April 19, 2008—Nearly nine out of 10 respondents to a recent survey indicated that their college or university had conducted a comprehensive review of campus safety and security in the wake of the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in April of last year, and a similar proportion indicated that changes had been made to policies, procedures or security systems as a result of the tragedy, according to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC).
The nationwide survey of student life officers and campus safety directors provides a snapshot of how colleges and universities responded to the tragic events at Virginia Tech and the changes that have resulted from safety and security audits conducted both internally and externally at institutions across the country.
Preliminary results of a full report due to be released in mid-May show 87 percent of survey respondents indicating that their college or university had conducted a campus safety and security audit after the Virginia Tech tragedy. Of the institutions that conducted audits, 95 percent included a review of emergency notification and broadcast alert systems; 89 percent included a review of policies related to securing campus facilities in the event of an emergency; 88 percent included a general review of the campus police or other security department operations; and 71 percent included a review of policies related to student mental health.
Based on the survey, the biggest change under way on college campuses appears to be the expansion of emergency alert systems to include students’ cell phones and other mobile communications devices. Emergency notification was an area where officials at Virginia Tech were criticized for a perceived failure to warn members of the campus community in a timely manner about the murders in a residence hall that were followed by a mass shooting in a classroom building.
Survey respondents were widely distributed across the country with an equal proportion hailing from the Midwest and the South (32 percent), 23 percent from the Northeast and 13 percent from the West. Nearly 40 percent described the location of their institution as rural, a quarter said they were suburban, and a third indicated that they were in an urban setting. Nearly half the respondents were from schools enrolling less than 2,500 students, while 37 percent were from institutions of 2,500 to 10,000 students and 15 percent enrolled more than 10,000 students.
