Michael Mardis, University of LouisvilleKevin Bailey, University of West Florida

Jen Day Shaw, University of FloridaGuy Sims, Virginia Tech

June 14, 2011

Round Table Discussion about Behavioral Intervention Teams

Roundtable AgendaIntroductionResults of Exploratory BIT StudyCurrent Best Practices from PanelGroup Discussion

Questions for those attendingDoes your campus have a team?Are you on your campus team?What is the name? (BIT,TAT,SCT)When was your team created?Why was the team created? (Purpose)Do you have more than one team?Do you keep records?Respond to incidents when the person of

concern if an employee?How do you maintain records?Does your team receive training?

Results – Descriptive Data1044 institutions invited (Sent to SSAO)

51 undeliverable email993 invitations, 181 responses

18% response rateDo you have a team designed to respond to

students in crisis or at-risk? -175 indicated having a team to respond to students in crisis/distress. 5 No team, 1 not sure

60 institutions (34% had had more than one team)8 institutions had 3 teamsOnly 1 institution indicated having 4 teams (BIT,

Conduct Review Board, Critical Incident Team, Emergency

Management Team)

Length of Time in Existence in Years (Team 1 – 175 Responses)

Mean = 4.26Minimum = .50 yearsMaximum = 30 yearsMedian = 3 years

Team 1Team Function

Behavioral Intervention 48.57 %

Threat Assessment 18.29 %

Information/Referral 9.71 %

Student Care 10.29%

Other 13.14%

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet… Student Crisis Action Team (SCAT) Communicating Action Response for

Emergency (CARE)Care and Action for Students Team (CAST)Student Protection Response Team (SPRT)Action for Students In Suffering Team

(ASIST)Ensuring Action for Students in Emergency

(EASE)Action Crisis Team for Students (ACTS)Care TeamMost common name: Behavioral

Intervention Team (BIT)

Most Frequently Occurring Responsibilities

Assessment and Referrals• Making referrals for students in crisis (n = 164)• Assessing at-risk students (n = 163)• Sharing information among appropriate offices (n = 167)

Responding and Identifying Crisis Situations• Responding to a crisis that threatens the well-being of a student or

students (n = 153)• Ensuring appropriate follow-through with students (n = 154)• Responding to student behavior that is disruptive to the university

community (n = 151)• Identifying student behaviors that disrupt the learning

environment (n = 142)Record-keeping and Other

• Keeping records on students considered “at-risk” or who are in crisis (n = 132)

• Serving as a source of information to faculty and staff (n = 126)• Initiation of internal review of the crisis situation (n = 112)• Responding to incidents where the person of concern is a faculty or

staff (n = 96)• Dealing with students with academic difficulties (n = 52)• Other functions (n = 12)

Situations Most Frequently Addressed (Team 1)

Threats of Violence to Others (n = 165)

Emotional Distress (n = 158)

Suicidal Threats (n = 156)

Inappropriate Communications (n =

150)

Classroom Disruption (n = 149)

Stalking Behaviors(n = 146)

Diagnosed Mental Health Disorders (n =

129)Failing Grades (n =

49)Financial Difficulties (n

= 40)

Identified Team Members (175 respondents) Counseling Center Director (153) Director of Dept. of Public Safety (139) Housing Director (125) Dean of Students (114) * Student Conduct Officer (112) Health Services Director (81) Faculty Rep (72) VP of Student Affairs (61) Others Identified (125)

Academic Advising, Financial Aid, Disabilities Office Rep., Legal Counsel, University Ministry, Athletics, International Office, Women’s Services, Registrar, Wellness Director, Career Services

Titles vary at types of institution (DOS and VPSA)

*most frequently identified chair (DOS 72, VPSA 44, Other 38, Counseling Director 20)

DiscussionNext steps as a professionWhere do we see this going (What is the

future)?Resources (Time & Funding) What are the implications for us as

practitioners?Faculty InteractionRisk avoidance and liability issues –

what can we do, what should we be doing, and what are we saying we can do with these teams?

Team responsibilities for situations involving employees

Areas for future research

Discussion Record Keeping/Documentation

Centralized or DecentralizedFormal informalAccess to information

Record keeping who has access from institution Staff Training Parental Notification Communication with Campus How are you sharing information Privacy Laws Who is on your team (faculty)? Areas for future study

Team Training67.24 % Receive Training32.76 % No TrainingTypes of training In house (VPSA, Legal Council, DOS, Police,

Counseling Center)WebinarsWorkshopsConferences NaBITA (National Behavioral Intervention

Team Association) Brett Sokolow

Frequency of Team Meetings

Frequency %

Weekly 31%

As-Needed 29%

Twice Monthly 24%

Monthly 10%

Other 6%

Record-keepingDoes your team keep records of meetings?

79% Yes21% No

Does your team keep records of the specific students you’ve discussed?94% Yes6% No

Record-keeping: How teams keep records of information discussed at meetings.

Notes (personal, informal)Meting minutesPrograms (conduct software, Maxient

software, Excel, Titanium)Student files (DOS, Conduct, Counseling

Center, University Police)Shared Electronic FolderList of students names and date discussed

onlyIndividuals maintain recordsRecord action items only

How do you make others aware of your team?

Visits to units/departments (n = 102)Campus electronic notification to faculty staff (n = 99)Website (n = 65)Brochure (n = 39)Campus electronic notification to students (n = 37)Other: don’t make others aware, we don’t promote,

faculty senate, Chairs meeting, faculty training, peer education

Contact InformationDr. Michael Mardis

Dean of Students &Associate Vice President for Student AffairsUniversity of Louisville502.852.5787m.mardis@louisville.edu

Dr. Jen Day ShawAssistant Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of StudentsUniversity of Floridajends@dso.ufl.edu

Dr. Kevin Bailey

Vice President for Student Affairs

University of West Florida

850.474.2214

bailey@uwf.edu

Dr. Guy Sims

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs

Virginia Tech

sims@vt.edu