Student perceptions of campus safety: testing the vulnerability and disorder models

This article examines perceptions of campus safety among a sample of 697 college students in two universities in the southern and northeastern regions of the United States. A survey instrument was sent through email to all registered and enrolled students taking at least 12 credits and attending at least one on-campus class during the Fall 2013 semester in an urban southern university and a rural northeastern university in the United States. Results indicate statistically significant effects of gender, fear of crime, and satisfaction with campus security measures on student perceptions of campus safety. Females are less likely to perceive that their campus is safe. Students who were less fearful of crime and were more satisfied with campus security measures had higher perceptions of campus safety.