SAFETY FIRST

WCU named among safest U.S. colleges

WEST CHESTER » West Chester University (WCU) has been named one of the Safest Colleges in America for 2017 by The National Council for Home Safety and Security, a trade association comprised of home security professionals from across the United States with headquarters in Washington, DC.

Using the most recent data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting and the National Center for Education Statistics, the Council assessed 2,167 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. with a student population of 15,000 and above. For 2017, West Chester University ranked 28 on the Council’s list of the Top 100 Safest Colleges in America. WCU was one of only two universities in Pennsylvania named to the list and received the highest ranking of the two schools cited.

The website for the National Council for Home Safety and Security states, “When choosing a college, key factors across the board (for both students and parents) tend to include cost, financial aid candidacy, reputation, location, and campus life…. Another factor popped back into people’s minds this year – campus safety…. We’ve compiled a list of what we believe are 2017’s safest…. Topranked colleges boast low overall crime rates (off campus) and maintain safe campuses with little or no crime.” Read about the full methodology used by The National Council for Home Safety and Security: https://www.alarms.org/safest-colleges-2017/

“West Chester University’s Department of Public Safety sees itself as a partner with students, faculty, staff, and members of the community who live in the Borough of West Chester,” says WCU Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety Mike Bicking. “WCU is a safe campus, because we all work together to make it that way. When visitors come to campus, it is very clear that crime will not be tolerated; we take it personally. Everyone does their part.”

WCU’s Department of Public Safety also collaborates often

with the West Chester Police Department on initiatives designed to curtail crime. The University’s Department of Public Safety employs 25 full-time commissioned police officers who have received their primary training under the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Act (PA Act 120). This is the same required training that all municipal police officers throughout Pennsylvania receive. Police officers on campus participate in annual in-service update police training according to PA Act 180.

Enrolling over 17,000 students, West Chester University is the largest member of the 14-institution Pennsylvania State System of

Higher Education. Founded in 1871, the University is a comprehensive public institution, offering 118 undergraduate programs, 103 master’s degree and 4 doctoral programs in more than 50 fields of study. In addition to the main campus in West Chester, the University offers programs through its graduate center, the Philadelphia campus and online. Five colleges and one school comprise the University: Colleges of Arts and Humanities, Business and Public Management, Education and Social Work, Health Sciences, and the Sciences and Mathematics, and School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies. The University has consistently been rated a Kiplinger “best buy” in public higher education based on its outstanding education and economic value.

PETE BANNAN — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA A student makes her way through the Philips Memorial building gateway into the Quad at West Chester University. The statue in the Quad is that of Frederick Douglass.