Behavioral Assessment & Intervention Team (BAIT)
Muskingum University strives to maintain an environment that is safe from any kind of threats to the community.
This requires a proactive community approach to behavioral threat assessment. One aspect of this approach is the Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Team (BAIT). If you feel that a member of the campus community presents behavior or language that appears threatening to the health and safety of himself/herself or others, we ask that you do the following:
- If the threat is imminent (a weapon is seen, a student says “I’m going to go kill myself," etc) call University Police at 740-826-8155 (ext 8155 from campus lines).
- If a student expresses a concerning emotion from a distance (in a paper or other assignment, posting threats on Facebook, etc) call University Police so proper campus resources can be informed.
In these situations, University Police essentially act as a switchboard to contact the appropriate staff members to intervene in a situation. For example, University Police can contact a counselor at any hour of the day, 7 days a week.
After any of the above actions, please file a report so that there can be a written account of the incident and the action(s) taken thus far. The report will be forwarded to a member of the Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Team and the situation will be assessed.
If the behavior is less imminent than all of the above, file a report. Such behavior could include persistent aggression in the classroom, outbursts in the residence halls, or other disruptive behavior.
When a potential threat is reported, the person receiving the report will determine the level of urgency and either refer the problem to the appropriate University professionals to resolve immediately, or refer the situation to the Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Team for assessment of non-urgent matters. Once the potential threat has been assessed, the appropriate action will be taken, following Campus policy (ex– student conduct referral, outreach from Counseling, etc.).
Members of this team include the Dean of Students, Assistant Dean of Students, Director of Residence Life, Director of Counseling, and representatives from Academic Affairs. Other staff may be included depending on the nature of the potential issue or threat.