When you are worried about your student at West Virginia University
Verified September 2026 against wvu.edu. Every number below links the page it came from.
WVU says the thing most campuses leave you to guess at, and it is worth quoting almost directly: if you are worried about your student and are not sure what to do, call the Carruth Center at 304-293-4431, and clinicians are there around the clock. Not a voicemail, not a Monday callback. Their own pages go further and say plainly that anyone may call with a concern about a student, parents included. Most counseling centers are built to answer only to the student, so this is unusual and it is the number to save.
The trap here is the police listing. WVU publishes two numbers, and the memorable one is the wrong one: 304-293-2677 spells COPS and is the daytime office, while the line answered 24 hours a day is 304-293-3136. If your student may not be safe right now, that second number is the one, and it beats 911 from out of state because 911 reaches dispatch where you are rather than in Morgantown.
For everything that is worrying rather than urgent, the Mountaineer Parents Club runs a toll-free helpline for exactly the questions that do not fit anywhere else. 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.
The Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services
Your student is struggling, anxious, or sounding overwhelmed, and also the call to make when you simply do not know what to do. The same number takes appointments during the day; after 5 p.m. press 1. WVU says in its own words that anyone may call with a concern about a student, parents included, and that clinicians are available around the clock. There is also a crisis text line: your student can text WVU to 741741 at any hour.
- Crisis support, 24 hours a day
- 304-293-4431
Walk-in crisis clinic 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone is answered at any hour.
WVU CARE Team
Something is wrong and it is not an emergency: grades sliding, a student withdrawing, behavior that worries you. Anyone may submit a CARE referral, parents included. Read the timing carefully though, because WVU flags it themselves: referrals are only looked at in business hours, and filing one instead of calling for help will slow the response down. If tonight is the problem, call the Carruth Center instead.
Referrals are reviewed during business hours, roughly 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
WVU 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 Monongalia County. Note that WVU lists two numbers and the one that spells COPS, 304-293-2677, is the daytime office. The 24 hour line is 304-293-3136.
- Emergency, answered 24/7
- 304-293-3136
- Office, non-urgent
- 304-293-2677
- 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.
Mountaineer Parents Club
You have a question and no idea which office owns it. WVU runs an actual toll-free helpline for parents, described on their own page as being for concerns that do not fall into the usual categories. They research the question and come back, normally within one business day, so it is a good first call for anything that is worrying rather than urgent.
- Toll-free parent helpline, 1-800-WVU-0096
- 1-800-988-0096
Common questions
- Who do I call if I am worried about my student at WVU?
- It depends on how urgent it is. If your student sounds flat, anxious or overwhelmed but is not in danger, start with The Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services. If you have not heard from them and you are frightened, call WVU CARE Team. If they may not be safe right now, call WVU Police Department at 304-293-3136.
- What number do I call in an emergency at WVU if I live hours away?
- Call WVU Police Department at 304-293-3136 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 WVU check on my student if I ask?
- Yes. WVU CARE Team 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 WVU have an after-hours crisis line?
- Yes. The Carruth Center for Counseling and Psychological Services publishes crisis support, 24 hours a day at 304-293-4431. 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 West Virginia 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 WVU that belongs on this page, tell us and we will fix it. Parents tend to find these things before we do.