The Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability created the Lion Intervention Network, or LINKS, to identify and help students exhibiting behavior that impedes their academics.
Riana Braselman/The Lion’s Roar
 

The Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability has created a program to help students connect with campus resources called the Lion Intervention Network.

The Lion Intervention Network also known by its acronym LINKS is an early intervention system that will assist faculty and staff in identifying students that exhibit concerning behavior that may hinder their academic performance. The program acts as an early alert system for faculty and staff to reach out at the earliest moment of concern with students. Things such as falling asleep in class or not coming to class could be indicators that students need extra attention for their well-being and for their successful academic career at the university. LINKS has been put into place to help direct students to resources they may need. Whether that be the University Counseling Center, the Office of Disability Services, the Office of Financial Aid, the University Police Department or the University Health Center, LINKS is there to help students be aware of the free services offered on campus.

This fall term will be the second semester that the LINKS program has been implemented with last semester being a trial run for the program. The Director of Student Advocacy and Accountability Dr. Gabe Willis explains how the program came to be.

“The Lion Intervention Network came about based on some of the concerns that we were seeing on campus that we always assess and build programs based on what the campus tells us,” said Willis. “All the concerns and feedback we’re getting from faculty is what triggered us to believe that we needed a more in-depth early alert system.”

Student Advocacy and Accountability is the branch between reporting and getting the resources for the students. The department has distributed pamphlets to help faculty become aware of the program and how to use it. There is also a section of their website that describes the process. Willis describes the steps of the LINKS process of getting students the resources they need.  “First, to report, a faculty members would go to southeastern.edu/LINK, and once they submit a report, someone in the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability will receive that report, analyze it, figure out what needs to happen as far as resources go, collaborate, then reach out to that student with soft language,” said Willis.

There are high hopes for the program to provide adequate resources for each student’s individual needs. Willis describes the reactions that the program has had so far.

“It’s received well because it lines up with our mission of excellence and care,” said Willis. “It really shows that we’re really caring for our students. We’re trying to meet them wherever they are.”

Willis also explains why he thinks everyone on campus has had such a positive reaction to the program.

“I think the faculty really appreciate it because now they can actually report to somebody who gives them a voice, and students appreciate it because it shows we care about more than just tuition,” said Willis.

LINKS was implement last semester , but this will be the first time that the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability will be stressing the marketing and promotions of the LINKS program so that students are aware of this free service offered to them. Willis  compares the approach of marking the program from their efforts of last semester and this fall semester. 

“We did a soft run last semester with two programs and offices,” said Willis. “We really didn’t do any marketing for LINKS. So I would say this is the first semester that is a full go with marketing.” 

The university cares about the students’ well-being and not just the numbers on a roster. The LINKS program has been put into place to help students have a fulfilling collegiate career. The implementation of LINKS has created an intermediate that connects students to the free campus resources they need.