WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Some U.S. colleges are keeping tabs on potentially dangerous students through "threat assessment teams" amid debate over students' rights, officials say.
Around 80 percent of universities nationwide have started such programs since the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead, USA Today reported Friday.
A Behavior Assessment Committee at Pima Community College in Arizona had identified alleged gunman Jared Loughner as a student of concern and suspended him months before the shooting that killed six and injured 13 others.
In the wake of the shooting, some are asking whether the school should have done more to help Loughner or alert authorities outside the campus environment.
After Pima suspended Loughner it steered him toward mental health treatment.
"The school did what they were supposed to do, which is protect their school, require an evaluation," Brian Van Brunt, president of the American College Counseling Association, said.
However, some mental health officials argue that suspension is inappropriate.
"The fear is that rather than using (teams) as a vehicle to support students, they're using them as a vehicle to get rid of them," said Karen Bower, an attorney at Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, an advocate for mentally ill people.
An estimated 1,600 campuses have threat assessment teams today.
"We try to look at each case objectively, to see whether we're dealing with a goofy, immature kid, or someone who's truly a danger," said Patricia Lunt, head of Campus Assessment, Response and Evaluation Teams at Northern Virginia Community College. UPI
