2020 NABITA Whitepaper: The Intersection of BIT and Conduct

Given the shared goals of student development, accountability, and community safety, it is not surprising that behavioral intervention teams (BITs) and student conduct or discipline often address overlapping concerns. Students experiencing substance use concerns, behavioral issues (disruption, poor boundaries, hate crimes/bias incidents), and interpersonal conflict (roommate issues, anger management, relationship issues) are likely to be addressed through the office of student conduct or through a school discipline process when their behavior violates school policy, as well as be referred to the BIT for support. In fact, minor conduct issues, major conduct issues, and alcohol and other drug concerns rank among the most common referrals to behavioral intervention teams. There is a clear overlap between the cases addressed by the office of student conduct and by the BIT, emphasizing the need for a discussion on how these two areas intersect.