When you are worried about your student at Utah State University
Verified August 2026 against usu.edu. Every number below links the page it came from.
Utah State says something on its own website that most universities do not: anyone may report a concern about a USU student. Not just faculty, not just other students. Anyone. If you have spent a week telling yourself it is not your place to call, that sentence is the answer.
The route is a Student of Concern report, and you can call the Student Affairs number below first and talk it through with a person before you file anything. That matters, because most parents are not sure their worry is big enough to count, and a five minute phone call resolves that faster than a form does.
The other thing to save is the counseling line. It is one number doing two jobs: appointments during the day, and after hours a crisis counselor if you press 0. Nothing on the outside of that number tells you the second part exists.
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 Prevention Services (CAPS)
Your student is struggling, anxious, or sounding overwhelmed. One number does both jobs here: during the day it books appointments, including same or next day crisis appointments, and after hours pressing 0 reaches a crisis counselor.
- Crisis support, after hours
- 435-797-1012
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, on the Logan campus
Student of Concern reporting, Division of Student Affairs
You are worried about your student and want someone at the university to know. Utah State takes a Student of Concern report from anyone, and you can call the number above to talk it through with a staff member before you file anything.
- Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
- 435-797-3137
USU Police, Department of 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 where you are and then have to relay to Cache County. USU dispatch is staffed around the clock and is also the line for a welfare check that is not life-threatening.
- USU dispatch, staffed around the clock
- 435-797-1939
- 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 and Wellness Center (SHWC)
An illness that is dragging on, or a health question during the week. Business hours only, so an overnight worry goes to the CAPS crisis option, or to an emergency room if it is physical and urgent.
- Appointments and information
- 435-716-1350
8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in summer
Parent and Family Programs
You do not know who to call. This office runs orientation and family weekend, and it defines family broadly enough to include grandparents and siblings, so it is a sensible first stop when the problem does not fit a category.
- Phone
- 435-797-7557
Emergency Hardship Fund
A sudden hardship is threatening your student's semester: a medical problem, a housing crisis, a death in the family. Awards are 750 dollars a semester up to 1,500 dollars lifetime, the student applies online, and there are real eligibility conditions including a 2.75 GPA and a FAFSA on file.
- Phone
- 435-797-1712
Common questions
- Who do I call if I am worried about my student at Utah 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 Prevention Services (CAPS). If you have not heard from them and you are frightened, call Student of Concern reporting, Division of Student Affairs. If they may not be safe right now, call USU Police, Department of Public Safety at 435-797-1939.
- What number do I call in an emergency at Utah State if I live hours away?
- Call USU Police, Department of Public Safety at 435-797-1939 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 Utah State check on my student if I ask?
- Yes. Student of Concern reporting, Division of Student Affairs 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 Utah State have an after-hours crisis line?
- Yes. Counseling and Prevention Services (CAPS) publishes crisis support, after hours at 435-797-1012. 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 Utah State 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 Utah State that belongs on this page, tell us and we will fix it. Parents tend to find these things before we do.