When you are worried about your student at Penn State University Park
Verified August 2026 against psu.edu. Every number below links the page it came from.
Penn State does something most large campuses do not, and it is worth knowing about: its own parent and family resources page tells you directly what to do when you cannot reach your student. That is unusual. Most schools leave a worried parent to guess.
The two numbers that page points at are the ones to save. The Penn State Crisis Line is answered 24 hours a day and is separate from the counseling center's appointment line, so a student having a bad night at 2 a.m. is not waiting until Monday. Student Care and Advocacy is the office for the other kind of fear, the one where the phone just is not being answered. They take concerns raised by someone other than the student, which is the whole point for a parent 500 miles away.
University Park is also large enough that "call the school" is not a plan. Pick the office before you need it.
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. Penn State calls this one the Penn State Crisis Line, it is answered around the clock, and it is a different number from the appointment line. Penn State also runs its own crisis text keyword: your student can text LIONS to 741741.
- Crisis line, answered 24/7
- 1-877-229-6400
- Appointments and information
- 814-863-0395
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Student Care and Advocacy
You cannot reach your student and you are worried for their safety, or something has happened that they need help navigating. Penn State points families to this number by name for exactly that situation, and the office takes concerns raised on behalf of someone else through a Share a Concern form.
- Phone
- 814-863-2020
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Penn State University Police and Public Safety
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 Centre County. University Park police can go to a residence hall, and the same line takes a request to check on someone when it is not an emergency.
- University Police, University Park
- 814-863-1111
- 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.
University Health Services
An illness that is dragging on, or the late-night call where nobody is sure whether this needs an emergency room. The same number handles appointments during the day; option 3 reaches a nurse at any hour.
- 24/7 Advice Nurse, option 3
- 814-865-4847
Office of Parent and Family Engagement
You do not know who to call. This is the office whose job is families, and its own resources page is the one that names the crisis line and Student Care and Advocacy, so it is a sensible first stop when the problem does not fit a category.
- Phone
- 814-863-1313
Basic Needs support, through Student Care and Advocacy
A sudden expense is threatening your student's ability to stay enrolled: medical, housing, food. Penn State handles this through a Basic Needs request rather than a standalone fund, and a case manager follows up. It does not cover tuition or fees, and anyone can submit the form on a student's behalf.
- Student Care and Advocacy
- 814-863-2020
Common questions
- Who do I call if I am worried about my student at Penn State?
- 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 Student Care and Advocacy. If they may not be safe right now, call Penn State University Police and Public Safety at 814-863-1111.
- What number do I call in an emergency at Penn State if I live hours away?
- Call Penn State University Police and Public Safety at 814-863-1111 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 Penn State check on my student if I ask?
- Yes. Student Care and Advocacy 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 Penn State have an after-hours crisis line?
- Yes. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) publishes crisis line, answered 24/7 at 1-877-229-6400. 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 Penn State University Park. 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 Penn State that belongs on this page, tell us and we will fix it. Parents tend to find these things before we do.