Comprehensive Standards: Resources 3.11.2 (securing a healthy and safe environment)
The institution takes reasonable steps to provide a healthy, safe, and secure environment for all members of the campus community.

Compliance
North Carolina State University is in compliance with this standard.

Explanation
NC State University is committed to maintaining a healthy, safe, and secure environment.  The branch of the university charged with fulfilling this commitment is the Environmental Health and Public Safety Division.  Environmental health professionals and police officers staff the division. 

To keep the campus community informed, environmental health and public safety maintains a comprehensive website with information on environmental affairs; emergency planning; insurance and risk management; campus policing; fire safety; chemical, radiation, and biosafety.  The website also includes information on safety plans, hazardous waste, accident reporting and prevention, supervisor safety responsibilities, and links to other safety related information.

The website also includes a health and safety manual, which addresses a broad variety of campus health and safety topics.

Campus Police
The jurisdiction of the NC State University police department includes all property owned or leased by the university and portions of any public road passing through the campus and immediately adjoining the campus.

The department has mutual aid agreements with the City of Raleigh and the Wake County Sheriff's Department.  NC State University Police Department jurisdiction can be extended into those areas when the department receives a request for assistance.  In addition, NC State University police officers have mutual aid agreements with other universities throughout the sixteen University of North Carolina campuses to provide assistance during special events or emergencies. 

The university’s campus police have implemented multiple programs to ensure the safety of members of the campus community.  Some of these include:

• The blue light program places emergency telephones throughout campus.  Using the emergency blue light telephone only requires picking up the receiver and talking to a campus police officer

• Classes and seminars in self-defense and crime prevention, as well as counseling and support programs for the victims of crimes

• An up-to-date crime alerts page

• Emergency procedures guide for reporting bomb threats, chemical spills, crimes in progress, fires, mail bombs, utility failures, medical emergencies, or persons with disabilities who need help

• An on-campus safety escort service for students, faculty and staff during evening and nighttime

Other campus police programs ensure the security of property on campus:

• The wolfguard ID program makes valuables less susceptible to crime by engraving the owner’s driver’s license number on them; serial numbers and model numbers are then stored at the campus police department

• A bike registration program provides deterrence to theft and aids in identifying stolen bicycles

Women’s Safety
The Women’s Center also sponsors events to promote campus safety. These include:

• Night Walk: part of the Take Back the Night program, this is an annual event where students, staff, and faculty walk the entire campus to make note of any safety concerns, such as poor lighting, shrubbery and tree overgrowth, as well as areas that are in need of additional emergency blue-light telephones.  After this event, safety issues are discussed, a report is generated and appropriate measures are taken to make the necessary corrections. 

• Safe Skills Workshop: for women only, this workshop teaches students, faculty, and staff verbal and physical self-defense skills in a safe and supportive environment.

Fire Protection
The environmental health and public safety division also provides fire protection, employing personnel who are trained as firefighters and emergency medical technicians.  Inspectors are able to administer medical aid until advanced life support arrives, contain and extinguish small fires, and coordinate efforts with other agencies. 

Fire protection personnel also conduct building fire and safety inspections on campus to insure compliance with university, state, and federal codes.  During these inspections, safe work and storage practices, fire extinguishers, emergency safety equipment, emergency exits, and similar areas are examined for compliance.

Laboratory Safety
Just as it tries to provide top-notch academic programs and learning resources, the university is also dedicated to making its laboratories safe for students, faculty and staff.

The university posts a comprehensive lab safety program on the Web.  The information provided includes a safety manual, detailed safety plans, general and specific lab safety requirements, and information on lab safety resources.  Also included on the website are links to the laboratory safety training programs required by the university of all new employees. 

Radiation Safety
The Radiation Safety Committee (RSC) ensures that radioactive materials and/or radiation producing devices—including the PULSTAR Nuclear Reactor—are safe and have minimal effect on the university community and the public.  The RSC is mandated as a condition of federal and state licenses for the use of radioactive materials and radiation-producing devices at the university and its extension sites.       

