It started with an email to students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Dean of Students Office asking, “How are you doing?”
Using graphics depicting a battery’s charge, students were asked to select a response that best represented how they felt.
“Battery 100 percent!”
“Battery 75 percent: It’s been difficult to adjust, but I’m doing okay.”
“Battery 50 percent: I’m struggling a bit, but I’m hanging in there.”
“Battery Low: It’s not going so well.
I could use some extra support.”
Any student who responded at 50 percent or lower received a personal phone call from the Mocs Checking in on Mocs volunteer team. More than 1,100 students have received follow-up phone calls or emails from 99 university volunteers.
“We are incredibly grateful for the volunteers who have taken the time to reach-out to students,” said Brett Fuchs, associate dean of students. “It exemplifies the care and compassion that faculty and staff have for the UTC community and the students we serve.”
If any follow-up is needed after the calls, managers from the Office of Student Outreach and Support are assigned to the case. They determine the type of support needed, connect students with resources and continue checking in.
“This ranges from academic notifications sent to faculty regarding student absences for a wide variety of reasons to referrals to the counseling center for mental health evaluation or looking for resources for a student who may be experiencing housing insecurity (homelessness),” Fuchs said.
Jim Hicks, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students, said plans to reach out directly to students already were in the works after spring semester was changed drastically in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but those plans went into high gear after storms, including seven tornadoes, hit the Chattanooga area in mid-April.
“We liked the idea of doing a quick check-in prior to exams starting. We had reached out to students in a number of ways, but none that were this direct,” Hicks said.
“We felt that there was a real need to reach out directly to students to make sure they knew that we were thinking about them and wanted to hear how they were doing. When the severe weather hit the area, it became very evident that we needed to send the message out as soon as we could.”