Student Resources

This is the place for MSU student resources both for general student support and student learning! 

Online Student Supports

Student Wellness Resources

MSU Denver Student Resources: This site is a comprehensive list of student resources at MSU Denver published by the Dean of Students. It discusses safety on and off campus, relationship safety and violence, Title IX, bystander interventions, sexual assault & misconduct, and conflict resolution.

Struggling or distressed students. In addition to the psychological support offered through the MSU Denver Counseling Center, and the psychiatric clinical services offered through the Health Center at Auraria, the CARE Team is positioned to help assess students’ situations and determine the most applicable resources to leverage and assist. Case managers are available to help students work through options and connect to the most relevant supports. Please contact our office or file a CARE Report if you encounter a student who might benefit from this sort of support. If you file a report online know that our first step will be to give you a quick call back to discuss the situation and gain any additional context.

  • Food Resources: Roadrunner Food Pantry:  The Roadrunner food pantry offers food and basic toiletries for students in need. If you have students who are struggling to pay for groceries or afford a lunch on campus, please refer them to use the Roadrunner Food Pantry in Tivoli 262. The Roadrunner Food Pantry is available for all registered MSU Denver Students to receive snacks and food for meal preparation at home. Staff in the Food Pantry will assist students not only with access to immediate food resources but will also refer them to additional campus and community services. Please visit the website for additional information.
  • Student Crisis Counseling & Behavioral Health Care: The counseling center is available 24/7 for ongoing and crisis behavioral health care needs. The counseling services are part of your student fees and are free to students.
  • CARE: The CARE team works with faculty, staff, and students when there is a concern of safety or wellbeing of our MSU students. The CARE team will work with students to stabilize living and other crises. If you are concerned about a student, please do file a CARE report and a case manager will reach out to the student.  If it would be helpful to consult regarding a student concern you have encountered, please call either the Student Care Center or the Dean of Students Office.
    • Student Care Center.The Dean of Students Office has opened the new Student Care Center encompasses all of our case management services. The case managers do outreach on behalf of the CARE team and can support struggling or distressed students that may need assistance with emergency housing, food resources, financial concerns, mental health resources, and much more. This new center oversees the Roadrunner Food Pantry, Student Emergency Fund, and the Epic Scholars Program. We are also working towards assisting students with public benefits enrollment. We have partnered with Hunger Free Colorado to offer on-site Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment. There will be an on-campus event November 13th & 14th for students to see if they qualify for SNAP benefits. The Student Care Center is located in Tivoli 343 and their telephone number is 303-615-0006.
  • Immigration Services: The Immigrant Services Program at the Metropolitan State University of Denver is an academic and social support program that aims to increase enrollment, retention, and graduation of undocumented, DACA, immigrant, and refugee students. Through academic counseling, ESL support, scholarship application assistance, and access to campus and community resources, the program’s mission is to address the most common challenges and barriers to education that this underserved, underrepresented student population faces.
  • LGBTQ Student Resource Center: The LGBTQ Student Resource Center is a tri-institutional office on the Auraria Campus serving the students, faculty and staff of Metropolitan State University of Denver, Community College of Denver and University of Colorado Denver. We are available to all Auraria students as a resource for exploring issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.The LGBTQ Student Resource Center is located in the Tivoli Student Union, Room 213, and is staffed by a director and assistant director, with the support of student employees and volunteers. Input and involvement from the entire campus community are welcomed.
  • Phoenix Center:The Phoenix Center at Auraria’s mission is to implement campus response services and provide education and facilitate dialogue related to interpersonal violence (IPV) in the Auraria community with the ultimate goal of eradicating interpersonal violence in our communities. The PCA provides free and confidential resources and assistance to survivors of interpersonal violence (relationship violence, sexual violence, and stalking), as well as their friends, families, and concerned others.The PCA support services include academic advocacy, assistance reporting to the school and/or police at the survivor’s request, safety planning, court accompaniment, emotional support, and more. The PCA also provides campus education and training, awareness raising events, and campus policy guidance.
  • Addiction Resources:  Addiction services are available to students through the Auraria Health Center and are confidential. If you are worried about your substance use and need support, please contact addiction services.
  • Auraria Health Center: Auraria Health Center is the on campus clinic where students, faculty, and staff are able to get medical care as part of their student health insurance, private insurance, or cash pay.
  • MSU Denver Student Hub
  • MSU Denver Student Engagement and Wellness
  • Auraria Police: Main Number – Emergency Dispatch 303-556-5000
      • Emergency from a Campus Phone 911
      • Text-a-Tip 720-593-TIPS (8477)
      • Campus Information Hotline 1-877-556-EMER (3637)
      • Administration Building | 1201 5th Street, Suite 110
        Campus Box E, PO Box 173361
        Denver, CO 80217

Student Emergency Retention Fund. One of MSU Denver’s core values is access—all students should have access to resources they need to succeed in college and finish their education. Created as a way to help support student success, the MSU Denver Student Emergency Retention Fund is an emergency stipend for MSU Denver students who are dealing with unanticipated and/or catastrophic life events that might otherwise cause the student to stop or pause the pursuit of their educational goals. The fund is managed by a campus committee and is currently accepting applications. Applications will be reviewed as funds last. Stipends are usually capped at $500. The Student Emergency Retention Fund Committee will consider requests over $500 on a case-by-case basis. Students can fill out an application online here or they can call the Student Care Center to discuss their situation. Please consider supporting the fund through the Socktober fundraising event.

