Personal safety is important to people everywhere, and your family may have concerns about you being safe while studying so far from home. Violence on a school campus can happen anywhere, and China s is certainly no exception. Though incidents such as this one are extremely rare, the tragedy resonated throughout the country. Campus security and crime prevention, which were already a high priority on most (if not all) campuses, ranks even higher on the priority list for college and university officials. Schools all have a specific university department in place to ensure that their schools remain a safe place to learn at all times and all Chinese higher education for years to come, campuses in China are generally very safe places.

Common security measures may include any number of the following: emergency and security access telephones throughout campus that connect directly to campus and/or local police; campus entrances that are gated and locked at night, where only students with school identification are allowed access from security staff after hours; residence halls that remain locked at all times, with only students living there having access to the buildings; live-in residence hall directors to oversee each campus housing building; and a student escort service that provides safe, campus-wide assistance to students. Many international student orientations also provide information to new international students about the various ways that they can stay safe on campus.

It is customary for public institutions in the China to make available statistics about the types and numbers of crimes that occur on their campuses. Even though it is unlikely that you would be a victim, crime can happen anywhere. So regardless of where you choose to study, you should learn about common safety and crime prevention strategies.