FAIRFAX, Va., August 1, 2015 – Colleges and universities across the country continue to expand how they protect the 20 million students that will be arriving on campuses this fall. This year they will have a brand new resource to help them called the 32 National Campus Safety Initiative (32 NCSI), a series of free, confidential, online self-assessment tools offered by the VTV Family Outreach Foundation (VTV).
VTV, a national non-profit established by the victims and survivors of the 2007 shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech, worked closely with a multidisciplinary panel of expert practitioners to develop instruments covering a wide range of issues. A number of schools have already completed a pilot version of 32 NCSI. Colleges and universities will be able to better assess themselves in nine important areas: Alcohol and Other Drugs, Campus Public Safety, Emergency Management, Hazing, Mental Health, Missing Students, Physical Security, Sexual Violence, and Threat Assessment.
“Taking the 32 NCSI assessment should be seen as a vital first step for universities and colleges to review and address safety issues on their campuses so that no other parent, spouse or child should ever have to suffer our loss,” said Joe Samaha, President of the VTV Family Outreach Foundation. “By offering this free confidential tool to campuses, we aim to spare others through education and public awareness.”
32 NCSI is a landmark program that will empower students and their families, and collegiate faculty and administrators to make informed decisions about campus safety.
VTV launches their free self-assessment instruments in a ceremony on August 13 at 11:00 a.m. on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Institutions signing up for this program at www.32ncsi.org will have free and confidential access to these tools and can become part of a new community of campuses committed to safety.
About VTV
The VTV Family Outreach Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established by the families and survivors directly impacted by the April 16, 2007 tragedy at Virginia Tech where 32 lives were lost. Determined to prevent a similar tragedy, the Foundation advocates for K-12 and higher education campus safety and security. Learn more at www.vtvfamilyfoundation.org and www.32ncsi.org.