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William Paterson University

Wayne, New Jersey

William Paterson University Profile

William Paterson University was established in 1855 and is currently one of the largest public colleges in New Jersey’s public education system, which has approximately 10 schools. William Paterson is unique because it’s the largest state campus within the education system with a physical footprint of 370 acres. WPU is located in the northwestern suburban town of Wayne New Jersey as part of a college for liberal arts and sciences. WPUNJ is also unique because it offers students the ability to enjoy a park like setting within an hour from New York City. The footprint of the site is large for a state school with approximately 370 acres of property, which extends throughout the mountain town of Wayne.

The campus has approximately 48 buildings including lecture, sports, performing arts, and student housing facilities. The issue of student housing on campus is not a challenge for William Paterson due to it’s relatively small student population. The university provides guaranteed housing for undergrad, and graduate students according to school officials. The physical layout of the academic buildings, athletic fields, and residence halls is designed to separate the campus into 3 parts, for easy access to students. The freshmen housing is in close proximity to the lecture halls for easy access to classes. William Paterson University is a big school that feels like a small school because the landscape is big and beautiful, and the campus focal areas are small.

The internal campus setting provides students and employees with several types of student services including physical fitness, library services, and cultural meeting places and dining halls. The university also has several performing arts, music, and radio & television stations for students and local residents to enjoy William Paterson University’s observed focal point of reference during the campus tour was the commons, which is the main student life hall. My tour guide told me that students come to the commons to relax, and eat fast food in the food court. Students also use this space to socialize and talk about school and life. The facility is very large and has 3 levels including the main floor that has restaurants, the second floor that has offices for all the student clubs and activities, and finally the basement that has the bookstore and game rooms for students to enjoy.

William Paterson University Demographics

WPUNJ is home to approximately 3244 male, and 4228 female full time undergrad students. The university also has 610 male, and 1028 female students attending Paterson on a part-time basis. WPUNJ also has 421 male, and 1439 female graduate students attending the campus. The average age of a freshman is 18 years old; all undergraduates are 24 years old. 98% of students are state residents with the rest coming from 22 other states, and 58 foreign countries. 63% of students are white, 15% are Hispanic, and 12% are African American, and 5.5% are Asian. The total number of students with on campus housing is 10,970 according to published handouts.

William Paterson University offers a Liberal Arts and Sciences programs for undergraduate students. Below is a list of specific admission requirements for admission.

Student Housing

The purpose of student housing is to provide safe and reasonable accommodations for students living away from home. The issue of housing and dormitory life is a critical element of overall campus life because students spend a large amount of time in their rooms. Student housing units historically come in 3 different styles including traditional corridor, suite, and apartment style units.

William Paterson University guarantees housing for all undergraduate, and graduate students who have filed their intent to reside on campus by the stated deadline and who have continuously registered as full time students. The university has started updating the housing on campus by converting old corridor style bathrooms into semi-private ones.

Off Campus Housing

The Township of Wayne has been described as a small suburban community within driving, and commuter distance to New York City. The reason I have mentioned the overall community of Wayne is to re-assert the point that WPU is situated in a suburban setting with a high number of homes that are privately owned. The college does provide off campus housing resources for students who request help. Information about services can be found on the quick links page.

Campus Life

William Paterson University is an active public university campus environment that provides students with an outstanding social, and educational atmosphere. The admissions demographics paint a picture of a local educational community with a high number of in state residents on campus as full time students. The local community of Wayne is a short distance away from the school by car and is very supportive of the schools mission to provide educational opportunities to local residents and on-campus students. The town itself has a main street feel to it due to the restaurants and shops along the main avenue, which is Hamburg Turnpike.

The emotional climate of the entire community is very relaxed and social in my opinion. Rider University is an attractive institution because it offers students natural beauty within it’s large campus footprint while allowing the flexibility to enjoy historic, cultural, and social venues within the Princeton Corridor. Rider University is also located within driving, and commuting distance between two major cities for students to enjoy. Having New York City, and Philadelphia, not to mention the Jersey Shore down on Route 195 makes the physical campus enjoyable to several different types of social interactions. The school also has division I sports to watch, and enjoy while on campus.

This issue of school culture is also a very important part of campus life because everyone wants to have a connection and emotional fit to their new school and community. Rider has done a great job developing positive social systems with it’s students by providing a series of coordinated programs including workshops and seminars for freshman students to advance these studies. This type of process provides a foundation for learning and personal growth providing over 130 academic clubs, student organizations, and over 16 intramural sports activities. Rider is also home to a substantial Greek population with 17% of students belonging to 5 national fraternities and 8 national sororities.

