This document summarizes a report on student vandalism at Ferrum College. Surveys of students and staff found that while staff encounter vandalism more often, both groups feel the college has not done enough to prevent it. Interviews revealed that vandalism costs maintenance hundreds of dollars weekly and impacts their budget. To reduce vandalism, the report recommends installing more security cameras, increasing student accountability, and raising awareness of surveillance measures.

1. Ferrum College
Impact of Student
Vandalism on Ferrum
College Campus
Karl Fink
11-20-2015

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IMPACT OF STUDENT VANDALISM ON FERRUM COLLEGE CAMPUS
Prepared for
Dr. Rathin N Basu
BUS-308-01 Business Communications
Prepared by
Karl Wolfgang Fink
Junior at Ferrum College
November 20, 2015

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Ferrum College BusinessCommunications
PO Box 1000 www.ferrum.edu
Ferrum, Virginia 24088 (540) 365-4493
November 20, 2015
BUS-308-01 Business Communications
Dear Ferrum College Students and Staff:
The attached report, requested by Dr. Rathin N. Basu during his Business Communications class
in the fall semester of 2015, discusses the overall views of students, faculty and staff, on the
issue of student vandalism.
This study was conducted to include:
 The attitudes of the Ferrum College student body and faculty towards the impact of
student vandalism on campus.
 Their views on the actions of Ferrum College to prevent student vandalism.
 To determine what actions could be taken to reduce the impact and/or frequency of
student vandalism.
This report consists primarily of primary sources via surveys of randomly selected students
across campus and staff and the Physical Plant. The results, as will be discussed more thoroughly
throughout the report, shows that there is a great deal more that the college could be doing to
reduce student vandalism thus reducing the impact on the budget of the Ferrum College
Maintenance budget.
I would be more than willing to discuss the results of the report and my ongoing involvement in
the Ferrum College Maintenance Department.
Sincerely,
Karl Wolfgang Fink
Junior at Ferrum College

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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................5
INTRODUCTION: VANDALISM AT FERRUM COLLEGE..............................6
BACKGROUND: THE CALL TO ACTION.......................................................6
DISCUSSION: SURVEY, INTERVIEWS, AND STATISICS .............................6
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................9
List of Figures
FIGURE 1, Frequency of Encountering Student Vandalism by Position………….7
FIGURE 2, Effectiveness of Vandalism Prevention……………………………….8

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Ferrum College is currently in need in a kickstart in its efforts to reduce the number of cases of
student vandalism on campus. This report was assigned by Dr. Rathin N. Basu as a project for
each student to find one pressing issue on campus that could be researched and, possibly,
remedied. This report’s topic addresses that of student vandalism.
The conclusion of this report is that more action needs to be taken by Ferrum College to prevent
student vandalism. This conclusion was reached by analyzing the results of under 20 survey
responses and interviews with several notable Ferrum College employees.
Careful examination of the data shows that:
 Staff and students alike agree that Ferrum College has not done enough to prevent student
vandalism.
 More should be done to prevent student vandalism.
 Vandalism hurts the overall image of the school.
 Vandalism is a consistent and frequent problem.
 Students should be held more accountable for damage they cause to college property.
Based on the findings of the report, recommendations for addressing student vandalism are as
follows:
 More security cameras.
 Warning signs a student surveillance.
 Determining trends in the frequency of student vandalism.
 Greater student accountability.
 Greater awareness to the importance of maintaining the Ferrum College Campus.

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INTRODUCTION: VANDALISM AT FERRUM COLLEGE
The purpose of this study was to analyze the image of Ferrum College in the minds of those who
are currently enrolled in the College, and of those who are employed by the college, in regards to
their current, and possible future, policy on student vandalism. This study answers the following
questions:
 How effective has Ferrum College been in addressing the issue of student vandalism?
 How much of an effect has student vandalism had on operations and budgetary
constraints of the Ferrum College Maintenance Department?
 What more could Ferrum College be doing to prevent student vandalism?
BACKGROUND: THE CALL TO ACTION
The origins of this study began as a project in the fall semester of 2015 in Dr. Rathin N. Basu’s
Business Communications class. The goal of the project was to find one pressing issue on
campus that each student felt needed to be resolved. Being a work-study at the Physical Plant on
campus, it was prudent of me to incorporate issues that were pressing to the maintenance crew
and managers at the Physical Plant.
The managers and maintenance crew at the Ferrum College Physical are by far among the
leading authorities in understanding how immense a problem student vandalism poses for the
school. Not only are they responsible for issuing the work orders needed to address vandalism,
but, they are also responsible for the purchasing of materials for the work orders and ultimate
completion of the work orders.
DISCUSSION: SURVEY, INTERVIEWS, AND STATISICS
Survey
The sample size for the survey was fairly small, but random. In total, 13 responses to the survey
were recorded. Of those responses, 8 represented the inputs of students. The remaining responses
included randomly selected staff members at the Ferrum College Physical Plant. The original
intention was to combine the results of students and staff to find a general consensus of the
campus as a whole. However two factors contributed in the decision to few the two groups as
independent of each other:
1. Interviews with Energy Manager, Jon Scott, suggested that students would have an
inherently different view as to the frequency and severity of vandalism.
2. Upon initial review of the data, it became clear that, in many instances, that is the case.

