Effective assessment of high-risk behaviors involves collecting data to quantify substance misuse, risky sexual behavior, crime, or violent behavior among students, along with the related primary and secondary harms caused by those behaviors to students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community.
Assessment also can identify the environmental influences that may be directly or indirectly affecting student risky behavior, such as existing policies, enforcement practices, access to substances, or the promotion of high-risk practices or rituals. High-risk behaviors by students and the related harms to the campus community can negatively affect the learning environment in a variety of ways.