Campus Assessment Team Policy - Northern Michigan University

Purpose:
Preserving the safety and security of our faculty, staff, and students is a top priority for Northern Michigan University. This requires vigilance, communication, and coordination. The purpose of this policy is to provide a framework for threat assessment, as well as intervention designed to reduce the risk of violence. The Campus Assessment Team meets to review reported behavioral incidents that may have been disruptive or harmful and identifies potential risk of harm to persons or property in the university community.

Applicability:
All students, faculty, and staff.

DEFINITIONS

Course of Conduct:  A course of conduct is any series of acts over a period of time, however short, that evidences a continuity of purpose, such as following or stalking an individual to or from the classroom, workplace/campus, telephone calls to the student, and correspondence with the student, whether by public or private mail, e-mail, interoffice mail, or fax.

Credible Threat: A credible threat is defined as a knowing and willful statement or course of conduct that would cause a reasonable person to believe there is a threat.

Threat: A threat is the expression of intent to cause physical or mental harm. An expression constitutes a threat without regard to whether the party communicating the threat has the present ability to carry it out, and without regard to whether the expression is contingent, conditional, or future. Threats may be communicated directed to any intended victim or to third parties.

Threat Assessment: Threat assessment is an investigative procedure involving a possible or potential act to cause physical or mental harm. The goal of threat assessment is the prevention of violence and not necessarily identification and arrest of a perpetrator.

Substantive Threat: A substantive threat is one that requires some form of protective action to prevent the threat from being carried out.

Prohibited Conduct: Prohibited conduct includes, but is not limited to an expression of intent to injure another person physically that creates a reasonable fear of injury to another person, that subjects another individual to extreme emotional distress, and/or intent to damage property. Such conduct can be verbal or nonverbal and may be communicated orally, in writing, through gestures, or by any other means, including electronic transmission. Threats will be subject to disciplinary action by the institution, and may include criminal prosecution if the behavior constitutes a violation of Federal or State law.

Campus Assessment Team:
The Campus Assessment Team includes members from law enforcement, mental health professionals, representatives of student affairs and human resources and if needed University Counsel. Northern Michigan University’s Campus Assessment Team members include designated individuals from the following areas:

1. NMU Police Department (Chair)
2. Dean of Students
3. Academic Affairs
4. Counseling and Consultation Services
5. Health Center
6. Housing and Residence Life
7. Athletics
8. Title IX
9. Human Resources

The Campus Assessment Team shall be responsible for developing a set of threat assessment procedures and protocols to be approved by the President of the University.

The Campus Assessment Team meets weekly throughout the academic year and upon request at other times. Weekly meetings throughout the academic year provide an opportunity for committee members to quickly and efficiently identify needs of stakeholders and assess progress in meeting those needs.

The Campus Assessment Team shall establish relationships or utilize existing relationships with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as well as mental health agencies to expedite assessment and interventions with individuals whose behavior may present a threat to safety.

The Campus Assessment is charged with developing comprehensive fact-based assessments of students or other individuals who may present a threat to the University or individuals engaged in University activities, and is empowered to take timely and appropriate action, consistent with University policy and applicable law.

The Campus Assessment Team shall be referred all cases that involve threat of violence by students.

No disciplinary action will be taken, unless the situation requires immediate action, until such time that the Campus Assessment Team determines that such action will not jeopardize their investigation or protective actions in the case of substantive threats and that all due process rights can be protected.

The Campus Assessment Team may provide recommendations for administrative action, disciplinary action or other methods of intervention, such as counseling and dispute resolution.

In a health or safety emergency, no information that is necessary to protect the health or safety of others shall be withheld as confidential. In such cases, health or safety emergency, medical, mental health, employment, and academic records that are ordinarily regarded as confidential may be released to the Campus Assessment Team.

Once a threat has been determined not to be substantive, the subject of investigation shall be informed by the appropriate Campus Assessment Team member of the investigation and their behavior that led to the investigation.

Responsibilities of NMU Administrative Units:
All administrative units and administrators shall report threats or threatening behavior to the Police Department as soon as the threat is identified.

All administrative units and administrators are expected to cooperate with the Campus Assessment Team in order to respond to a threat or threatening situation.

Record Keeping: 

Access to the Campus Assessment Team file shall be limited to members of the Campus Assessment Team and legal counsel. The Campus Assessment Team file shall be maintained by the Police Department.

Campus Assessment Team files are considered confidential and will only be released as required by law.

Failure to Abide or Report: 

Faculty, staff and students who fail to abide by this policy or retaliate against individuals reporting threats according to this policy shall be subject to disciplinary action according to the Faculty Union Contracts, the Student Handbook, or other NMU policies as appropriate.