About us

The Student Case Management Office (SCM) provides support to students throughout their time at university, providing resources to manage issues as well as crisis prevention and intervention for students who may be experiencing difficulty on campus.

OUR FOCUS

The SCM has two primary, often-intersecting areas of focus:

  1. Administering the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities (the Code); and
  2. Providing support to students through Case Management services.

In addition, the SCM is one of the University’s four Intake Offices to receive and investigate complaints under McMaster’s Sexual Violence Policy (SVP) and Discrimination and Harassment Policy (D&H) – in instances where the respondent is a student.

OUR APPROACH

The SCM thus provides a one-stop service that aims to support the whole student. By caring for students who are in distress, or experiencing difficulty, in a holistic way, our office recognizes that students’ well-being is a function of their diverse individual identities and experiences in relation to their social environment and situation.

While promoting student rights and responsibilities and seeking to fairly administer the Code when students’ behaviors and actions violate community members’ rights, the SCM places an emphasis on student learning and personal growth. The SCM also recognizes that when students first come into contact with our office for a Code-related matter, they often require a host of additional support services to resolve underlying issues and set them on a path to health and wellness.

Photo of students walking on campus
Students walking on campus

SPECIFICALLY, THE SCM AIMS TO:

  • Create an open and respectful experience by encouraging and modeling honesty, integrity and accountability;
  • Use, where possible, relational, participatory and empowerment approaches to build on existing strengths and resilience to determine the best solutions for students in need;
  • Bring together a diverse team of campus and community care providers, to consult and collaborate in providing culturally relevant and inclusive support services;
  • Ensure a caring, compassionate, consistent and coordinated approach to address and respond to students’ complex and intersectional health issues and needs; and
  • Continuously improve through critical reflection on and review of policies, processes and practices to remove unintended barriers to equity and inclusion in providing support services and case management.