Supporting Students and Addressing Concerning Behavior

1. Dean of Students Office Becky Freer, Assistant Dean of Students Rob Longwell-Grice, Interim Associate Dean of Students Supporting Students and Addressing Concerning Behavior

2. Student concerns you may encounter • Homelessness, food insecurity, financial troubles, severe illness, medical emergencies • Signs of substance abuse, weight change, poor hygiene, sleeping in class, cuts or bruises • Change in behavior, quality of assignments, participation, and attendance • Cheating, plagiarizing • Disruption, outbursts, aggression, violence • Allusions to violence, threats • Strange communication patterns, paranoia, emotional disconnection (e.g. blank stares) • Crying, depression, suicide ideation

3. What to do? • Talk to the student -if possible after class or in an office. • Genuinely listen. • Acknowledge the student’s concerns and avoid judgment. • Set limits and expectations; be firm. • Ask the student questions to assess their intentions. e.g. What have you thought about doing? • Connect the student to resources. • Look out for your safety: have another staff member nearby or contact UWM PD to request officer presence. • Do not promise confidentiality (threats to self and others, and abuse must be reported). UWM Administrative Policy S-9 “Behavior Cases Impeding Learning Process” Norris Health Center publication “Assisting the Emotionally Distressed Student”

4. Reporting concerns • Emergencies: contact UWM PD at 9-911 • Counseling and Consultation: walk students to Norris Health Center or call x4716 • Consultation and reporting: contact the Dean of Students Office at x4632 or dos@uwm.edu ALWAYS SUBMIT A REPORT TO: www.care.uwm.edu

5. How the Dean of Students Office can help • Consult with faculty and staff about student behavior and legal ways to respond • Lead the Student Support Team • Provide ongoing student support and advocacy • Respond to crises and emergencies • Assess potential threats • Coordinate campus response to student deaths • Grant medical tuition credits • Adjudicate non-academic misconduct cases • Facilitate academic misconduct process

6. Student Support Team • Supports student retention and a healthy campus community by identifying students in distress and coordinating appropriate interventions. • Committee meets weekly and includes: • Dean of Students Office • Norris Health Center • University Housing • Student Success Center • Student Accessibility Center • By invitation: units directly connected to the student

7. Student Conduct • Guided by UW System Administrative Codes • Chapter 14: Academic Misconduct • Chapter 17: Non-academic Misconduct • Chapter 18: Conduct on University Lands • Guarantees “Due Process” for students • Right to notification of reports • Right to a hearing • If found responsible for violating the Code, the student may face sanctions ranging from a warning to expulsion from UW System.

8. Examples of recent cases • Kurt: readmitted after being academically dismissed • Georgia: referred to our office for plagiarism • William: sent an instructor an email suggesting he might commit suicide • Josh: posted on Facebook that he wanted to shoot his professor

9. Dean of Students Office Tom McGinnity, Interim Dean of Students Robert Longwell-Grice, Interim Associate Dean of Students Becky Freer, Assistant Dean of Students for Student Support Dan Kast, Assistant Dean of Students for Student Conduct PahouaXiong, Graduate Student for Student Conduct Parna Banerjee, Graduate Student for Student Support Mellencamp 118 414-229-4632 dos@uwm.edu Submit reports to www.care.uwm.edu