Effective Training
Programs for Faculty and
Staff
SUNY Safety Symposium
October 29, 2007
Heidi Levine, SUNY Geneseo
Sharon Mitchell, University at Buffalo
Lori Osterhoudt, SUNY Delhi
Kelly Sweener, Hudson Valley Community College
Session Format
 Review basic elements of faculty/staff training
 Introduce model programs
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Small, residential
Community college
University center
 Discussion
Faculty Staff Training: Formats
Web
Brochures
In-person training
Training Components
 Developmental issues
 Warning signs
 Campus resources
 How to refer
 When to intervene
 Limits & boundaries
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Founded in 1913 as an agricultural college, we are now one of the “Technology” colleges in
SUNY.
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625 acre campus located in small rural community on the northwest edge of the Catskill
Mountains, 3 hours from New York City.
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2,700 students on a primarily residential campus.
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Delhi offers 13 bachelor degree programs, over 40 associate degree programs, and
numerous certificates.
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Fields of study range from Web Development to Culinary Arts and Adventure Recreation;
from Humanities and Social Sciences to Nursing; Carpentry and Building Trades to
Veterinary Science Technology; Architectural Design to Golf Course Operations.
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Diverse student body with 60/40 male to female ratio.
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Vibrant student life program including significant focus on community service.
Strategies
 New Employee Orientation
 Presentations to faculty at Academic
Department meetings
 Professional Development Workshops
 Classroom presentations
 Referral Handout
Hudson Valley Community College
 Campus Characteristics
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Large, 90 acre campus located in the Capital Region
More than 70 degree/certificate programs in four academic
divisions
Student Faculty Ratio is 19 to 1
Non-residential (this may change…)
 Student Headcount – 12,119 (8,330 FTE)
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Approximately 27% are 25 years or older
Almost 6% are distance learners
Approximately 4% with reported disabilities
 Employee Statistics
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649 Faculty (59% Part-Time)
20 Department Chairs
209 NTP (15% Part-Time)
Center for Counseling & Transfer
 Staff
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Director
Associate Director
Counselors (3)
Support Staff (1)
 Personal/Psychological Counseling
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Appointments increased 24% in past six years
Represents approximately 20% of total student appointments
More than 60% of cases involve significant mental health problems
 Transfer Counseling
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Appointments increased 49% in past six years
Represents approximately 80% of total student appointments
Faculty/Staff Outreach
 Previous Initiatives
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New Faculty Orientation
Faculty Workshop Day
Stand-Alone Workshops
Departmental Meetings
Classroom Presentations
Consultation
Web Site
 New Initiatives or Works in Progress
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Formal Training through our Center for Effective Teaching
More Specific Departmental Trainings
Joint Training with Public Safety
Brochures and Other Printed Materials
University at Buffalo
Campus Characteristics
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Three campuses
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North Campus
 Amherst, New York
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South Campus
 Buffalo, New York
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Downtown Campus
 Buffalo, New York
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Students:
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18,165 undergraduate
9,055 graduate and professional
Faculty: 1,601 full-time
Degree programs:
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84 undergraduate degrees
184 master’s degrees
78 doctoral degrees
4 professional programs
University at Buffalo
Campus Crises
 In 2006, 47 students were transported to a hospital
for a psychiatric evaluation
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Average age: 22.9, range 18-42
14% were international students
74% had current or prior contact with Counseling Services
 Between 2000-2005, campus police responded to 21
calls about a suicide attempt
 In the last 5 years, approximately 6 UB students have
died by suicide
QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer
 Cost
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$495 per person + presenter travel expenses
primarily funded with grant money
joint training with several campuses: discount for groups of 10+ ($395)
On-line self-study alternative: same cost.
Future: Have a master trainer on campus (to keep cost down)
 Instructor Training:
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December 2006: 36 people / September 2007: 18 people
Training designed so lay people could deliver it.
The QPR does require that people take this course and be certified as in
instructors in order to say that you are doing "QPR gatekeeper training"
 QPR Gatekeeper Instructor Website:
http://qprinstitute.com
QPR
 Number of Gatekeepers trained (since 9/1/07)
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610 people
 UB affiliation
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Primarily students & professional staff
30% people of color
 Introduction of training to campus
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Student Affairs & Academic Support people first.
Then Faculty, and Students.
 Marketing and Promotion
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Use of letter to campus, listservs, advertising in student and faculty/staff publications, online
registration, websites dedicated specifically to suicide prevention, featured on the home page
all Student Wellness Team websites, feature in banner on the Student Affairs page, ads on
campus buses.
Is a part of ALL suicide prevention interventions such as Suicide Prevention Week
Tailored the training PowerPoint to fit with the concerns and data about our campus
QPR
 Baseline
Jan 2007: Online survey to get baseline of campus knowledge of Student
Wellness Team locations, resources, comfort with discussing suicide, knowledge
about suicide, awareness of and participation in campus suicide prevention
activities. (Will be repeating this in Jan 2008 and Jan 2009).
 Pre-test and Post-test analyses
(Pre-test, post-test immediately following the training, post-test 3 months later)
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Attitudes positively influenced
Knowledge of suicide prevention increased
83% rated the quality of the program content as above average or
outstanding.
Monitoring increase in referrals to CS by faculty, staff, other students
 UB will be hosting the Counseling Centers of NY conference in
June 2008. QPR gatekeeper training sessions will be held.
 UB Suicide Prevention webpage:
http://wellness.buffalo.edu/ubwell.shtml
Heidi Levine, Ph.D., Director of Student Health & Counseling
SUNY Geneseo
585-245-5736
levine@geneseo.edu
Sharon Mitchell, Ph.D., Director of Counseling Services
University at Buffalo
716-645-2720
smitch @buffalo.edu
Lori B. Osterhoudt, Director of Counseling Services
SUNY Delhi
607-746-4690
osterhlb@delhi.edu
Kelly Sweener, Psy.D., Director of Student Development Center for Counseling & Transfer
Hudson Valley Community College
518-629-7178
sweenkat@hvcc.edu