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Health, Safety and Well-being

Sending your child to college is a big step for both child and parent, so we want to assure you that your child will be taken care of emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Campus Safety

With an enrollment between 500 and 600, Bethel College is a close-knit community that experiences virtually no theft, destruction of property or other crimes. Three full-time resident directors live on campus to ensure that students — at any time of the day or night — live in a safe environment. Read more about emergency procedures.

Home Away from Home

Host families are single and/or married persons who desire to know more about Bethel College students of color, international students and students whose homes are outside of Kansas and their cultures. Bethel recognizes the importance of matching your child with a family with whom you and your child are comfortable. Host families are in contact with your child, and sharing activities together is a popular way of learning about each other. Learn more about Bethel's host family program.

Social Opportunities and Involvement

Extracurricular activities are an important part of campus life, and Bethel offers more than 50 clubs and organizations, along with many other activities. Whether students enjoy debate, three-on-three basketball, student senate or drama, they can foster their social life — and balance their academic life — while doing the things they love. Read more about Bethel's opportunities for participation.

Student Health Insurance

Bethel offers a student health insurance plan through an independent insurance agency. The cost is in addition to regular tuition and fees. Information concerning the plan is mailed each summer. Bethel requires each student enrolled in nine hours or more and/or resident student to be covered by some type of medical insurance while enrolled at Bethel. If your child is not covered by your or your spouse's plan or does not carry a plan of his or her own, your child should enroll in the student health insurance plan at registration. The plan is also available on a semester basis for students whose coverage expires during the school year.

Support Services for Your Child

• Academic: If your child enters Bethel as a first-time freshman, he or she will be assigned to a Liberal Education Advisor (LEA), who helps them select courses appropriate to their individual goals, skills and interests. The LEAs are also concerned about students' personal, social and spiritual lives and meet regularly with them to discuss issues important to the student. When your child is ready to declare a major, an advisor in the major department will be selected. Learn more about Bethel's advising process.

  Bethel's Center for Academic Development (CAD) offers academic support free of charge. The CAD provides a wide range of services, including individual tutoring, computer access, proficiency exam practice and study skills.

• Mental Health: Bethel offers several forms of counseling. The Office of Student Life works with Prairie View Mental Health Center in Newton to provide professional counseling for its students. The entire Student Life staff (vice president for student life, resident directors and student chaplains) routinely provide counseling, formally and informally. In addition, many students find faculty members to be helpful as counselors and mentors.

• Physical Health: If your child is sick or has medical concerns, he or she can schedule an appointment with Bethel's Academic Health Center, which is staffed by Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNPs). It is located in Memorial Hall on campus and has regular hours posted each semester. In case of an emergency, your child should visit the emergency services at Newton Medical Center.

  Bethel's Wellness Center, also located in Memorial Hall and free of charge to students, features a weight room and aerobic fitness room. Your child also may choose to participate in one of the many intercollegiate or intramural athletic opportunities at Bethel.

Weather Safety

If you reside somewhere other than the Midwest, you may be wondering if your child will experience infamous Kansas weather, including tornadoes. Local TV and radio meteorologists take their weather seriously, and Kansas residents are the first to learn of severe weather, giving them ample time to take shelter. Every building on campus has a weather safety plan in place, and tornado sirens are tested on a regular basis. That said, tornadoes don't occur as often as you might think — or as often as movies might portray.