Panthers Care & CAPS Deliver Support to FIU Students

Students are often unaware of services and assistance available to them. Some are too embarrassed to ask for help. In 2016, a study revealed that 48% of college students dealt with food insecurity in the last month which impacts their education (Hunger on Campus).

During the Fall 2018 semester, the FIU Faculty Senate encouraged faculty to include information about Panthers Care & Counseling and Psychological Services in syllabi and courses. The Panthers Care & CAPS link is now available by default in your online courses. Let’s do more to announce these resources to FIU students.

Introducing Panthers Care

Panthers Care is an initiative to create a community of support for students in times of need. The Panthers Care Program includes a Concern Center where a student can share a concern about another student through an anonymous online reporting system. Students can browse relevant topics such as financial help and money management. They can also find emotional help for events like dealing with a bad breakup or falling behind in school.

Panthers Care Resources

The initiative also offers workshops to educate the community and resources for undocumented students.

“The goal is to foster and sustain a campus culture grounded in the values of caring, support, and help that promote the academic and personal development of students and the overall educational mission of FIU.”

Exploring CAPS

In addition to the resources provided through Panthers Care from the Division of Student Affairs, the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides fully-online and hybrid students with Online Self-Help and even Online Therapy Assistance. Professional counselors are available for free and confidential help and even same day consultations.

Faculty can direct students to access this link in the course if they or their classmates are looking for help. Here’s what the link might look like in your course:

Panthers Care and CAPS link

If you are unable to locate this link in your course, please reach out to your instructional designer or search for this page in Canvas “Pages.”

Faculty can also learn the steps to refer a student who may need assistance.

Next Steps

Send an announcement, talk about it, and encourage exploration of the resources so that students can find help before they might need it.

Let’s be active participants in directing students to the resources they need – big or small.

Jennifer Antoon was an instructional designer for FIU Online. After studying adult learning theories in her master’s program and implementing them during her time as an adjunct professor, she became interested in discovering and creating learning activities that engage and motivate adults.