Campus life at Rider is more than academic excellence; it’s about building personal relationships with students and facility that continues throughout each student’s career. The school also offers students the ability to enjoy school sports, performing arts, history, cultural events, Greek life, restaurants, and local museums. For example, New York City. have hundreds of venues to enjoy the previously stated activities throughout the year. The university also has several global education centers within it’s campus network for students to learn, and gather information about international careers.

Finally, Rider has a strong athletic footprint on campus with several venues for students to participate in, or to cheer for fellow students. Local residents and Rider students can walk over to the sports center to watch the school’s teams play several sports including basketball, and women’s volleyball during the year. Finally, the overall up side of exercise facilities within the campus are fantastic with students enjoying them on a daily basis, Rider participates in 20 NCAA Division I, Varsity Sports for Women and Men.

Public Transportation

Public transportation resources for WPU students are limited due to the location of the campus. Students who attend the university usually drive to campus because parking is readily available and public transportation is limited. Another issue for public transportation is the students themselves. The university has a very large number of in-state students who know the streets and highways very well. Knowing the area is key because students who come from other states may not know the area as well and might opt to take a bus or train to their destination because they don’t want to risk getting lost on local roads. WPU does provide a campus shuttle system within the campus and nearby roads for students. In formation about the service can be found on the quick links page.

The public transportation for the university is served by The New Jersey Transit Morris & Essex line, which serves the residents of Wayne. This specific line connects with several other transit lines within the overall system including the Northeast Corridor. New Jersey Transit has bus service called the Morris County Metro Line that travels past the university on Hamburg Turnpike. Public transportation resources are directly linked to local resident commuter schedules for bus and train service, students should pick NJ Transit handouts or service information. New Jersey Transit Info: www.njtransit.com/

Community Profile

Wayne New Jersey is a suburban mountain town of approximately 27 square miles with 54,609 residents in the northwestern county of Morris. The town has been described as a gracious family centered residential community within striking distance to New York City. Wayne also has an intellectual side due to its historical neighborhood architecture. The community has a real small town feel to it when you are walking, and driving to neighborhood eateries. Wayne also has several community parks and ball fields in and a round town for people to enjoy. These parks, along with public tennis courts, swimming pools, outdoor skating rinks, and theaters make out activities very enjoyable to everyone.

The town itself is located within a short distance to the school, which makes the area a student friendly destination throughout the year. New Jersey Transit also provides commuter rail service to local residents in the area with the Morris-Essex County Line”. This rail corridor links to New York City, Newark Airport, and N.J. Penn Station for Amtrack northeast rail service. The main airport to WPU is Newark International airport, which is also connected to N.J. Transit rail service. Wayne Township also has several local avenues that links students and residents to a large number of restaurants and shops within the center of town. One of the local roads that WPU students take advantage of is Hamburg Turnpike, which is located within a 5-minute walk from the campus. Wayne residents also have numerous shopping, and dining options on Route 23, which is a 10-minute drive from the campus.

Community demographics

The following demographics for Wayne New Jersey describe a culturally diverse community within a total population of 54,609 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey highlights several characteristics to describe the population including: 25,699 residents are male, 28,370 are female. 88% of residents are white, 2% are African American, 5% are Hispanic or Latino, and 5% are Asian. The median age of population is 40 years old. 76.8% of residents are 18 years old, 18.8 of residents are over 21 and 16 % of town residents is over the age of 65. The issue of housing in Wayne is also interesting. 97.6 % of all housing units within the town are occupied.18 % of housing units is renter-occupied, while 82 % of units are owner-occupied. Only 2.4 % of total available housing was vacant according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Local weather

Weather is also an issue to consider for students preparing for a college experience. New Jersey enjoys all four seasons of weather including rain and snow. Northeast weather patterns sometimes allow for temperatures to drop below 32 degrees for a considerable amount of time during the winter. New Jersey also gets it’s share of rain during the spring and summer months as well.

Public Transportation

Public transportation resources for WPU students are limited due to the location of the campus. Students who attend the university usually drive to campus because parking is readily available and public transportation is limited. Another issue for public transportation is the students themselves. The university has a very large number of in-state students who know the streets and highways very well. Knowing the area is key because students who come from other states may not know the area as well and might opt to take a bus or train to their destination because they don’t want to risk getting lost on local roads. WPU does provide a campus shuttle system within the campus and nearby roads for students. In formation about the service can be found on the quick links page.

