Student Resources

Holy Cross offers a safe and secure environment, and a number of offices are dedicated to ensuring you thrive at the College.

students sitting under a tree on the grass in front of o'kane hall

Academic Services and Learning Resources

Academic Services and Learning Resources supports students throughout their academic journey at Holy Cross. The department’s programming prepares students to be better, confident, and independent learners by sharpening their tools for academic success. 

We look forward to helping you maximize your academic potential by offering academic success programming, including one-on-one peer tutoring and mentoring, collaborative learning with fellow students, individual success coaching, and interactive academic success workshops. Some of the topics we focus on include time management, reading, study, and learning strategies designed to empower you to succeed.

Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS)

The Ignatian ideal of cura personalis guides the work we do at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS). We play a vital role in the life of the College by offering a wide range of services to members of the campus community. Our primary goal is to support students negotiating their transition into adulthood. Students encounter a variety of challenges during college. We provide confidential assistance to students who have a wide range of concerns, such as stress, adjustment difficulties, relationship problems, anxiety, and depression. Many students seek counseling to help them through these challenges. We work collaboratively with students to promote their academic success and personal growth during their years at Holy Cross.

Center for Career Development

The Center for Career Development (CCD), located in the Hogan Campus Center, Suite 203, works with students to clarify their career interests and objectives, explore industries and jobs, and connect with employers that are hiring interns and entry-level employees.

Through conversation and reflection, career counselors help students make connections between their interests, strengths and values and specific industries and careers. Once students begin to make career decisions, the CCD team will help students consider the different opportunities and experiences to explore the world of work and gain experience.  The CCD also offers resources and training for the technical side of the internship and job search and provides opportunities for students to connect with employers who are seeking to hire Holy Cross students and graduates for internships and full-time employment.  

Employment Opportunities

The Student Employment website was created to assist student employees in their search for hourly paid on-campus employment. The website has resources for finding a job and working on campus.  It is important to note that Dining Services is the only on-campus job provider for first-year students, both for awarded work-study or general campus employment. Work-study approved students are given priority for all positions, which are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Students will be invited to attend Dining’s annual Student Employment meeting during fall orientation to learn more and to process their hire paperwork.

Learn more about work-study employment opportunities on the Dining Services website

I-9 Process: Must be Completed Prior to Working on Campus

As a result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, all new employees must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9).  All student employees must complete this form  and present original documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility prior to being hired into a position and within three business days of starting employment. The employment verification process is a 2-step process. Students are unable to work until they have completed this process.  

Review the documents that establish both identity and employment authorization.

  • Step 1: Newly-hired, hourly-paid student employees must complete the employment verification electronically in PeopleSoft Self-Service.
  • Step 2: Once step 1 is completed, student employees must present original, unexpired identification documents to Human Resources personnel. There will be multiple opportunities during Move In Weekend and students should have those documents readily available on them during that time. This step is mandatory and must be completed within three days of your hire.

    Please note that Human Resources personnel are also available in Smith 101, Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

First-Generation Students

First-generation college students often face unique challenges in applying, enrolling and succeeding in college. We are committed to supporting you socially, academically and financially — before you arrive on campus to graduation and beyond. 

Health Services

Health Services at Holy Cross is committed to providing quality health care that recognizes the individual needs of students and supports their academic success. Health care professionals provide services, programs and wellness education to enable students to become well integrated in mind, body and spirit. 

LGBTQIA+ 

Holy Cross is committed to ensuring everyone feels supported in our community. We pay careful attention to developing programs and resources focused on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Learn about resources and programming available to the LGBTQIA+ community

Libraries

Holy Cross Libraries are central to education at Holy Cross — and, with Montserrat, that’s especially true for first-year students. Librarians offer specialized instruction sessions for seminars within the clusters, tailoring resources to correspond to course needs. Throughout every student’s Holy Cross career, librarians will be directly available for assistance with sophisticated research and reference tools and resources. The warm and friendly environment in each of the Holy Cross libraries encourages study, reflection, and intellectual growth.

Public Safety 

Holy Cross is committed to ensuring a safe and secure community for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) works to develop and maintain positive relationships with all members of the College community, and to maintain an environment in which students, faculty, and staff may experience academic, professional, and personal success. Public Safety is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with full-time, academy-trained, sworn police officers. Public Safety provides a comprehensive program of education, crime prevention, fire safety, emergency and medical response, transportation and related public safety, police, and community services. Holy Cross police officers enjoy a close working relationship with the City of Worcester Police Department as well as state and local emergency response services.

Students are encouraged to download the free RAVE Guardian app on their smartphone. This app gives the student immediate text access to the DPS emergency dispatchers. The app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. 

Campus Emergency Notification System

Holy Cross has a comprehensive campus emergency notification system in place to alert all students, faculty, and staff of any possible threat or hazard occurring on campus or in the surrounding area. The RAVE Alert emergency notification system allows the College to send time-sensitive notifications via cell phone, residence hall phone, email, and text message. Your on-campus contact information, such as your phone number listed in your student account records and on-campus email address, will be automatically entered into the RAVE Alert system once you are assigned to a residence hall. When you access STAR in mid-August, you will be asked to enter information such as your personal cell phone number and emergency contact information. Each semester you will be asked to verify and update this information in STAR.

Off-Campus Emergency Contact Information

In the event that the College must contact your parent(s) or guardian(s) in an emergency, it is important that you enter in STAR as much current information as possible, such as the cell phone and work numbers of your parent(s) or guardian(s). To enter the above information, log in to STAR, go to Student Personal Data, Emergency Contact Information, and click on Add an Emergency Contact. If you have questions about this process, please contact the Registrar’s Office at 508-793-2511. 

Learn more about Public Safety

Student Accessibility Services

The Office of Student Accessibility Services coordinates assistance for students with disabilities in order to promote equal access to programs and services at Holy Cross. The office seeks to assist students and their families in making the necessary arrangements to participate fully in academic and co-curricular pursuits. The College complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, The ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and applicable local, state, and federal statutes regarding nondiscrimination against persons with disabilities.

To be considered for accommodations, please see the "Students With Disabilities Requesting Accommodations" entries on the Forms and Action Due Dates pages for first-year students or transfer students.

Student Wellness Education

The Office of Student Wellness Education creates structures for wellness enhancement and risk reduction. Using evidence-based practices and collaborating with a range of campus partners, Student Wellness Education works collectively to provide initiatives, services, and resources that support the well-being of students.

Services provided include: 

  • Mindfulness and meditation
  • Sexual and gender-based violence education and prevention
  • Alcohol and drug education and prevention 

Title IX and Equal Opportunity 

The College rejects and condemns all forms of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and disrespect, and is committed to sustaining a welcoming environment for everyone and especially for those vulnerable to discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, marital or parental status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender expression, or gender identity. 

The Office of Title IX and Equal Opportunity supports the College’s commitment to a safe and inclusive community as evidenced by the College’s Sexual Misconduct Policy.

View information on options for reporting concerns and confidential resources at the College and in the Worcester community. 

Writer's Workshop

All writers, no matter their skill level, benefit from sharing their writing with others. The Writer’s Workshop at the Center for Writing supports students of any level, in any discipline, and at any stage in the writing process in individual, 45-minute appointments with trained peer consultants – juniors and seniors - representing majors from across the College or one of our professional tutors.