Cause For Concern: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Campus Safety And Security Practices In United States-Mexico Border Institutions Of Higher Education

ABSTRACT Campus safety has been a source of concern since the 1990s. However, in 2007, the tragedy at the Virginia Polytechnic and State University sent a sense of alarm through many institutions of higher education. Immediately following this tragedy, institutions across the country began to evaluate and question their safety and security practices. While many recommendations and mandates have been created by public and private agencies to offer guidance to institutions of higher education, none of the recommendations or mandates offered has been specific to the United States-Mexico Border region. This mixed-methods study gathered perceptions of permanent threat assessment team members at border institutions of higher education to discover what safety and security practices exist, to discover what mainstream recommendations are followed, to understand what types of aggressors cause concern, and to determine whether students with mental disabilities contribute to safety and security concerns. Further, this study was an attempt to understand considerations that should be made specific to the United States-Mexico border institution community. Findings reported in this Dissertation identify specific needs of border institutions and offer safety and security practice recommendations, as well as recommendations for future research that could be implemented in border institutions and adapted for a larger audience