Students’ behavior evaluated at college

BENTONVILLE — Northwest Arkansas Community College is one of many colleges and universities nationwide that have established a team to assess problematic student behavior and determine how to address it.

At the college, it’s called the Behavioral Review Team. Other schools have different names for the same kind of thing; the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, for example, has what it calls a Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment Team.

The concept came about not as a response to campus shootings and violence, but to provide a “centralized, coordinated, caring, developmental intervention for those in need prior to crisis,” according to the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association’s website.

The Behavioral Review Team at the community college was created three years ago. It was the first of its kind at a two-year college in Arkansas, according to Dale Montgomery, dean of students.

The team is made up

of about a dozen faculty and staff members selected because of their expertise in topics such as psychology, public safety and disabilities. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive process for understanding and helping students who either are having personal problems or causing concern or disruption for others on campus.

“We will get reports for various reasons students aren’t finding success on campus,” said Ethan Beckcom, a team member and the college’s director of institutional policy, risk management and compliance. “They’re not getting to that goal they want to, and that may be the result of something happening outside the classroom that’s impacting them while they’re in the classroom.”

Family, financial and mental issues could affect a student’s ability to focus on classes. The team would consider those things and determine how team members could connect a student to the resources he needs — either within the college or in the community — so he can achieve success, Beckcom said.

‘VERY SAFE’ COMMUNITY

The team also serves to identify behavior that could escalate to a dangerous level.

“It’s really an effort to connect the dots and better serve as a resource to intervene before that crisis escalates to something that would impact the campus,” Beckcom said.

The team meets at least once every two weeks but may call a meeting at any time. Students and college employees are encouraged to make reports directly to the dean of students or through an online student conduct report form. The team receives one or two reports per week, about 90 percent of which come from faculty and staff, Montgomery said.

Beckcom could not say whether the team’s work has thwarted any sort of violence. He said that while the college is a “very safe” community, it must be prepared for anything.

“There is no place of any scope, of any size, of any distinction that is immune to something bad occurring,” he said.

Statistics show instances of serious crime are rare at the college, which has more than 8,000 students.

In 2014, the main campus in Bentonville reported one case of domestic violence. Satellite campuses in Rogers and Springdale reported three arrests on drug-abuse violations and one case of aggravated assault, according to information disclosed by the college under the Jeanne Clery Act, which requires all colleges and universities that receive federal funding to share information about crime on campus.

Montgomery said the team, which she facilitates, gives the college a big-picture view of what’s happening on the campus.

“We do a lot of encouragement for people to report. Because if we don’t know about it, we can’t do anything,” she said. “If there’s something disrupting our environment, we want to stop it. We don’t want to punish people; we want to stop whatever the disruption is.”

The team also may notice patterns from the reports it gathers — such as numerous reports of test anxiety or dating violence — and try to figure out a way to address that.

“So really, it’s about understanding the climate as well,” Beckcom said.

Counseling is available on the main campus. The college contracts with outside providers to be on campus two days per week with availability at their facilities, Beckcom said.

The team came up during a discussion at a college board of trustees meeting in October, right after a student at Umpqua Community College in Oregon shot and killed nine people and injured others. Board member Joe Spivey asked about measures the college takes to address safety and disruptive student behavior.

Scott Grigsby, a trustee, asked whether the team analyzes safety issues from across the country and applies that information to the college. The team does that, and the college provides appropriate training, said Todd Kitchen, vice president of student services.

OTHER MEASURES

The Behavioral Review Team is one piece of a set of safety measures at the college.

The college’s police force includes 17 full-time officers, 13 of whom are commissioned and carry guns. An additional eight noncommissioned officers work part time. They have a combined 291 years of law enforcement experience, according to information provided by the college.

Approximately 175 security cameras are installed throughout the seven buildings on the main campus, Beckcom said.

Among the college’s key initiatives for this school year is to implement a “comprehensive preparedness model” including training and resources aimed at providing a safe environment for all, Beckcom said.

The college implemented a security fee in 2013 that it charges students on a percredit-hour basis. That fee began at $1.50 but was increased to $2 for this school year. The fee is projected to generate $298,162 for this fiscal year, according to Gulizar Baggson, executive director of budget and analytical services.