Pittsburg State invests in new behavior reporting system

  Friday, January 22, 2016 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Jason Kegler sweats the small stuff.

As Pittsburg State’s director of student rights and responsibilities, Kegler reviews and helps investigate cases involving student conduct.

“When you’re dealing with these types of issues, no detail is too small, especially when it comes to student behavior,” Kegler said. “Unfortunately, people don’t always feel comfortable reporting concerns about behavior. They either feel like they’re intruding or think they’re going to get someone in trouble. In actuality, it’s these reports that allow us to intervene quickly and help those who need it most.”

With these concerns in mind, Pittsburg State has launched a new online reporting service. Known as Maxient, the software allows anyone to anonymously report concerns about student, faculty or staff behavior through a secure, web-based form. This information is centrally stored and then reviewed by officials at PSU.

“A lot of times when someone becomes seriously violent there were signs that were missed, or worse, dismissed,” Kegler said. “Having an electronic record of every report will allow us to see trends and have a more thorough understanding of a student’s behavior. This helps us have a safer campus.”

The new reporting form is open to anyone who might have concerns about unusual or erratic behavior by students, faculty or staff.

Kegler said information reported is carefully checked to eliminate the possibility of abuse because of the anonymous nature of the reporting system.

“Our Behavioral and Intervention Team members check the validity of each report,” Kegler said. “It’s much better to find out a report is nothing than to discover something could have been done if only someone had reported their concerns.”

The Maxient reporting form is available on the student’s rights and responsibilities webpage or by simply searching “threat assessment” on the Pittsburg State website.