On-campus living, campus safety earn Kansas State University national recognition
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016
MANHATTAN — Kansas State University is a safe place to be and a great place to live, according to two recent national rankings.
College Choice includes the university among its 50 safest large universities and colleges in America, while the Princeton Review ranks K-State in its top 20 for best college residence halls in the nation.
When it comes to campus safety, Kansas State University and Wichita State University are the only schools in Kansas to make the College Choice list. K-State is the second-highest rated school from the Big 12 Conference for safety on the list. Other conference schools include Baylor, Texas Tech and Iowa State.
For its rankings, College Choice looked at reported crime activities from each school for the past three years, including the number of documented hate crimes, violence against women, arrests made, fire incidences and discipline enforced activities. Grades were given for overall safety, anti-discrimination, women's safety, party scene and fire safety. Data used for the report comes from the U.S. Department of Education, the schools' websites, U.S. News & World Report, and the National Center for Education Statistics.
"K-State prides itself on its family-like atmosphere, so that means campus safety is always a priority," said Pat Bosco, vice president for student life and dean of students. "Along with our excellent campus police department, we offer students, faculty and staff services that show our commitment to their safety."
These services include blue emergency phone boxes located throughout campus that offer a direct connection to the K-State Police Department; K-State Alerts, which sends texts, emails and voice messages if there is an emergency on campus; the LiveSafe app, which allows users to connect with campus safety resources, access safety maps and emergency information, and use peer-to-peer location tracking with group chat so friends can monitor and talk to each other as they travel the campus; SafeRide, which provides a safe ride home for K-State students and guests who live within the designated city limits of Manhattan; and much more. For a complete look at the university's safety services, go to k-state.edu/studentlife/campussafety/.
When it comes to on-campus living, K-State is among only a handful of public universities to make Princeton Review's list of best residence halls, which is dominated by such private schools as Bennington, Bryn Mawr, Elon, Smith and others. K-State is the only school from Kansas and the only Big 12 Conference school to be ranked.
"Campus living has never been better at K-State with so many new, safe and affordable options," Bosco said. "This fall, we just opened our newest residence hall, Wefald Hall, and the newly expanded and renovated Kramer Dining Center, which offer some of the finest campus housing and dining experiences in the nation. Over the past few years, the Jardine Apartment Complex has been transformed, offering students apartment living on campus with all the amenities, including a restaurant and convenience store. And we continually upgrade our other residence halls, Honors House and Smurthwaite Leadership/Scholarship House so that our students always feel comfortable in their homes away from home."
More information on the many housing options at K-State is available at housing.k-state.edu/living-options/.
