Dear Missouri S&T Family Member,

Congratulations and welcome to the Missouri S&T Miner family.  I hope this communication finds you and your family safe and healthy. We are actively planning for your student’s arrival this Fall. 

The health and welfare of our campus community are our top priority, and we have developed a comprehensive plan to provide a safe and healthy residential campus experience with exceptional learning and co-curricular experiences for your student.

As parents, we want to partner with you to ensure this transition promotes well-being and success for your student. Based on research, parents’ conversations with students allow them to know what to do when faced with new decisions or challenging situations. Talking with your student about things like alcohol, drugs, and mental well-being is important, even if they do not experience them directly. Our 2022 Missouri College Health Behavior Survey indicates 66% of S&T students report turning to parents and 53% turn to siblings when they need support off-campus. Your support may help prepare them if a friend, roommate, or acquaintance experiences challenges or needs help.

Research also suggests that there is an association between college-student alcohol use and depression, suicide, and high-risk sexual behavior.  Because your student’s well-being is our top priority, we encourage you to review and discuss the resources located at wellbeing.mst.edu with your student. Although it may be difficult to conceptualize now, the decisions students make today can affect their future.

We ask that you complete the Parental Notification Module to learn more about policies, your options, and resources for student support. The parental notification policy allows collaboration with parent(s) or legal guardian(s) about alcohol or controlled substance policy violations.

Your student should be receiving an email asking them to complete the following items before arriving on campus and is designed to support their well-being, success, and a safe and healthy S&T campus community.

1. Visit the Student Health website to complete requirements in the Patient Portal. If your student has been vaccinated, we ask that they upload a copy of their COVID vaccine information into their Patient Portal. For updated information about fall plans visit coronavirus.mst.edu.
   
   
2. Complete Ask. Listen. Refer. a statewide suicide prevention online training program to gain a greater understanding of how to recognize the risk factors and warning signs of suicide.
   
   
3. Participate in the College Behavior Profile (CBP), an online education program for incoming, first-year students, designed to enhance awareness of alcohol and marijuana’s effect on the mind and body.
   
   
4. Provide updated emergency contact information through JoeSS by navigating to the Student Center-> Demographic Data -> Emergency Contact Information.
   
   
5. Ensure your student has adequate health insurance coverage. Missouri S&T offers Anthem Student Advantage and information to help you select the best option for your student.
   
   
6. During Opening Week, information will be shared with students on signing up for our Joe Miner chatbot designed to enhance student success by engaging them directly in customizing their experience. We share timely information and based on their feedback, connect them with needed resources and support at the time they need it. 

We ask you to discuss these important issues with your student to reinforce making positive, healthy, informed choices and to help them become familiar with campus support resources. We look forward to welcoming your student to our campus this Fall.

Best regards,

 ‌
Dr. Debra Robinson
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

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