Entrance of One Pace Plaza
Student Affairs

CARE Team

Supporting Students of Concern

The Campus Assessment, Response, and Education (CARE) Team at Pace University is a University-wide team responsible for identifying, assessing, and responding to concerns and/or disruptive behaviors by students who struggle academically, emotionally or psychologically, or who present a risk to the health or safety of the campus community.

The CARE Team is present on all three of Pace's campuses and consists of University personnel with expertise in law enforcement, threat assessment, University operations, medical and mental health, and student affairs. The CARE Team provides recommendations to campus administrators regarding best practices in responding to critical Student of Concern reports submitted by members of the campus community.

In the case of an emergency that requires immediate response, please contact Pace's Office of Safety and Security.

Submit a Student of Concern Report

Addressing Common Questions and Concerns

  • The CARE Team utilizes the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association’s Risk Rubric as a broad triage process to evaluate risk levels over a broad set of behavioral concerns. Possible interventions may include (but are not limited to):

    • Provide guidance and education to referral source
    • Reach out to student offering meeting or resources
    • Connect with offices, support resources, faculty, staff etc who interact with the student to enlist support or gather more information
    • Possible referral to student conduct office
    • Explore services Student Accessibility Services
    • Assess social media and other sources to gather more information
    • Consider assessments to measure risk in written communication
    • Skill building in social interactions, emotional balance, reinforcement of protective factors (e.g., social support, opportunities for positive involvement)
    • Consider a welfare/safety check
    • Coordinate with necessary offices to create plan for safety, suspension, or other interim measures
    • Identify follow-up and ongoing case management or support services

  • The CARE Team is aware of the fear and apprehension that can accompany situations of concern. Regardless of the severity or seriousness of a situation, anxiety and fear can be intense for those sharing reports of concern. As feeling safe is often a personal matter, there will be times someone may disagree with the CARE Team’s opinions or the actions being taken by campus officials.

    As the team gathers information, and makes recommendations to administrators on next steps, judgments are made about which actions should be recommended to other administrators and decision makers. Sometimes people submitting a Student of Concern report have a specific outcome in mind, such as removing a student from a classroom, ask that the student be evaluated by a counselor, suspension from school, etc. While these are possible actions, there are important steps the University must take in regards to behaviors that do not align with our expectations of campus and community conduct vs. dangerous behaviors. Some actions may have unintended consequences and further agitate an individual of concern. For example, if the team recommends to administration to hastily remove someone from campus without hearing the individual’s version of events.

    There is no “one size fits all” when universities seek to resolve situations of concern. There will be Student of Concern reports submitted that may be concerning, but the student does not actually pose a danger (as determined by a careful risk assessment process). Individual situations often require tailored interventions specific to each situation and context. Some students may be very willing to accept professional care and continue with their academics, some may seek a leave of absence, and some may be removed from campus buildings or courses. Monitoring the changes in behavior from a Student of Concern report is one of the functions of the CARE Team. There is no “one size fits all” situations for CARE Teams.

    The legal rights of students are also considered as part of the CARE Team responses. Though campus safety is of paramount importance in risk scenarios, concerns must also be balanced with an understanding of the rights of students who may be perceived as possibly posing a risk. This could include (but is not limited to) privacy rights, protection from discrimination, and following due process as outlined in our Student Handbook. This can affect the level of information that can be conveyed to others about the details of the CARE Team’s assessment of the student, the care a student may already be receiving, or the specific results of the CARE Team’s recommendations.

  • Many scenarios assessed by the CARE Team can be resolved in a relatively short time period but there may be others that require more time as information unfolds or situations change. There are many instances with positive outcomes as we connect students to necessary support systems and resources that help resolve concerning behavior or situations. There are some situations in which the CARE Team assesses a student who does not actually pose a risk of harm (despite behaviors that may indicate otherwise). No risk or very low risk situations are often referred to other services and offices designed to support students as assessed by the CARE Team.