When you are worried about your student at Purdue University
Verified September 2026 against purdue.edu. Every number below links the page it came from.
The single most useful thing to know about Purdue is a phone-tree detail, which is an unglamorous way to save a bad night. The counseling number, 765-494-6995, is not a 24 hour line in the way some campuses run one. Call it at 11 p.m. and you reach the after-hours path only if you press 1. A parent who dials it, hears a business-hours greeting and hangs up would reasonably conclude there was nothing there until Monday. There is. The Alternative Line at 855-500-5848 reaches the same help without the phone tree.
Purdue is also unusually direct about the other thing parents get wrong. Its own reporting page says to call the university police at 765-494-8221 when the concern is about immediate safety, not 911. That is the right instruction for anyone who is not in Tippecanoe County, and most schools leave you to work it out.
And if you genuinely do not know which of these to call, Parent & Family Connections runs a helpline for exactly that. Pick the number 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. During the day that is 765-494-6995. After 5 p.m. and at weekends the same number still works but you have to press 1, and the CAPS Alternative Line above reaches a counselor directly. Save both, because a business-hours greeting at midnight is not the same thing as nobody being there.
- After-hours crisis line
- 855-500-5848
- Appointments, and crisis during business hours
- 765-494-6995
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Office of the Dean of Students
You cannot reach your student and you are worried, or something has happened that they need help navigating. Purdue takes this as a Student of Concern report, and its own reporting page invites it from faculty, staff, students or others, which includes you. Parent & Family Connections points families at the same route.
- Phone
- 765-494-1747
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Purdue University 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 Tippecanoe County. Purdue names this same number on its own reporting page for a concern about immediate safety. The email address is not monitored around the clock, so call it.
- Purdue police, non-emergency
- 765-494-8221
- 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.
Purdue University Student Health Services (PUSH)
An illness that is dragging on, or a student who keeps putting off making the appointment themselves. Purdue does not publish a round-the-clock nurse advice line, so for the late-night question about whether this needs an emergency room, campus police or 988 are the numbers that are actually answered at that hour.
- Appointments and general
- 765-494-1700
- Extended Care, Saturday
- 765-494-1725
Parent & Family Connections
You do not know who to call. Purdue runs an actual helpline for families, which is rarer than it should be, and this is the office whose job is you rather than your student. A sensible first call when the problem does not fit a category.
- Helpline
- 765-496-0524
Critical Need Fund
A sudden expense is threatening your student's ability to stay enrolled. The fund is for undergraduates, is meant for the unexpected and unavoidable, and comes into play once emergency loans and financial aid are exhausted. Awards do not generally exceed $500. The same office also runs interest-free emergency loans, so ask about both in one call.
- Office of the Dean of Students
- 765-494-1747
Common questions
- Who do I call if I am worried about my student at Purdue?
- 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 Office of the Dean of Students. If they may not be safe right now, call Purdue University Police Department at 765-494-8221.
- What number do I call in an emergency at Purdue if I live hours away?
- Call Purdue University Police Department at 765-494-8221 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 Purdue check on my student if I ask?
- Yes. Office of the Dean of Students 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 Purdue have an after-hours crisis line?
- Yes. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) publishes after-hours crisis line at 855-500-5848. 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 Purdue University. 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 Purdue that belongs on this page, tell us and we will fix it. Parents tend to find these things before we do.