Access Center and Testing Services: The Access Center leads MSU Denver in maximizing ability and opportunity for equal access by individuals with disabilities. If you have troubles learning, taking tests, emergency medical issues that prevent you from participating, mental health that interrupts learning, and/or any other learning accommodation need, please contact the Access Center for assistance.

Writing: The Writing Center can help you with essays and research papers for any class, capstone projects and portfolios, scholarship essays, graduate school application essays, resumes and cover letters. Improve your Writing: writing help can also be located here. Online tutoring through WCOnline: The students can log into the appointment system  https://mscd.mywconline.com and schedule for the etutoring (make sure it is for etutoring).  If they have troubles scheduling, we are happy to set those appointments for them.

APA Style: Purdue University hosts a website call the Online Writing Lab (OWL) that is very helpful for APA writing in addition to the APA website linked above.  APA paper example

Tutoring Center: SAS Tutoring Center promotes an environment that is welcoming to the diverse student body of Metropolitan State University of Denver by providing professionally trained tutors who are competent in subject material and areas such as diversity, learning styles, and communication.

Student Academic Success Center: The Student Academic Success Center (SASC) is a learning assistance center comprised of a collaboration of academic support services, which provide a holistic approach to student development, learning, and persistence towards academic and personal goal attainment.

Auraria Library: The Auraria Library fosters intellectual growth, academic success, and life‐long learning for the students, faculty, and staff of the diverse urban campus of Auraria.

Social Work Library Research Page: This guide has information about research that is specific to social workers and social science research.

Other Important Policies

Disruptive or Problematic Behavior. The Student Code of Conduct (now published in the policy library) outlines the behavioral expectations the University has for students. If a student’s behavior is not in line with these expectations our staff need to know so that we can work quickly with the student to help them change their behavior and/or to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the University and campus community. We ask that you not wait to contact us to file a report if a student starts to exhibit concerning behavior—we’d rather work with you before a situation escalates to try to prevent a larger concern. As is the case with a CARE report, for most reports that are filed indicating a violation of the Student Code of Conduct, our first step will be to contact you to talk through potential next steps.

The Student Code of Conduct also details the process for responding to students who have engaged in sexual misconduct (a broad term to describe a set of behaviors ranging from stalking, to domestic and dating violence, and sexual assault). By now you’ve participated in the University’s training related to Title IX and reporting obligations. The Dean of Students Office takes the lead on allegations with a student respondent. If you observe or learn about a student who is acting in a way that may be a violation of expectations please file a report to let us know. We’ll contact you right away to discuss short term actions and to learn more about the situation so that you can focus on your teaching and other responsibilities. We also play a role in supporting students who are victims/survivors of interpersonal violence, along with our colleagues in the Phoenix Center at Auraria and other departments on campus.

Note: We partner closely with the Auraria Police in potentially dangerous situations that come to our attention through the Student Conduct process and the CARE Team. In crisis situations where there is risk of imminent harm please contact the police first, but then please do also contact the Dean of Students Office for applicable follow up.

Academic Dishonesty. The Student Code of Conduct also articulates expectations for students regarding academic integrity. Although we all hope that students are producing original work and that assessments of their learning do indeed reflect their own knowledge and skills, sometimes this is not the case. When a student has plagiarized, cheated, or has otherwise been dishonest in their academic work, the faculty determine the appropriate academic outcome (grade). However, we also ask that faculty file a report with the Dean of Students Office so our staff can identify any trends with the student (e.g., multiple incidents across departments of which the department may be unaware), discuss their academic responsibilities, and determine if additional institutional sanctions could help prevent a recurrence.

Student Conflicts. Despite being a natural part of life, conflict can be uncomfortable, distressing, and difficult to manage. Our Coordinator for Student Conflict Resolution Services works with students to build skills and strategies to help them work with others across differences. Whether through conflict coaching, mediation, or educational workshops, our services may be of particular interest to faculty who teach classes involving group work or advise a student organization. You are welcome to call our office to discuss a conflict that’s brewing, or encourage students to do the same.

Student Complaint Policy. As a reminder, the Student Complaint Policy provides an opportunity for students to have complaints reviewed by the University in a timely and unbiased manner to see if there is a way to resolve the issue. We are required to have such a mechanism for students to express complaints, per our HLC accreditation and CDHE. The policy covers any concern or situation that a student may wish to bring forth that is not otherwise covered by another University policy. When these situations arise, students are directed to address the concern first with the person it is about or who is most directly tied to the area of concern. If the student feels as though their situation was not resolved at the first step, then the next step for a student is to contact that person’s next level supervisor, which may be you. If a student wants to discuss their complaint further after working with you, then their third step is to be referred to the appropriate associate dean overseeing these issues. Students must also turn in a Student Complaint Form to the associate dean. Please feel free to connect students with the Coordinator for Student Conflict Resolution services in the Dean of Students Office to navigate questions about the policy and who to contact.

Certainly, the points listed above are not the only ways in which we can work together to help students be successful and to keep our community safe. Please do reach out if you have a particular question, situation, or idea for how we can help support you, your faculty, and your students. You can reach me or the other staff in the Dean of Students Office at 303-615-0220 or see https://www.msudenver.edu/deanofstudents/for additional information. Again, our staff are always open to conversation and talking through various possibilities.