Purpose
It is the goal of the Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) to ensure, to the extent possible, that Middlesex Community College is a safe and secure place in which to teach and learn.
The BIT is a group of faculty, staff, and managers who meet weekly to manage and reduce threats to safety—whether from students or employees—before they cause harm. Once identified, the BIT takes a planned approach to assessing the threat and taking appropriate action.
The BIT also supports a number of related projects including the development of MxCC’s Civility Statement and video, and sponsoring Fresh Check Day, the college’s mental health awareness day event.
How We Work
Matters of concern can be brought to the BIT in four ways:
- Contact Dr. Sara Hanson, Associate Dean of Student Affairs and team chair, to discuss the issue of concern;
- Contact any BIT member;
- Submit the online form that can be accessed on this page.
In presenting your concern, please be sure to include, at a minimum, the name of the student or employee you are concerned about, that person’s ID number if available, and a complete description of the incident that caused your concern. It would be helpful to provide your name and contact information as well.
Membership
- Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Chair – Dr. Sara Hanson
- Chief Executive Officer – Kim Hogan
- Associate Dean of Campus Operations – Edward J. Tessman
- Dean of Academic and Student Affairs – Dr. Donna Bontatibus
- Director of Workforce Development and Non-Credit Programs – Michelle Fuhrman
- Director of Student Activities – Ingrid Orellana
- Disabilities Support Specialist – Hilary Phelps
- Enrollment Services Coordinator – Daisy Aiken
- Guided Pathways Advisor 2 – Patrick Veronneau
- Program Coordinator, Human Services – Dr. Jen Hernandez
- Guided Pathways Advisor – Randall Rissing
Fill Out a Tell Somebody Report
Guidelines for Identifying Concerning Behavior
In order to make the process of identifying concerning behavior as clear and easy as possible, the BIT has divided student and employee behavior into two categories:
- Behavior that is an immediate threat: This includes behavior where the individual involved poses a threat to him/herself or others or is in need of immediate medical attention. Some examples include:
- A person who has access to weapons and is threatening to use them
- A person who is attempting suicide
- A person who threatens suicide
- A person who threatens to harm someone else
- Behavior that is of concern:
- Changes in a student’s or employee’s behavior that is unusual or abrupt
- Work or student performance that declines abruptly or is unusually poor
- Frequent discussion or preoccupation with violent events or with weapons
- Intolerance and bigotry
- Intimidating and/or bullying others
- References to planning a violent event or to harming others
- Responses to circumstances or conversation that is uncharacteristically intense in emotion
Principles of Threat Assessment
The concept of threat assessment rests on several principles:
- Information is usually fragmented but prevention is possible
- That violent acts tend to follow a logical and predictable progression of behavior:
- That people in and of themselves are not violent; there are characteristics and conditions that promote violence
- Input from multiple sources is critical
