When you are worried about your student at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Verified September 2026 against utk.edu. Every number below links the page it came from.
Tennessee has the thing most parents assume every campus has and most do not: a number, answered at any hour, that exists specifically to take a call from someone worried about a student. It is 865-974-HELP, which is 865-974-4357. During the day it reaches the Center for Care and Resilience and after hours a mental health professional, and it is a referral line as much as a crisis line, which is the part that matters. It is built to hear from someone who is not the student. UT lists it on its own page for families under the heading of after-hours student distress.
UT is unusually well covered overnight in general. The counseling center's main number, 865-974-2196, reaches a confidential counselor after hours, though that person cannot book an appointment for you. The Student Health Center number doubles as a 24 hour nurse line, which is the one to call when nobody is sure whether this is an emergency room trip. And campus police are staffed every hour of every day on 865-974-3111.
That last number beats 911 from out of state, because 911 reaches dispatch where you are rather than in Knoxville. Pick your 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.
Student Counseling Center
Your student is struggling, anxious, or sounding overwhelmed. The same number books appointments during the day and connects to a confidential counselor outside office hours, though the after-hours counselor cannot book an appointment for you. If the call is about your worry rather than your student's own, 974-HELP below is built for that.
- Crisis support, after hours
- 865-974-2196
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, opening at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays
Center for Care and Resilience
You have not heard from your student and you are frightened, or something is wrong and you do not know where to start. This is the office that connects a student to support, and 974-HELP is both a crisis line and a referral line, so it is designed to take a call from someone who is not the student. UT's own page for families lists this number for after-hours student distress.
- 974-HELP, answered 24 hours a day
- 865-974-4357
Office hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. The 974-HELP line is answered at any hour.
University of Tennessee 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 Knox County. UTPD staff their own department 24 hours a day, every day of the year, so this line always reaches someone who can go.
- UTPD emergency, 24 hours a day
- 865-974-3111
- Non-emergency
- 865-974-3114
- 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.
Student Health Center
An illness that is dragging on, and also the late-night call where nobody is sure whether this needs an emergency room. The same number is the appointment line during the day and a nurse line around the clock, which is the kind of thing worth knowing at 1 a.m. It cannot book appointments or refill prescriptions out of hours.
- Nurse line, 24 hours a day
- 865-974-5080
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. most weekdays, opening at 9 a.m. on Wednesdays, last appointment 3:30 p.m.
Family Experience, in the Center for Student Advocacy
You have a question and no idea which office owns it, and it is not urgent. This is the office whose job is families rather than your student, and it is the same page that points parents at 974-HELP for the urgent version, so it is a sensible bookmark either way.
- Phone
- 865-974-3179
Common questions
- Who do I call if I am worried about my student at UT Knoxville?
- It depends on how urgent it is. If your student sounds flat, anxious or overwhelmed but is not in danger, start with Student Counseling Center. If you have not heard from them and you are frightened, call Center for Care and Resilience. If they may not be safe right now, call University of Tennessee Police Department at 865-974-3111.
- What number do I call in an emergency at UT Knoxville if I live hours away?
- Call University of Tennessee Police Department at 865-974-3111 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 UT Knoxville check on my student if I ask?
- Yes. Center for Care and Resilience 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 UT Knoxville have an after-hours crisis line?
- Yes. Student Counseling Center publishes crisis support, after hours at 865-974-2196. 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 The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 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 UT Knoxville that belongs on this page, tell us and we will fix it. Parents tend to find these things before we do.