Class is in session: Your ICCTAC resource guide

As a new academic year begins, it is a great time to reconnect with the resources and support available through ICCTAC. Whether you are new to this work or have been supporting student mental health for years, we are here to help you find practical tools, build your skills, connect with colleagues and navigate the challenges facing Illinois campuses.

Consider this your ICCTAC Starter Guide, your place to begin when you need a resource, a training, a fresh idea or a little extra support.

Back-to-School Mental Health Resources from

The JED Foundation

A new academic year is an opportunity to think intentionally about how we support student mental health from day one. The JED Foundation's Back-to-School 2026 resource hub offers timely, practical tools to help educators and campuses prepare for the year ahead. From supporting students' well-being and connecting them with care to creating a more supportive campus environment, these resources can help turn back-to-school preparation into an opportunity to strengthen mental health support.

Build your skills

Be ready to support somebody

Sometimes the most important thing you can do is know what to say, what to look for and when to connect someone with professional support.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an evidence-based training that gives you the skills and confidence to recognize, understand and respond when someone is experiencing a mental health, behavioral health or substance use challenge. Like traditional first aid, MHFA helps you respond with empathy, safety and care while someone connects with professional support.

Why get certified?

• Build confidence responding to someone who may be struggling
• Learn how to recognize signs of mental health and substance use challenges
• Reduce stigma and encourage conversations about mental health
• Help create safer, more supportive campus communities

Training is available virtually and is subsidized through the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act (MHEAC) for individuals who work in mental health services with higher education students in Illinois.

Ready to get started?

ICC TAC offers virtual MHFA trainings throughout the academic year, with sessions available monthly.

Ready to help? Learn more here.

Illinois Board of Higher Education

The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) plays an important role in advancing student success, health and well-being across Illinois colleges and universities. Through the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act (MHEAC), IBHE supports statewide efforts to strengthen mental health services, promote prevention and early intervention, and help campuses create environments where students can access the support they need. The legislation recognizes that student mental health is an important part of student success and requires a coordinated approach across Illinois higher education.

ICC TAC works alongside IBHE to help campuses put these priorities into practice. Through training, technical assistance, professional development and practical resources, ICC TAC supports higher education professionals as they build their capacity to respond to student mental health needs. Together, IBHE and ICC TAC help connect statewide priorities with the day-to-day work happening on campuses across Illinois.

Illinois Community

College Board

The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) plays a key role in supporting student success and well-being across Illinois community colleges. As a partner in implementing the Mental Health Early Action on Campus Act (MHEAC), ICCB helps advance mental health supports, prevention and early intervention for students throughout the state’s community college system. This work recognizes the unique role community colleges play in serving diverse student populations and connecting students with resources that support their academic and personal success.



Through its partnership with ICCB, ICCTAC helps bring MHEAC resources, training and technical assistance to community college professionals across Illinois. ICCTAC provides practical tools, learning opportunities and individualized support to help campuses assess their needs, strengthen existing efforts and develop sustainable approaches to student mental health. Together, ICCB and ICCTAC help community colleges create more informed, connected and supportive environments for students.



Welcome to the team

We’re excited to welcome Matthew Warner, DHSc, ACSM-EP, as ICC TAC’s new Director of Technical Assistance and Training. With nearly a decade of higher education teaching experience, Matthew brings expertise in health sciences, kinesiology and student-centered education to his work supporting Illinois campuses. He also serves as a part-time instructor with SUNY Cortland’s Health Department and is an ACSM-certified Exercise Physiologist. We’re excited to have his experience and passion for student success on the ICC TAC team!

What excites you most about joining the ICC TAC team and supporting Illinois colleges? Working with all of our partners across the state and helping them improve the health and well-being of students here in the state. 

What experience or perspective are you bringing to your new role? I bring experience from both being a faculty member and a public health practitionerin higher education settings. Along with my supervision of graduate assistants in the past, it allows me to be able to consider all sides of staff/faculty/student needs and how they can be best supported.

What's one thing you hope every campus partner knows about ICC TAC or the work we do? I hope that our partners know we are here to support them no matter how big or small their needs are. Institutions and their teams are sometimes wearing multiple hats, so whatever we can do to support them, we want to help.