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As predicted by Jon Scott, there was a clear difference in the frequency in which the two groups
actually witnessed the effects of student vandalism. This information, on the surface, seems
obvious as employees at the Physical Plant are trained to quickly recognize and respond to
maintenance issues and students are not. However, the low frequency by students in recognizing
student vandalism can also be explained by the quick response time of the Physical Plant.
The majority of student responses to the question “Do you feel Ferrum Maintenance is effective
at responding to student vandalism” varied between “Somewhat effective” and “Ineffective; 5
out of 8 students. The staff at the physical plant not only recognize student vandalism more
often, but are more confident in their effectiveness in responding to student vandalism. Five out
of five staff members surveyed believed that Ferrum Maintenance was very effective at
responding to vandalism.
Students and staff are also at a disagreement as to the response of the school to student
vandalism. Six out of eight students believe that, once students are caught, they are prosecuted
are at least receive some form of punishment. All of the Physical Plant staff surveyed believe
that students are not prosecuted but may receive some slight form of punishment through the
school.
Figure 1
FREQUENCY OF ENCOUNTERING STUDENT VANDALISM BY POSITION
Although staff and students tend to typically differ on their views of student vandalism, they do
share two views. Both groups almost universally believe that the college has not done enough to
prevent student vandalism and that they should be doing more. Most of the responses from both
groups as to what exactly could be done to prevent vandalism include: Security cameras,
warning signs, better awareness, and more student accountability
Students Staff
Not Often
Somewhat Often
Often
Very Often

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Figure 2
EFFECTIVENESS OF VANDALISM PREVENTION
Interviews
Interviews were conducted with three managers at the Ferrum College Physical Plant. Allen
Alderman, Purchasing Manager, was the most extensively interviewed followed by Beth Justice,
Office Manager, and Jon Scott, Energy manager.
Allen Alderman (Purchasing Manager) key points:
1. Work orders are generated weekly for student vandalism.
2. Student vandalism accounts for a “decent” amount of the workload for Ferrum
Maintenance and is considered “unnecessary work”.
3. Single instances of student vandalism can cause hundreds of dollars of damage alone;
citing an LED project at Chapman.
4. More can be easily done to address student vandalism; cameras could be installed
Beth Justice (Office Manager) key points:
1. There are trends to when student vandalism happens. More often on weekends and
Thursdays towards the end of the semester.
2. Student vandalism is a nuisance in that it forces Maintenance to constantly be reworking
the budget.
3. Catching students more often them and prosecuting them for damages could help relieve
stress from the Maintenance budget and free up the budget to install more cameras.
Jon Scott (Energy Manager)
1. Response to student vandalism isn’t the issue, it is the prevention of student vandalism.
2. Many people don’t realize vandalism is a problem because of the Maintenance
department’s efficiency.
Students Staff
Ineffective
Somewhat Effective
Effective
Very Effective

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Analysis of the results of the survey conducted and inferences drawn from the interviews of
highly qualified and extremely notable employees of Ferrum College have resulted in the
following conclusions.
 Staff and students alike agree that Ferrum College has not done enough to prevent student
vandalism.
 More should be done to prevent student vandalism.
 Vandalism hurts the overall image of the school.
 Vandalism is a consistent and frequent problem.
 Students should be held more accountable for damage they cause to college property.
Based on these findings, it is the recommendation of this Ferrum College student that the College
should begin employing greater means of preventing student vandalism. More security cameras
should be installed throughout the campus in order to increase the chances of catching acts of
vandalism. Further data collection and research should be taken by the college to determine key
points throughout the school year in which student vandalism happens more frequently so that
campus police can better premeditatedly respond. Students caught, or found guilty of, acts of
vandalism should be held more accountable for financial as well as property damages to the
school.
Ferrum College should also take further action to raise awareness to the student body of their
increased security net for vandalism. Signs should be placed throughout campus warning
students warning students of the surveillance of their activities. Greater emphasis on the
importance of maintaining campus grounds should be placed on the Freshman Gateway course
so that students, from the start, may have a deeper appreciation for the Ferrum College Campus.