Help-seeking is a skill set and we need the entire OSU community to normalize seeking help. Through conversations with each other, we can break down the internal barriers that often prevent students from doing so early or at all. The BNC community appreciates how often professors and instructors are talking about the Basic Needs Center with their classes as part of their goals to be student-centered faculty members. Below, staff can find language ready for copy-pasting into syllabi and some additional context for how to approach this conversation with your class. 

Tips for conversations connected to basic needs and your syllabus:

  • Normalize that everyone needs help. If you've had personal lived experience that feels relevant to the conversation, you could offer an anecdote or share a piece of your story with students. 
  • Speak from the heart and less from a script. What do you appreciate about the Basic Needs Center that makes you want to share about it with students? 
  • Most of the students who could find support from the Basic Needs Center are making do with what they have with a lot of wisdom - a lot of these challenges are everyday sort of experiences for our students and their families. They may not see their skipped meals or living situation as a problem, but they may not also see that additional strategies or resources could reduce their stress. Speaking about the BNC as a community of helpful people can promote help-seeking early in a student's time at OSU and disrupt the idea that the center is here for emergency or high-crisis situations only. 
  • It's helpful to keep in mind that someone's living conditions don't preclude them from success at OSU, nor does how often they eat a full meal. All across the country, students who are homeless or skipping meals are working toward graduation in creative ways given limited resources and finding success. When you talk to your students about accessing resources, keep in mind that success looks different for each person and that someone we might perceive as struggling may be doing just fine. We at the BNC are exploring how we can refer students to available resources without assuming we know what's best for their situation. We encourage you to give this a try too and share what you learn with us. 
Highlight the BNC as you cover the Reach out for Success statement:

One of the University-wide compulsory syllabi statements is the Reach out for Success statement. The standard language for this includes a link to a webpage that includes resources that are most-helpful when students are experiencing various challenges connected to their college experience. When instructors are talking through the syllabus at the start of a course, they could open this webpage and from there, show students the Basic Needs Center website and speak about the support and resources available at the center. 

Sample Basic Needs Syllabus Statement:

Some instructors and staff might prefer to copy and paste this statement into their syllabus and use this as the place to talk about the BNC. 

Success at OSU means knowing and using your resources. One helpful resource is the community of staff available at the Basic Needs Center (BNC) for support ([email protected], 541-737-3747). Students can drop in during open hours and talk with a BNC student leader for resources, ideas and strategies connected to basic needs challenges. The BNC is often known for its food pantry but there are other resources connected to groceries and affording food often available and staff who can help you work through housing stressors. Undergraduate students, living in Oregon are especially encouraged to explore SNAP (up to $236 in grocery money each month for eligible students) as a resource. Domestic undergraduate students living in Oregon are more likely than not to be eligible for SNAP and BNC staff are skilled with helping students navigate this process. 

Additionally, the BNC Textbook Lending Program offers students the opportunity to check out required textbooks for the academic term, including __ copies of the books required for this course. The professor has also had __ copies of the course text made available in the course reserves in the OSU Valley Library. (Remove/edit this italicized portion as needed)

Furthermore, please notify the professor about your concerns if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable them to provide any resources that they may possess.

Statement For E-campus instructors:

Success at OSU means knowing and using your resources. One helpful resource is the community of staff available at the Basic Needs Center (BNC) for support ([email protected], 541-737-3747). Students can call during open hours and talk with a BNC student leader for resources, ideas and strategies connected to basic needs challenges. Undergraduate students are especially encouraged to explore SNAP (up to $236 in grocery money each month for eligible students) as a resource. 

Your local library might be able to help you find a copy of some textbooks through interlibrary loan. 

Furthermore, please notify the professor about your concerns if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable them to provide any resources that they may possess.

 

Additional Information

If you’d like to find out if the BNC has a copy of your course texts in our Textbook Lending Program (or if the Valley Library has copies), follow these instructions (or give us a call, we can help!):

  1. Go to osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/

  2. Log in using your ONID

  3. Click Course Reserves

  4. Enter the title of the textbook and click Search

  5. In the drop-down menu that says "OSU Course Reserves", select "HSRC Textbook Lending Library" (or don’t if you’re searching Course Reserves)

  6. Green dots indicate books we have that are not checked out. Red dots indicate that we have the book but someone has checked it out.

If the BNC doesn’t have a copy of your text… we take donations- or, each term, we ask students what books to buy with our limited funds - come talk to us and help us build our shoppoing list. We’d love your help promoting our program in any way.

If the Valley Library doesn’t have a copy of your text - faculty are encouraged to request it (student’s can’t, unfortunately).

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