NEW ORLEANS – A website recently ranked 20 universities in Louisiana by how safe they are. The University of Holy Cross topped the list coming in at #1 with a campus crime rate of zero.
The 20 schools on BackgroundChecks.org's list span the state of Louisiana. Five are in New Orleans alone, including UHC whose campus was ranked "safest."
"The safety and security of all members of the campus community are of primary concern at the University of Holy Cross,” said Dr. David “Buck” Landry, President of the University of Holy Cross. “Our entire campus works hard to provide a safe and healthy environment that enhances the campus learning experience and compliments the university’s educational mission."
For the list, BackgroundChecks.org considered any accredited public or private not-for-profit institution that offers four-year degree programs in Louisiana and used campus crime rates based on the number of crimes per 1,000 residents along with graduation rates and student retention rates from U.S. Department of Education annual reports.
It also used data from recent FBI Crime Reports, student surveys natural language analysis, social media sentiment analysis and its own research to create the ranking, according to a release. The report was formally released Sept. 26.
UHC also most recently announced its enrollment numbers for Fall 2016, which showed overall enrollment at the university has increased slightly in light of the trend nationwide of decreasing enrollments.
A fully accredited Catholic university on the West Bank of New Orleans, the University of Holy Cross offers more than 50 undergraduate and graduate programs to some 1,200 students. With 154 faculty members and a student-faculty ratio of 13:1, students enjoy a personalized academic experience on an active campus where they are encouraged to explore spiritual values and pursue service opportunities, school reps said. Some of the university’s most distinctive programs are in Nursing, Biology, Counseling, Education and Theology.
The university was founded in 1916 as a mission of the Marianites of Holy Cross, whose distinguished history of educating minds and hearts dates to 1848, school reps said.
