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Student Support System (SSS) – Staff

The goal of the Student Support System (SSS) is to identify and effectively intervene with students who are exhibiting at-risk behaviors by providing strategies, support, and resources to improve course success and overall retention of students. 

How to submit a referral

Staff can submit a referral for a student through Experience on the Staff Reporting card. 

SUBMIT A REFERRAL

Identifying the proper referral

Please use the tables below for more information on Personal Counseling Service and Teaching Learning Center referrals. Each referral type has its own purpose to support a student need. Select accordingly when submitting a referral.

Personal Counseling Services

These referrals not appropriate for crisis situations, BIRB, or Disruptive Student/Conduct. See guidelines (PDF).

Type of SSS Referral When to choose this referral Possible Interventions

Basic Needs (Counseling)

 
  • A Basic Needs referral would be used in situations where a student needs to be connected to campus or community resources (Food Pantry, Disability Resources, Delta’s Closet, Student Success Workshops, Homeless Shelter)
  • Interventions will be assessed as appropriate by a Licensed Professional Counselor and are confidential as outlined by HIPAA.

Mental Health (Counseling)

(This referral is not appropriate for crisis situations, BIRB, or Disruptive Student/Conduct. See guidelines (PDF).)
  • A Mental Health referral would used in situations where a student is possibly struggling with the loss of a loved one, a relationship ending, test anxiety, or coping with a situation.
  • Interventions will be assessed as appropriate by a Licensed Professional Counselor and are confidential as outlined by HIPAA.

Teaching and Learning Center (TLC)

Type of SSS Referral When to choose this referral Possible Interventions
Academic Reading or Writing Support (TLC)
  • At any stage in the writing process for any discipline (and for any genre of writing assignment), from gathering ideas to reviewing final drafts.
  • To improve reading comprehension and understanding of academic reading material
  • Reading-related strategies: Review of specific reading strategies, including prediction skills, application/activation of prior background knowledge, vocabulary development, text interaction, or content analysis. 

  • Writing-related content/strategies: Review of idea- generation techniques, paragraph development/ organization/transitions, and/or appropriate source integration/citation in MLA or APA format.
Content-Specific Course Support (TLC)
  • Student demonstrates effective study habits but may need additional review, application, or practice with a specific course concept or topic. 
  • Individualized explanation of specific course topic or concept, assistance utilizing resources, practice applying course concept(s), and/or opportunities to problem-solve and apply metacognitive strategies. 
Learning, Study, or Testing Strategies (TLC)
  • Student needs to improve their approach to learning and studying at the college level. OR 
  • Student knows course content but has difficulty accessing it during a test. 
  • Individual coaching session (or group workshop) on learning and study strategies that improve long-term retention of information. 
  • Individual or group review of effective test preparation tips and/or  test-taking strategies.

 

Frequently asked questions

Delta College's Student Support System was developed to provide a referral system for staff who witnessed students struggling or showing improvement in their courses. The system was set up so staff could easily refer names of students who may benefit from additional assistance outside of the classroom. When possible, referrals should be made early in the semester, as soon as a need is observed or suspected. The referral communicates to staff from Personal Counseling Services or the Teaching/Learning Center that a student is in need.  This allows Delta College to communicate to and coordinate supports for students and to monitor their progress while guiding students to make good choices. We rely on staff to help us identify students who need additional support.

MyDelta is Delta's personalized webpage of movable cards (i.e., tiles, boxes) that is individualized for the person logged in. As a Delta College staff member, you have access to the Staff Reporting card. This is the card for you to submit a Student Support System referral. If you do not see the card once you're logged into MyDelta, click on Discover More at the bottom and search for Staff Reporting. 

When you're having the conversation with the student, ask them if they mind if you submit a referral to either the Personal Counseling Services or Teaching Learning Services office for support. If you are speaking with a student via email, let them know you will be submitting a referral to a particular office based on information they have provided to you. The respective office will reach out to the student offering services to support them based on the notes in your referral. Being in contact with the student prior to submitting a referral is preferred.

Please only submit one referral per type (Academic or Counseling) for each student. If you think more than one referral per type is applicable, choose the referral of best fit, and include notes in your referral that include more about what the student needs. 

Each referral ends with the office it's associated. Please choose the one in those categories of best fit for the students you are submitting an alert. 

You are welcome to use different types of alerts for students. For example, if the student should be referred to both the TLC and Counseling, you may submit a referral for both types. We ask that you simply don't choose more than one referral per office type.

An email is sent to the student upon the creation of every referral you submit. 

Once the referral is received in the system, the student will receive an email notifying them of the referral and the purpose of the outreach. The email will encourage the student to reach out for assistance and give contact information for the Teaching Learning Center or Personal Counseling Services  – based on the nature of the referral.

Depending on the nature of the referral, the student will either be contacted by the Teaching and Learning Center to offer support or a Counselor for mental health support or basic needs support.

Emails and phone calls will be made within 48 business hours to the student, giving the student a 14 day period to respond.

Interventions will be determined on a case by case basis. Be sure to include specific notes in your referral to help the staff have a conversation with your student. 

SSS referrals are on a CRM Advise student record, different than the student record generated for transcripts or transfer. Staff with these privileges are limited to those who have an educational need for such information as contained within CRM Advise. Therefore, our system is FERPA-compliant.

Personal Counseling Services and Teaching and Learning Center staff will reach out to  the student depending on the nature of the referral. You do not need to do anything once you have submitted the SSS referral. 

The process behind the Student Support System is semi-automated, but there are certain steps that require student response in order to progress further. It is helpful when students know that you are submitting a referral on their behalf so that they can be on the lookout for someone to reach out to them. On your end, it may seem like nothing happened, but there will be several behind-the-scenes attempts at communicating with a student before a referral is closed.