About North Park
Founded in 1891, North Park University is a Christian university affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church of over 3,200 students from around the country and the world. Located for over 125 years on the land of the Miami and Potawatomi tribes in what is today Chicago’s northside, NPU has recently been designated a Hispanic Serving Institution and is committed to serving diverse populations. Elevating North Park University’s core distinctives of Christian, city-centered, and intercultural, NPU values diversity among its Faculty and is committed to building a racially and culturally diverse intellectual community, and strongly encourages the nomination and candidacies of persons who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color regardless of gender.

North Park University is located in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago, one of the most ethnically diverse zip codes in the United States. It is nine miles from downtown Chicago. The North Park campus has often been referred to as an oasis in the heart of the city – a place where students from urban, rural, and suburban backgrounds alike can call home. And all of this within the major metropolitan backdrop of Chicago: one of the world’s largest and most diversified economies, renowned for its museums and music, and voted best large city in the U.S. for four years in a row by Condé Nast Traveler.

Mission

The mission of North Park University is to prepare students for lives of significance and service through education in the liberal arts, professional studies, and theology.

Vision

Building on our core institutional identity—Christian, city-centered, intercultural—our vision is to create a university of uncommon character and enduring excellence, where faith, learning, and service meet.

Position Summary:

The Student Care Coordinator will coordinate care and linkage to services and resources on and off campus for students with mental health, physical health, and material needs. This position will also be responsible for coordinating care for distressed students and students experiencing situations that may disrupt educational, social/relational, and residential facets of college life. As an advocate and resource for students in distress, this position will assist with outreach and education to the campus community (students, staff, and faculty) regarding identification and support for students of concern. This will be done through consultations with faculty, staff, students, and constituents off campus such as hospital staff, local non-profits, and parents. The Student Care Coordinator fields calls, emails and referrals regarding distressed students during business hours as well as during evenings and weekends.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Contributes to the health and well-being of students by
• Oversee the strategic management of the university's Early Alert Reporting System (EARS) by providing essential triage of referrals and case management, ensuring effective identification and intervention for at-risk students.
• Responding to early alert system (EARS) cases as assigned, by providing case management and care coordination for specific care areas, such as, but not limited to Student Care.
• Facilitating student meetings for distressed and/or disruptive students with a clear goal of proactive, early intervention and care.
• Consulting with on and off campus constituents, such as campus Counseling Services, Residence Life and Housing, Student Engagement staff, faculty, hospital staff, and other community providers to facilitate linkage and referral to appropriate care, as well as serve as a point person for communication about prevention, intervention, postvention, and changes related to academic areas of college life.
• Communicating and facilitating care coordination with parents, guardians, and/or student- identified emergency contacts regarding student distress/crisis situations.
• Assisting in the coordination efforts to support students and the campus community when distressing campus events occur.
• Coordinating community resources for students experiencing resource management needs including, but not limited to food and/or housing insecurity, lack of access to healthcare, transportation and/or childcare.
• Establishing assessment and evaluation procedures for case management activities
• Contribute to University policies and procedures for managing distressed students, and postvention/return-to-campus coordination and care.
• Assisting campus Counseling Support Services with training campus constituents/partners on University policies and procedures for managing students in distress. Facilitating in-person, phone, and/or telehealth risk assessments for students in distress as a backup responder, secondary to campus Counseling Services, when needed
• Responding to after-hours calls (evenings, weekends) related to students in distress in a consultation role, to assist Residence Life professional staff regarding risk management situations and make recommendations regarding need to enact established University crisis protocols.
• Contributing to a comprehensive referral list of community resources including, but not limited to entities such as low-cost/free health services, mental health support services, food pantries, shelters, and other student-identified resource needs in conjunction with Counseling Support Services and Health Services. Promote the integrative utilization of existing technology-based resources such as TAO and ThrivingCampus.
• Participate in professional organizations relevant to job duties such as the Higher Education Case Managers Association (HECMA)
• Provides leadership, support and collaborates with campus partners to offer programs and workshops that advance a holistic approach to wellbeing, such as North Park Cares Week.
• Provides guidance and support for the Medical Leave of Absence process.
• Serves on Response Teams, as assigned, and provides triage and coordination of care for students in alignment with university protocol. This may include coordination of communication to students, faculty, staff, food services and other campus vendors.
• Meets with students to offer support on wellbeing issues such as conflict resolution, homesickness, isolation, and college transition anxiety, and makes appropriate referrals to additional on and off campus providers and resources to meet any escalated mental health support needs.
• Supports the mission and goals of the University by assuming other responsibilities as assigned by the vice president for student engagement and/or dean of students.

Essential Qualifications:

• Committed to and an articulate supporter of the university’s mission, identity, and Christian faith commitment.
• Desire to and proven ability to meet, relate to and work with a diverse student population.
• Master’s required. Priority given to LSW, LCSW, LPC, LCPC and LMFT candidates.
• Minimum of three years of direct student support experience in case management, counseling, guidance and/or advising.
• Knowledge of emotional and mental health issues affecting post-secondary students. Experience with mental health crisis management activities in a consultation or direct service role.,
• General knowledge of and a commitment to follow state and federal laws and standards impacting post-secondary students and mental health crisis, including confidentiality, FERPA, Title IX.
• Developmental understanding of post-secondary students and a desire to facilitate and encourage this development in a supportive and service-oriented environment.
• The ability to effectively communicate with students, administrators, faculty and staff members, and outside constituencies.

About North Park University

Connections working at North Park University