Dear Students,
Your health and safety are just as important as your academic success at UMKC.  For this second message to campus, I’d like to focus on resources and tips to stay healthy and safe.  Please keep this message for future reference.

Follow these simple health tips:

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water; utilize hand sanitizer; cover your coughs and sneezes; and disinfect heavily-used surfaces.
• Keep up-to-date with campus-wide Coronavirus information, including testing, vaccination, and current guidance.
• Eat right, get a good night’s sleep, recognize and manage your stressors, and get in some physical exercise with Campus Recreation in the Swinney Center.  

Remember—Mental Health is Health! 

• UMKC Counseling Services are available for all students.  You get 8 free individual sessions each year to talk to a caring, professional counselor.  Group therapy sessions are unlimited.
• Catch the Mind Over Mood online workshops to work at your own pace to identify and manage emotions.
• MindBody Connection is a space to help you identify strengths and learn stress management skills.

In addition, please review these helpful resources:

• Recognize risk factors and know how to help others by taking the Ask, Listen, Refer suicide prevention training.  Find more Suicide Prevention Resources as part of our comprehensive prevention program.
• UMKC is committed to maintaining a safe and drug-free environment and provides a Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Resources for all students, faculty, and staff.

If you do get sick, stay home and contact Student Health & Wellness to make an appointment.

• Be sure to contact your instructors or work supervisors if you need to stay home for any illness; the UMKC Student HelpLine (816-235-2222) can assist you with this process.  You may need to provide medical documentation to receive an excused absence. 

• ALL STUDENTS have access to a 24/7 NurseLine and LiveHealth Online to answer your health care questions, regardless of your health insurance plan.

• Meningococcal disease (meningitis) is a preventable disease that can affect college students and cause serious and even fatal consequences.  Learn more about meningitis and the vaccine that can protect you.  If you have not received a dose since age 16, call the Student Health Center at 816-235-6133 for an appointment.  Missouri State law requires all students living on-campus to have this vaccine unless they have a documented exemption.

• Remember that UMKC is a smoke- and tobacco-free campus.  There is no smoking or tobacco use in any buildings, housing facilities, or campus sidewalks, driveways, and green spaces. 

Your Safety & Security

Always be aware of your surroundings and stay alert while walking, biking, driving, or riding the bus or shuttle.  UMKC’s crime statistics are very low with most crimes reported being larcenies; however, it’s always a good idea to keep safety at the top of your mind.

• Secure your belongings and don’t leave them unattended.  Pay attention to your surroundings when walking instead of texting or checking your phone.  For students living on-campus, please don’t let anyone “tailgate” and follow you into the residence halls without swiping in.  For more information and safety tips go to the Safety and Security website.

• Take the required Campus Emergency Alert Training, which can be found in your Canvas Dashboard.  University safety programs are designed to protect and to empower our communities, and one of our most effective programs is the emergency alert system.  Emergency alert systems are used to notify the campus community when there is an emergency situation, including criminal threats and/or natural disasters.  As a student, we ask that you learn more about how our campus emergency alert system works and how you can protect yourself in emergency situations by taking our Campus Emergency Alert Training by September 10.

• UMKC’s RISE: Resources, Intervention, Support, and Education Office provides support, advocacy, awareness education, and prevention training to help end sexual violence, stalking, and domestic/dating violence.  You can also take the online U Got This! training, which includes information on consent, bystander intervention, stalking, relationships, and more.

• To contact the UMKC Police for any reason, call 816-235-1515 or use one of the blue emergency call boxes located throughout campus. 
  • Download the Rave Guardian App to turn your phone into a personal safety device.
  • If you see something, say something!  Report a crime or suspicious activity as a Silent Witness. 

• Parking Reminder—parking on campus requires a permit or you can park at metered spaces: 
  • Purchase a permit online (semester-long or single-day permits are available)
  • Metered parking is available in designated areas via the AMP Park app for $1.25/per hour.

• Keep yourself safe online – learn how to recognize phishing, fraud, and other scams by enrolling in this online IT Security Awareness Course.  If an email is “too good to be true”— it probably is!  If you have questions or need to report a suspicious email, contact the Technology Support Center at 816-235-2000, option 2.

If you have any questions about these or other resources on campus, call the UMKC Student HelpLine at 816-235-2222.

I hope you have a healthy and successful semester!

Michele D. Smith, Ph.D.

Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students