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The University of St. Francis has key offices that can support you through difficult situations you might experience when in college. We care deeply about your success, which is about more than just your academic progress—it’s also about your overall well-being. Whether it’s a life event that impacts you or your family, financial stress, health needs, and more, USF can support you.
USF has established the USF Student Care Team to ensure that students can access resources supporting a wide variety of challenges. The Student Care Team partners with colleagues across campus to coordinate the best support for you no matter your needs.
When you fill out the CARE form, a Student Care Team member will reach out to you to learn more about your needs and guide you through resources that can help— directly connecting you with other professionals who are trained to provide the specific support you need. Additionally, our team can coordinate with your faculty advisor and professors when needed to ensure a coordinated support plan.
USF’s Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) team meets weekly to promote student success and campus safety by facilitating the identification and support of individuals who demonstrate behaviors that may be early warning signs of possible troubled, disruptive or violent behavior. The team collaborates, collects information, identifies risks and intervenes when appropriate to protect students from harming themselves or others. The Behavioral Intervention Team uses a proactive approach that balances the needs of the student who may be in crisis and the overall safety of the campus community. The BIT team is also trained and serves as the threat assessment team on campus when the need arises.
Behavioral Intervention Team Members
Behavioral Intervention Team Goals
Behavioral Signs of Concern
When to Report
If a concern involves an immediate safety risk to self or others, please call 911 or the Safety & Security team at 815-740-3200. It is the responsibility of faculty, staff, and students to report any situation that could possibly result in harm to anyone at the university. Any member of the campus community may become aware of a troubling person or situation that is causing serious anxiety, stress, or fear and, if so, this information should be provided to the BIT Team.
The Unusual Incident Report is an easy-to-use tool to share nonemergency-related concerns about student behaviors and potential barriers to success. Staff from the Dean of Student Life’s office lead the coordination of these reports and are trained to assist. Any individual connected with the USF community is welcome to submit a Unusual Incident Report. Upon submission, the referrer will receive a receipt confirming the referral, which indicates staff will activate a coordinated response to support the student or students involved.
Threat Assessment Team Response
As appropriate to the circumstances of a particular situation, the Behavioral Intervention Team may engage in activities that may include, but are not limited to, the following:
The university has specific policies that are important for each student to be aware of. Click here to visit the MyUSF Portal and review links to various policy documents in the Student Handbook.
The University of St. Francis is dedicated to maintaining a safe and secure learning, teaching and working environment. For more information on our safety protocols, visit the Safety & Security page.
A complaint expresses serious dissatisfaction concerning a University of St. Francis employee, department, service, process or an administrative action by the university that requires clarification, investigation and/or resolution because the student believes the result to be unfair or inconsistent with USF policy or usual practices. Click here to review or submit the USF Complaint Form.
Joliet has many medical facilities to turn to in an emergency. Specific policies regarding returning to campus following a hospitalization can be reviewed here, under “Emergency & Hospital Policies.”
Every member of the University of St. Francis community should be aware that St. Francis is strongly opposed to discrimination, including sexual harassment, and that such behavior is prohibited by university policy. It is the intention of the university to take whatever action may be necessary to prevent, correct, and, if necessary, discipline for behavior which violates this policy. Click here to read more about USF Title IX policies and information.