Never Too Big to Care: Texas A&M Uses Technology to Deliver 1:1 Student Support
Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University
The conversation around college student mental health and wellness is not new, but it is becoming more complex with each incoming class.
More than 84% of freshmen who entered college in 2025 reported already occasionally or frequently feeling anxious, according to American Council on Education research. 60% indicated there was at least some chance they would seek personal counseling. At this scale, no two students are likely to need the same support, pressuring institutions to balance finite resources with the need for more tailored help.
This challenge is top of mind for Dr. Justin Jeffery, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Texas A&M University, where he oversees care, support, advocacy, and accountability work across the campus’s more than 81,000 students. As their well-being needs become more pronounced, campus staff and leadership take on new responsibilities. “We may be dealing with situations that require multiple resources to come together that aren't often structurally connected at the institutional level. How do we fill those gaps and become a navigator, a personal assistant to help connect all the pieces?”
For students in need, instant is the expectation
Today’s students arrive on campus having spent their lives interacting with systems built for immediacy: same-day and overnight shipping, apps and subscriptions that launch with the tap of a button. When they get to college, their standards are already high.
“They expect 24/7 access. They want instant responses. They want incredible transparency around everything we're doing. That's the norm,” explains Jeffery.
Whether a student is experiencing a personal crisis, seeking help for a roommate, or reporting misconduct concerns, resource availability at institutions as large as Texas A&M isn’t the issue. Resource integration is. As Jeffery says, “We're able to provide a lot of these services, but they're not necessarily connected in ways students assume. It’s on us as an institution to figure out how to make that less clunky and use technology to bridge those gaps so that those handoffs can be more automated, more seamless.”
He admits that part of the college experience is giving students the reality check that not everything is instantaneous. But on the administrative side, there is plenty of room to create convenience parity across different student services. “At our Career Center, at any point, a student can upload a job description, do a mock interview, get feedback on their resume. But someone dealing with a more complex issue (e.g., depression or family hardships) doesn't have a place to find holistic help. They would be directed to different resources and have to piece them together.”
Building Aggie trust through flexibility and choice
So how does one of the largest public institutions in the country provide a 1:1 touch without sacrificing efficiency? For Jeffery and his team, it comes down to creating different paths to achieving the same outcome. That starts with:
A quiltwork approach: As Jeffery puts it, “We're just too big to have a central option or office to manage all student engagement or care. So we lean into having many paths for anyone to get the support they need.” For example, Texas A&M’s Tell Somebody reporting ecosystem offers multiple convenient ways for Aggieland to report concerns: a traditional reporting form, and an anonymous text or email option powered by RealResponse. This lowers the barrier to speaking up by empowering students and staff to choose how they prefer to communicate.
Institutional collaboration: Prioritizing internal collaboration goes a long way toward maintaining a personalized feel. Tell Somebody sits within Student Affairs, but multiple stakeholders (including those serving on behavioral intervention teams) are involved to ensure reports get to the relevant experts and the right resources are activated. “Tell Somebody is a reporting ecosystem, not a power grab. It's a central catching point that builds trust with our campus partners, so they know information will get to them quickly, accurately, and in a way that allows the whole team to look at it from various lenses.”
Consistent responsiveness: When Aggies do reach out, they’re not left wondering whether anyone is listening. Even when reporting anonymously, students receive a near-instant reply acknowledging their message, right to their device. “It catches their attention. Technology like RealResponse makes something large feel small, makes something nebulous feel tangible and yet also individualized.”
Reporting is more than just a case number
The college experience is not an Amazon order or a streaming service transaction. It’s a period of immense learning, connection, and transformation. When institutions adopt technology thoughtfully, they recreate the benefits of the former without diminishing the latter.
“RealResponse is helping us combat that ‘You've gotten too big to care narrative’ that was very prevalent a couple years ago. To me this is an obvious tool for making your behavioral reporting feel very personalized.”
Learn more about how RealResponse can amplify the voices and insights you need to create a more convenient, high-touch student experience.