Perspectives of Campus Safety: Viewpoints of Community College Faculty and Staff Members

There is research available on campus safety perspectives and issues, but these studies are primarily from the student perspective. Of the few studies that show campus safety perspectives from the faculty and staff viewpoint, fewer of these studies reflect these perspectives as they occur on community college campuses. The purpose of the study was to examine the perspectives of faculty and staff members on campus safety. For the study, twenty faculty and staff members were interviewed about their perceptions of campus safety. The results of the study were that although the participants generally felt safe on their campuses, they were still able to discuss certain issues, scenarios or areas where they could feel unsafe (or could understand how someone else could feel unsafe). The participants also were able to discuss the trainings they received related to campus safety issues on their campuses, especially training on how to respond to an active shooter. Six themes emerged from the study: safety, violence, training, reporting, campus police, and concealed carry. Recommendations included ensuring that faculty and staff members receive training to help alleviate safety concerns they have as well as having a campus police department that practices community policing concepts. Advisor: Dr. Marilyn Grad