring, or the Writing Center.
- Emotional or mental health concerns: Counseling Services or another wellness resource.
- Physical health concerns: Student Health Services.
- Housing or roommate concerns: resident assistant or Residential Life.
- Immediate safety concerns: campus police or emergency services.
Know when to contact Trinity
Families should contact the University directly when there is an urgent safety concern, when a student cannot reasonably advocate for themselves, or when repeated efforts have not identified a path forward.
- Share specific facts rather than conclusions or secondhand information.
- Understand that FERPA and other privacy rules may limit what Trinity can share.
- Ask the office what the student should do next, even when the office cannot discuss the student’s record.