Welcome to a new series that highlights the services the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu offers to help our students succeed. Student Support Spotlight will profile the wide-ranging services that are important for our students and campus. The series has so far featured profiles on Advising and Admissions.
Name of service: UH West Oʻahu Behavior Intervention Team (BIT)
Who we are: The UH West Oʻahu BIT is a cross-campus, multidisciplinary team approach to assisting members of our campus community when reports of individuals who exhibit concerning behavior are reported. Functional members representing Human Resources, Student Affairs, Campus Security, Academic Advising, Counseling, Auxiliary Services, Communications, and Emergency Health & Safety currently serve on this team. The campus Director of Compliance is the Chair of the team and a non-voting member.
What services we provide: The team collects information submitted through reports provided on the online reporting link. Sometimes, students and co-workers are in the best position to see when a friend or colleague is going through difficulties; they can become moody, depressed, aggressive or engage in dangerous behavior such as abusing drugs and/or alcohol. Friends or colleagues may report “concerning behavior” such as these, so that the institution may reach out to assist when possible or necessary.
UH West Oʻahu is a community. When a member of our community needs assistance, we should be prepared to help when possible or provide external resources so that students can successfully complete their educational goals, and employees can work in a more supportive environment.
What’s special about us: The UH West Oʻahu BIT is the first formal, fully functional multidisciplinary threat assessment team in the entire UH System. Many campuses and institutions look to the UH West Oʻahu BIT processes and protocols when trying to build their own teams.
Contact: Bev Baligad, Chair, Director of Compliance, bbaligad@hawaii.edu