Authority The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs charges the Behavioral Intervention Team with the authority to engage in behavioral intervention (gather data, assess risk, and deployment interventions) to support the safety and wellbeing of campus. The BIT conducts its work in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), other applicable laws, and/or institutional policy.
Scope The team addresses behavior that occurs on and off campus for admitted students, including graduate and professional students.
Mission The BIT is a multi-disciplinary group of university officials who meet bi-weekly to collect and review information about at-risk community members and develop interventions to assist them. The BIT is committed to a proactive, collaborative, coordinated, and objective approach to responding to incidents along the spectrum of risk.
Function In alignment with research and best practice, the BIT follows a three-phase process to effectively mitigate risk and aid the overall safety goals of the institution:
- Gather Data
- Individual members of BIT are expected to share information from their areas of expertise and/or specific information about the student of concern as FERPA, confidentiality laws, and licensure allow.
- Assess Risk
- Assesses a range of behaviors and concerns along the spectrum of risk.
- Every referral received is assessed for risk by the Office of Student Advocacy and Support using the NaBITA objective risk rubric. Referrals that are assessed at “critical” or “elevated” are automatically brought to BIT for further collaboration. At times, referrals that are assessed at “mild” or “moderate” may be brought to BIT for consultation.
- Uses objective indicators of risk to mitigate potential bias, provide consistency and objectivity, and respond with appropriate interventions.
- Deploy Interventions
- Define interventions for each risk level based on the NaBITA objective risk rubric and the individual’s specific needs.
- When/If an individual crosses the BIT’s established threshold on the team’s objective assessment tool (e.g., elevated on the NABITA Risk Rubric), the BIT may mandate an assessment to further assess the individual and the circumstances surrounding the referral to inform its interventions.
- Does not require compliance with identified interventions (except when mandated assessments are necessary).
- Does not issue disciplinary sanctions or restrict enrollment or access.
- Adjusts interventions as more information is gathered and the risk adjusts after reassessment.
- Define interventions for each risk level based on the NaBITA objective risk rubric and the individual’s specific needs.
In some instances, the BIT will operate with limited available information. The BIT will exercise due diligence while balancing supporting the needs of individuals with the safety of the community.
Membership The BIT uses a two-layer approach to membership. Primary membership consists of representatives from the Office of Student Advocacy and Support (team chair), Counseling and Psychological Services, the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, Services for Students with Disabilities, Housing and Residential Life, Academic Affairs (rotating faculty representative), Institutional Equity and Compliance, and the University Police Department. Secondary membership consists of representatives from Fraternity and Sorority Life, Graduate Studies, the International Student Scholar Office, the Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services, the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, Undergraduate Education Student Success, and Athletics.
Participation Expectations Primary members are expected to have representation and participate at every BIT meeting. Participation means meaningfully contributing to a conversation around behavioral concerns, trends, and disclosing information about students of concern as FERPA/licensure allows. Secondary members will be added to meetings on an as-needed basis.
Required Training All primary members of BIT are required to participate in the following trainings: NaBITA Behavioral Intervention Team Standards and Best Practices NaBITA Risk Rubric Training FERPA Training (Annually) Other trainings may be identified as appropriate for the BIT to function most efficiently and in line with national best practices.
Record Keeping and Data Sharing BIT meetings will be structured using an agenda and meeting minutes will be documented at every meeting. Each BIT member must sign a confidentiality MOU ensuring discussions about specific students and their behavioral concerns are not shared outside of the BIT. Data related to BIT will be held in Maxient and Sharepoint and only approved members of BIT will have access to this data. Specific student information pertinent to share with stakeholders will be done as FERPA allows. Quarterly zoom meetings will be held to update campus stakeholders on the work of BIT and high-level student data trends and themes.