Frequently Asked Questions

BCAL (Behavior Concerns Advice Line) is a service that provides anyone the opportunity to discuss their concerns about a UT faculty, staff, student, visitor, or contractor's behavior. This service is a partnership among the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), Heatlhpoint and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or share your concerns online.
Trained staff help callers explore available options and strategies for situations or concerns. Staff also offer guidance and resource referrals to address each situation. Depending on the circumstances, callers may be referred to resources including but not limited to Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center, and/or Healthpoint.

Examples of situations in which faculty, students or staff may need advice include, but are not limited to:

• A faculty member may receive an essay containing comments that suggest a student is experiencing serious emotional issues.
• A student may be concerned that they haven't seen or heard from their roommate in over a week during a busy time in the semester.
• A friend may be worried after hearing rumors about volatile comments made by a staff member.
• Students may notice that their teaching assistant's behavior is unpredictable - sometimes the TA does not show up for class, is perhaps not making much sense during lectures, or the TA seems to have stopped caring about their appearance. Students in the class are concerned about the TA and they don't want them to lose their position.
• A family member may notice their student seems distressed and that their behavior is somewhat out of the ordinary.
• A student in a study group may not be acting like themself.
• A staff member notices that a co-worker has been yelling at people and seems angry all the time.

An important way for our community to feel connected is to create opportunities for caring and concern. BCAL is a central resource for anyone concerned about someone affiliated to UT but may not be sure how to help them. By calling the advice line, or submitting information online, campus and community services can be activated; optimizing the chance that people will get needed support. Contact BCAL if you're concerned about someone and want to help.

You can call BCAL at 512-232-5050. You'll be connected to trained staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. During high traffic times or after business hours, you'll be connected with a third-party service to address immediate concerns. University staff will follow up as soon as possible or next business day depending on the level of concern.
You can also share your concern online. Forms are processed during normal business hours, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If the form is submitted after hours, it will not be addressed until the following business day.

You can choose to be anonymous when calling or submitting an online form. We will, to the extent possible, respect the wishes of callers concerning their anonymity, but there may be situations where the identity of a caller will need to be disclosed or will become apparent because of the actions taken to address the situation.

We will, to the extent permitted by law, maintain the confidentiality of the conversation except as needed to make referrals or follow up on the subject discussed. In some instances, we may be required to release information in response to a court order, subpoena, or open records request.