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Description

Crisis communication plays a crucial role in shaping student perceptions of safety. Universities across the nation have leveraged new digital communications to alert students in times of emergency, but there are persistent concerns about the timeliness and clarity of these messages, and discrepancies in crime reports. Previous research suggests that delayed and cryptic messages stimulate anxiety, while clear and timely communications foster trust. Building on previous research, we propose a study that inspects the influence of campus safety communication, especially the frequency, channel, and clarity of messages, on students’ perception of safety on North Carolina A&T’s campus. By using archival data, we will examine the number of emergency alerts sent each month and the reported crimes on campus to study how closely they align. Next, we will conduct a survey among A&T students to gauge their engagement with campus safety communication, whether digital or in-person, their perceptions of safety on campus, and their levels of trust in the university. Through this approach, we hope to discover whether more frequent messages through various channels correlates with heightened levels of trust and perceived levels of safety. Our findings from this research will offer new insights for the best practices for emergency and crisis communications and increasing student trust in our university’s safety measures. Our results will provide practical guidance for designing strategies for improving safety communication to cultivate an informed and secure student body.

Publication Date

4-1-2025

Keywords

crisis communication, campus safety, student perceptions, emergency alerts, digital communication, message clarity, communication channels, trust in institutions, crime reporting, student engagement, archival data analysis, survey research, North Carolina A&T, university safety measures, emergency messaging, higher education, communication strategy, public safety, student trust

Crisis Communication Role in Influencing Student Perceptions of Safety on Campus

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