Behavior Intervention Team
The University of Texas at Arlington cares about our students' success, not only academically, but emotionally and physically. Because of our commitment, we provide literally hundreds of departments and services across campus that respond to our students' unique needs. But sometimes, students do not ask for help when they need it. So in an effort to identify those students proactively, UTA has created a network of professionals from across campus that are committed to a caring, confidential program of identification, intervention and response in order to provide our students with the greatest chance of success and our community with the greatest level of protection.
We created this website to accomplish the following:
- Educate you about the BIT and how it works.
- Provide you with information and tips about how to deal with incidents you may encounter.
- Provide additional resources on our campus and in our community.
If you have questions or concerns for the BIT about a student or an incident, please contact a BIT Chair or email questions to bit@uta.edu.
Our Mission and Purpose
Mission
The mission of the Behavior Intervention Team is to:
- Provide a systematic response to students whose behavior is disruptive to themselves or the environment, or who may be in violation of UTA Code of Conduct.
- Assist in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the students and members of the UTA community.
- Support student success.
Purpose
The purpose of the Behavioral Intervention Team is to:
- Serve as a resource for faculty, staff, and students to address the needs of students who are experiencing significant behavioral disturbances.
- Recommend collaborative and purposeful interventions aimed at helping students achieve success.
- Establish a process that is designed to be helpful to students, particularly when the rights of others or an individual's own growth and development are being endangered.
- Assist member of the University community with a legitimate concern regarding students who seem to be experiencing emotional distress, psychological difficulties, or are unable to handle stressful circumstances.
Beliefs
UTA believes it is important to foster an environment that encourages students to maintain a standard of responsibility for self-care which includes the ability to respond adequately to one's emotional, physical, and educational needs. Some students who are distressed engage in behaviors that impact their self-welfare and the welfare of the university community.
The presence of demonstrated distress, disruptive or dangerous student behavior can be a predictor of future harm to self, others, and the larger UTA community. While we acknowledge that no one can predict with any degree of confidence whether a student will eventually progress to acts that are harmful to themselves or others, there are behaviors indicative of higher risk. These behaviors may require further assessment by appropriate professionals to promote the safety of the student and UTA community.
The BIT is one of several resources available to the campus community to address these concerns. Other offices with similar purposes include the Office of Student Conduct, the Office for Students with Disabilities, UTA Police Department, Counseling Services, and Health Services.