The Art & Science Of Making Student Referrals: Suggested Strategies

1. Describe the goals and services of the referred service. (Don't assume that the student already know its purpose or function.)
2. Personalize the referral: If you can, refer the student to a person (a name) - rather than an office.
3. Reassure the student of the qualifications and capability of the person to whom s/he is being referred.
4. Help the student identify what questions to ask and how to approach the resource person.
5. Make explicitly sure that the student knows where to go and how to get there.
6. Phone for an appointment while the student is in your presence.
7. Walk with the student to the referred person's office.
8. Follow-up the initial referral by asking the student if the contact occurred, how it went, and whether there will be future contact.
9. Praise the student for making the effort to seek support and taking a step toward self-improvement.
10. Follow-up by either letting other FYS instructors know about a successful referral to a campus service (on the Forums section of this site) or, if things didn't go well, by letting the supervisor/manager of that service know about what didn't work.

Adapted from: Cuseo, J. Sourcebook for First-Year Seminar Instruction (Unpublished document).