We know that IMSA is your home away from home, and to help promote a safe and supportive environment we have created the Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT), known as the BIT Care Team.
The IMSA BIT Care team is a campus-wide team of appointed Academy personnel responsible for identifying, assessing, and responding to concerns and/or disruptive behaviors by students who struggle academically, emotionally, behaviorally, or psychologically, or who present a risk to the health or safety of the Academy or its members.
What are the goals of this program?
- Provide a safe and supportive physical and emotional environment for members of the Academy community.
- Identify, assess, and intervene with individuals who are struggling or are demonstrating concerning or threatening behavior.
- Provide support and resources to community members who are concerned for another individual.
What does the IMSA BIT Care Team do?
- Develops and implements educational and training programs for all members of the Academy community regarding behavioral assessment. This includes publications and promotional materials designed to create awareness and understanding of the Team and what to refer, as well as in-person trainings to develop deeper knowledge on how to identify, support, and refer an individual of concern.
- Receives, coordinates, and assesses referrals received from faculty, staff, students, and others regarding individuals of concern.
- Coordinates interventions and resource assistance for individuals of concern.
When to file a Student of Concern report:
The Student of Concern report is for reporting any student who is displaying concerning behaviors that may impact their ability to be safe and/or successful. These reports are routed to the BIT team, to develop a plan for student intervention. The plan may be interdepartmental.
Behavioral Intervention Team programs are not designed to predict who will become violent, but rather to identify, assess, and intervene with individuals who display threatening or other concerning behavior that indicates they may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others.
Examples of types of behavior that should lead to filing a Student of Concern form:
- Suicidal Ideation
- Statements about Harming Others
- Aggressive Behavior
- Severe Panic Attack
- Paranoia
- Erratic Behavior
- Severe Depression
- Severe Anxiety
- Isolation
- Disordered Eating
Please see the “Responding to Students in Distress” Guide for specific guidance for responding to these and other types of student concerns.
Examples of when a Student of Concern report is not needed (other support resources are listed below):
In some situations, students may exhibit stressors that may be attributed to routine worries but the student is coping. In these instances, we recommend that you directly refer the student to specific departments that can provide helpful resources. Here are some examples of non-threatening situations that do not involve behaviors/issues requiring multiple department intervention:
- Mild Depression: Difficulty concentrating, lack of motivation, low mood, fatigue, and sadness.
- Mild Anxiety: Intrusive thoughts, highly preoccupied, unable to stop thinking about the same thing.
- Trouble Adjusting: Struggling with transitions and changes in relationships or environments.
- Academic Concerns: Difficulty concentrating, procrastination, poor time management, poor organizational skills, and decline in grades.
In these cases, you can refer the concern to the appropriate department:
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- Counseling (counseling@imsa.edu)
- College and Academic Counseling (CAC) (cac@imsa.edu)
- Health office (nurse@imsa.edu)
- Residence Life, (email individual RC or Residence Life supervisor)
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) (dei@imsa.edu)
- Principal’s Office (prinoffc@imsa.edu)
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Please see the “Responding to Students in Distress” Guide for specific guidance for responding to these and other types of student concerns.