The RSC oversees the policies, procedures and responsibilities of the university’s radiation safety program.  Specifically, the Radiation Safety branch of environmental health and public safety is responsible for approval of all uses of radioactive materials/devices, for oversight of user conduct, for reviewing amendments to NC State University’s Radiation Licenses and registrations, for final review of the actions of the Reactor Safety and Audit Committee (RSAC).

In addition, RSC advises the director of environmental health and public safety on all matters relating to radiation.  Information regarding the university’s radiation safety procedures including training, safety manual, and other safety information is posted on the Web.  The university requires radiation safety training for all new employees.  

Environmental Safety
The university has an environmental management plan, which provides specific procedures and guidance for preparing NC State Environmental Assessments, as well as information on the following issues:

• Cultural and historical resources

• Environmental management: emergency planning and community right-to-know, environmental policy act, environmental monitoring and surveillance, and environmental noise

• Hazardous material management: PCB management, pesticides management

• Water management: wastewater discharges, storm water management and guidelines, drinking water, natural resources 

• Storage and disposal issues: air emission sources, petroleum, oils, and lubricants, releases of oil and hazardous substances, waste management

In addition to providing oversight on these safety issues, environmental health and public safety also provides information about office safety and a biological safety manual, which is posted on the radiation safety web page.  Further, because all laboratory areas using or storing hazardous chemicals must develop safety plans, environmental health and public safety provides guidelines for such plans. 

Finally, the Student Health Service also helps ensure a healthy, safe and secure campus.  It does this by providing affordable, accessible and high quality primary health care, and by providing a comprehensive disease-prevention and health promotion program to the NC State University community.  The student health service also includes a counseling center, health promotion, affordable student medical insurance, and physical therapy services.

The university has evidence that these programs, services, and guidelines are increasing the safety, security and healthiness of the campus.  Campus wide sophomore surveys conducted in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002 demonstrate that our students feel secure and safe while at the university.

References

• Affordable student medical insurance (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/health/studmed.html)

• The bike registration program (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html)  

• The blue light program (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html)

• Campus safety events sponsored by the Women’s Center (http://www.ncsu.edu/provost/governance/other_committees/Council_Status_Women/reports/1999-2000/safety.html)

• Counseling and support programs for crime victims (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html)

• The Counseling Center (http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_affairs/counseling_center/)

• The crime alerts page (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html)

• The emergency procedures guide (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html) 

• Environmental Health and Public Safety Division (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/index.html)

• The environmental management plan (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/environ.htm)

• Fire protection (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/fire/mainframe.htm)

• Guidelines for preparing safety plans (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/www99/right/handsMan/lab/labsafe.html)

• The health and safety manual (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/healthsafety_man.htm)

• Health promotions (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/health/hpromo/index.html)

• The Laboratory safety website (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/lab.htm) includes a safety manual (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/www99/right/handsMan/lab/labsafe.html), information on safety plans (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/safetyplan/index.html), general and specific lab safety requirements (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/lab.htm), and information regarding lab safety resources (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/lab.htm)

• Office safety information (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/officesafety.htm)  

• Physical therapy services (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/health/pt.html)

• The radiation safety program, radiation safety procedures, and the biological safety manual (all available via http://www2.ncsu.edu/ehs/radsafety.htm)

• Safety escort service (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html)

• Self-defense and crime prevention classes and seminars (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html)  

• Sophomore surveys from 1998, 1999, 2000 demonstrate positive feelings about campus safety (http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/reports/sophtrend/sophtrend_report.htm#safety); the 2002 Sophomore Survey shows similar results (http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/survey/reports/soph02/soph02over.htm#safety) 

• Student Health Service (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/health/)

• Wolfguard ID program (http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/public_safety/psdhome.html) 

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