Northern Kentucky University knows safety. Recognized by Academic Influence as the ninth safest college campus in the U.S., NKU says it works year-round to make sure students, faculty and staff can focus on college life without fear.

With the fall semester underway, university officials emphasize that safety isn’t just a ranking, it’s a daily commitment. NKU has built a network of protections designed to keep the community safe. As thousands of students settle into a new semester, the university’s message is clear: your safety is our priority.

With currently 17 police officers employed, the NKU police department’s goal is to make students feel safe, they plan to hire more officers to ensure that. NKU officers work in partnership with the Highland Heights Police Department.

According to campus reports, less than 1% of incidents involve assaults. Most calls are related to medical concerns, mental health or accidents.

“So, it’s pretty safe here,” NKU police officer Lt. Love said.

Love has been on the force since 2005 with a short break in 2013. He focuses on community and constitutional policing, centered on building trusting relationships with students and making them feel safe.

“My job is to make sure that the NKU Police Department engages with campus, especially with students, supporting students, building relationships with students and letting them know that we’re here to support them,” Love said.

One way the department supports students is through Destination Safe which is a free 24/7 escort program that takes students to anywhere on campus.

“They call us, no questions asked. We’ll pick them up and take them across campus,” Love said.

Beyond services like this, Love said accountability is also a factor when it comes to safety.

“If there’s any investigation that needs to be done, policies, procedures, hiring police, just ensure that we’re doing the right thing and we’re selecting the right officers,” he said.

One of the main ways the university keeps the community informed is through NORSE ALERT, the campus emergency notification system that sends out updates in real-time about emergencies and weather alerts. Everyone with an NKU email address is automatically signed up for NORSE ALERT. Depending on the situation, messages might go out through email, text, phone calls, or a combination of all three.

Audra Points, NKU’s director of safety and emergency management, oversees the university’s behind-the-scenes safety efforts and communications systems. She said NORSE ALERT is designed to keep the campus informed in urgent situations. Norse Alerts pair with a system called Rave, which helps send these alerts out digitally. There is also a mass communication alert system in place that sends out an alarm siren. This way, if your phone is off, NKU has a backup plan to ensure everyone can be informed in the case of an active emergency.

“If a system were to fail, we have a backup,” Points said.

NKU is home to more than 60 emergency call boxes around campus. Easily recognized by their glowing blue light, the call boxes provide a direct line to NKU Police with the push of a button.

“If it’s an emergency, it should take about a minute or two, or less, to get from one side of the campus to the other,” Love said.

Points said safety communication tools aren’t limited to the call boxes. She explained how to access emergency services through the NKU portal app, where you can navigate to the contact campus police button and communicate with a police officer directly via text or call.

Recent shootings in Northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati area have raised alerts about community safety. On Aug. 28, two deputies were shot while serving a felony warrant at an apartment complex in Walton, about 20 miles south of Cincinnati. Days later, on Aug. 31, two people were injured in a multi-victim shooting at a mobile home park in West Chester Township. All victims survived and remain in stable condition, according to local authorities.

With recent shootings being relatively close, Lt. Love wants students and parents to know that safety on campus is a top priority. 

“You know, I’m a father of a 13, 17 and 32-year-old myself, and I understand letting my child go somewhere where, you know, I’m not there as far as an emergency, and hoping someone else is there,” Love said. 

The university works to prevent threats through safety protocols, training and rapid response measures designed to reassure students that their campus remains secure.

Points said NKU also works closely with police and first responders through drills and training.

“We run tabletop exercises with our leadership and first responders, including training with the fire department, so [they] are familiar with our buildings,” she said.“We work with police to do drills and active threat preparedness.”

For many students, such efforts are felt daily. Brooke Ross, an NKU doctoral student in occupational therapy, said she feels safe on campus, especially during the day, and has never experienced any unsafe incidents.

“I went to UC for my undergraduate, but I did not feel safe there. I am rarely on NKU’s campus at night but when I am there’s good lighting and I just felt generally safe. And there’s a campus police presence, so I feel good about being here,” Ross said. 

Azu Anderson, an NKU public relations student, said she feels safe in general but the campus’s openness still makes her a little uneasy. 

“NKU is a public place, so anyone can walk on campus, so it makes me feel nervous, like anything could happen,” Anderson said. 

Despite her worries, she said NKU’s safety measures put her mind at ease.

Looking ahead, Points said, NKU continues to invest in safety improvements.

“Some of our continuous improvements and our future goals are, one that we’re upgrading the fire alarm system for the entire campus,” Points said. “We’re doing some electrical and IT infrastructure resilience projects, as well as IT backup for redundant systems.” 

NKU police and safety officials agree that protecting students is about more than responding to emergencies; it’s about building trust, communication and preparation.

“We support the students by any means, providing resources and making sure when they step foot on here on their first day, they achieve that goal in four years and hopefully [we can] be a part of that, helping them grow with support,” Love said.

Points emphasized that preparation is just as vital as response. Systems like NORSE ALERT, blue call boxes and the NKU app ensure students always have a way to connect with help. She added that students themselves are an important part of NKU’s safety culture, urging them to pay attention to alerts, know who to call for help and to take advantage of the resources available. 

As one of the safest universities in Kentucky, NKU continues to invest in new technology, training and partnerships to protect its community. 

“Report any of the unsafe things that you see,” Points encourages students, “See something, say something.”