When you are worried about your student at Indiana University Bloomington
Verified September 2026 against indiana.edu. Every number below links the page it came from.
Indiana publishes an email address for worried parents called [email protected]. That is not a typo and it is worth reading twice. It goes to the Dean of Students Office, and IU pairs it with a sentence most schools never write down: if you are not sure who to contact, call or email us. Homesickness, a dropped class, an illness, a roommate falling out. You are not expected to have diagnosed the problem before you ring.
For the other kind of night, the counseling number 812-855-5711 reaches a crisis counselor at any hour if you take option 1, and IU lists that same number on its emergency page as the crisis and suicide hotline. If your student may not be safe right now, IU Police are on 812-855-4111, which beats 911 from out of state because 911 reaches dispatch where you are rather than in Bloomington.
One warning IU gives itself: the Care Referral form, the route for non-urgent concerns, is not monitored around the clock. It is the right tool for a worry and the wrong one for a crisis.
Who to call, and when
Most parents freeze at this step, because campuses publish these offices separately and none of them is labeled for a worried parent. The short version:
- Worried, but not urgent. Start with counseling. This is the call for a student who sounds flat, anxious, or overwhelmed, and it is the one most families put off longest.
- You have not heard from them and you are scared. Call the dean of students office. This is the office that will actually go check on a student, and almost no parent knows it exists.
- Right now, and they may not be safe. Call campus police, below. From out of town that is the emergency number, not 911, because they are the ones who can actually go.
Calling is not overreacting. These offices exist because students get into trouble away from home, and staff would far rather hear from you early than late.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Your student is struggling, anxious, or sounding overwhelmed. The same number books appointments during the day and reaches a crisis counselor at any hour if you take option 1. IU also lists this number on its emergency contacts page as the Crisis and Suicide Hotline, so both listings lead to the same place.
- Crisis line, 24 hours a day
- 812-855-5711
- Sexual Assault Crisis Line, any hour
- 812-855-8900
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
Dean of Students Office
You have not heard from your student, or something has happened and you do not know where to start. IU tells parents to call this office when they are not sure who to contact, and gives them their own address to do it: [email protected]. Homesickness, a withdrawal from a class, a roommate problem, an illness, a family emergency. This is the first call.
- Phone
- 812-855-8187
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
IU Police Department
Your student may not be safe and it cannot wait. From out of town this is the number rather than 911, which would reach dispatch wherever you are and then have to relay to Monroe County. IUPD runs its own dispatch center for every IU campus, so this line reaches people who can go to a Bloomington residence hall.
- IUPD Bloomington
- 812-855-4111
- If you are local, or with your student
- 911
Other numbers worth having
Not for a crisis. Worth saving now so you are not searching for them later.
IU Health Center
An illness that is dragging on, or a student who keeps putting off making the appointment themselves. The counseling service sits inside the same health center, which makes it an easier building to suggest than a separate mental health referral.
- Appointments and general
- 812-855-4011
Student Care and Resource Center
Something is wrong and it is not tonight. A Care Referral connects your student to the right support, and IU names parents outright as people who may submit one. Read IU's own warning though: the referral system is not monitored around the clock, so if the worry is urgent, call the crisis line or the police instead and file the referral afterwards.
- Phone, 812-856-CARE
- 812-856-2273
Common questions
- Who do I call if I am worried about my student at IU Bloomington?
- It depends on how urgent it is. If your student sounds flat, anxious or overwhelmed but is not in danger, start with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). If you have not heard from them and you are frightened, call Dean of Students Office. If they may not be safe right now, call IU Police Department at 812-855-4111.
- What number do I call in an emergency at IU Bloomington if I live hours away?
- Call IU Police Department at 812-855-4111 rather than 911. Dialing 911 reaches the dispatch center covering wherever you are, not the campus, and that agency would have to relay the call. Campus police already have jurisdiction on university property and can go directly. Use 911 only if you are local or you are with your student.
- Will IU Bloomington check on my student if I ask?
- Yes. Dean of Students Office is the office that does this, and it takes a concern raised by a parent. Most families do not know it exists, which is why students go unchecked longer than they need to.
- Does IU Bloomington have an after-hours crisis line?
- Yes. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) publishes crisis line, 24 hours a day at 812-855-5711. You can also call or text 988 at any hour to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is for you as much as for your student.
Encourage Us is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Indiana University Bloomington. Every contact above is published by the school and links back to its source.
Know something we do not? If a number here has changed, or there is an office at IU Bloomington that belongs on this page, tell us and we will fix it. Parents tend to find these things before we do.