When you’re not working, what is one thing you enjoy doing? One thing that I love to do when not working is watching sports. Recently I have been watching the inaugural season of the Women's Professional Baseball League.

Start strong. Stay connected.

A new academic year brings new routines, new relationships and new opportunities to support student well-being. Whether you're a student getting ready for the semester, a staff member supporting students, or a campus leader preparing for the year ahead, these resources can help you start strong and create a more connected, supportive campus community.

For Students & Community Members

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Free, confidential support available 24/7 by call, text or chat for anyone experiencing emotional distress or a mental health or substance use crisis.
• Active Minds: Student-centered mental health resources, programs and tools designed to encourage open conversations, reduce stigma and help students build supportive campus communities.
• The JED Foundation: Resources to help students protect their mental health, navigate college life, build connections and find support when they need it.
• ULifeline: A mental health resource designed specifically for college students, offering information about common mental health concerns, treatment options and campus support.

For Institutions & Staff

• JED Campus Framework: A comprehensive framework for helping colleges and universities strengthen mental health systems, promote connectedness, identify students at risk and improve crisis response.
• Healthy Minds Network: Research and data on student mental health that can help campuses better understand student needs and inform prevention, programming and institutional decision-making.
• 988 Partner Toolkit: Resources to help organizations and communities promote awareness of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and connect people with crisis support.
• Active Minds Campus Resources: Campaigns, programs and practical tools that campuses can use to promote mental health, reduce stigma and strengthen student engagement.

Key Themes for a Strong Start

• Connection matters: Helping students build relationships and a sense of belonging can be an important part of supporting mental health and student success.
• Know where to turn: Students, faculty and staff should know how to identify available campus and community resources before a crisis occurs.
• Make support visible: Clear, accessible mental health information helps reduce barriers and makes it easier for students to seek help when they need it.
• Support the whole campus: Student mental health is not the responsibility of one office or department. Faculty, staff, administrators, peer leaders and community partners all have a role to play.
• Start before there is a crisis: Prevention, early intervention and proactive conversations can help campuses create a culture where seeking support is viewed as a normal part of student well-being.

Keep up with ICCTAC this semester

Our announcements page is your go-to hub for the latest news, resources, and updates from across Illinois college and university campuses. From new training opportunities and policy developments to campus mental health initiatives, there is always something worth sharing. We encourage all of our partner colleges, universities, and organizations to submit announcements monthly so we can continue to uplift and amplify the great work happening statewide.

Have something to share?

Head over to our announcements page and let us know what is going on in your community!

Learning Collaboratives

Our learning collaboratives bring together professionals and community members to share knowledge, build skills and drive meaningful change.

• September 10, 2026, 12:00 pm-2:00 pm: Great Lakes ADA Center
• September 25, 2026, 10:00 am-12:00 pm: Dealing with Difficult People – Amy Hawkins
• October 30, 2026, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm: Best Practices: Using Data for the Evaluation of Counseling Centers in Higher Education with Lynn Braun

Interested in joining a learning collaborative? Reach out at icctac@siumed.edu

EXPLORE THE BLOG

Back to campus, back to wellness

August brings a familiar energy to college campuses. Classrooms are ready. Schedules are filling. Students, new and returning, are settling into a new year.

It's also a good time to focus on something people often forget in the rush: wellness.

August is National Wellness Month. That gives colleges and universities a natural chance to think about how they support students, faculty and staff all year, not just in August. Wellness is often treated as a matter of habits, like exercise, sleep or self-care. But a healthy campus depends on more. It depends on whether students feel connected. It depends on whether they know where to find help. And it depends on whether they have real access to support while keeping up with schoolwork.



Here are 10 ways campuses can make wellness part of their culture this semester, not just a line on the calendar.

Verifying information

With numerous stories circulating and constantly changing in our world today, it’s crucial to confirm the accuracy of any information you come across. Check multiple reliable sources like the Office of the Illinois Attorney General or AAMC’s page on Executive Actions.

ICC TAC Executive Director

Questions? Contact us at icctac@siumed.edu | Visit us at icctac.org