The public transportation for the university is served by The New Jersey Transit Morris & Essex line, which serves the residents of Wayne. This specific line connects with several other transit lines within the overall system including the Northeast Corridor. New Jersey Transit has bus service called the Morris County Metro Line that travels past the university on Hamburg Turnpike. Public transportation resources are directly linked to local resident commuter schedules for bus and train service, students should pick NJ Transit handouts or service information. New Jersey Transit Info: www.njtransit.com/

Description of Campus Public Safety Plans & Procedures: WPU’s general public safety plans and procedures can be found in the emergency plan which gives students and employees a lists of instructions, procedures, codes of conduct, and response strategies to follow while on campus. The university also provides Clery Act safety tips and procedures to help educate students to potential risks on, and off campus. This information can be found in WPU’s Annual Public Safety Report. The University Emergency Plan can be found: http://ww2.wpunj.edu/police

Crisis Management Plans & Procedures Local Community: The State of New Jersey has developed emergency management resources to help residents to prepare, respond, and recover from a host of natural, and man made events. The state agency responsible for emergency operations is the Office of Emergency Management. William Paterson University has also developed an emergency plan for students and employees to follow which highlights several potential manmade and weather related events. Public safety, along with the Wayne Police Department has developed a local crisis plan that can be found at: http://ww2wpunj.edu/police/N_EP_Default.htm

Innovative Emergency Communications

William Paterson University has developed reverse 911 systems that sends several types of emergency notifications through e-mail and phone text message systems. Campus alerts, and weather related information is sent through this system. The university also has active shooter protocols for students to follow during an emergency including lock-down, and lockout procedures. These messages are usually received within 1-2 minutes of emergency broadcast and allow university officials to adhere to Clery Act requirements for timely warnings of emergency events.

Campus Access Control & Security Systems

The design, and physical setting of a particular institution has elements relating to the overall culture and social system on campus. Since college and university campuses are designed to offer (open) movement of people through it’s borders, the issue of design, along with effective use of space can reduce both the incidence, and fear of crime. This design feature is called “Crime Prevention through Environmental Control.” The proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of crime and an improvement in the quality of life. The issues of identifying formal gathering and high- risk areas within a campus footprint are also critical to public safety resources because manpower must be observed in these areas.

The issue of high-risk areas on campus has been identified during annual risk assessments by security, and feedback by all intuitional stakeholders including public safety officials. The public safety department maintains uniform patrol around the massive footprint in several different types of patrol vehicles including 4-wheel drive, and regular police patrol vehicles. These resources help officer’s patrol around the campus 24-hours a day to reduce the number of people who may not have legitimate business on campus. At night, public safety closes several entrances to students and employees with a lock and chain to further reduce access to the institution.

Public safety also maintains visitor screening and CCTV resources to highlight the need for formal surveillance throughout the campus footprint. WPU has developed clearly worded signage that directs visitors to a welcome area adjacent to Admissions Hall to improve physical security operations. Formal gathering areas within WPU’s main campus are situated in, and around college walk which goes straight through the facility past the “Commons”. This area is the main focal area of the campus because the walkway splits the campus in half with several large grassy areas in between the lecture, and residence halls. The sidewalk acts like a quad because you can access several areas of the campus in a textbook example of CPTED.

The campus high-risk areas including the residence halls should have a higher degree of natural and formal surveillance for students and visitors. WPU has electronic access control, and corporate security officer resources within several it’s residence halls including Matelson Hall. My student guide told me that the doors to the residence halls were locked at night and on-duty residence assistants, and security guards controlled access to the building. I also observed new access control technology on campus within the new residence halls and student apartments.

My student guide continued with her description of access control for students entering the residence halls in the evening. WPU students must produce their student I.D card that are swiped through a card reader mechanism. In the evening and on the weekends “Resident Assistant” set up a table to authenticate visitors to the building. The RA’s and the students in residence are responsible to sign in, and identify the person standing in front of them. Some of the newer residence halls have access control systems to record the sign in procedure while a digital CCTV camera records the activity on a DVR platform as a redundant security feature.

Types and Descriptions of Published Policies and Procedures to Comply with the Clery Act on Campus

The Clery Act. The Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 requires all postsecondary institutions participating in the Title IV student financial aid programs to disclose campus crime statistics, university violations and disciplinary data, and finally security information to the U.S. Department of Education on an annual basis. The legislation also describes several required policy statements that address public safety and security issues. Below is a sample list of Clery Act Policy Statements for colleges and universities to publish each year within their prospective crime report/audits.

Required policy statements include: addressing timely warnings, disclosure of crime statistics, reporting criminal offenses, confidential reporting, security and access control, arrest authority, security awareness programs, crime prevention programs, sex offenses, alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, substance abuse programs, and general codes of conduct. WPU Clery Act info can be found: http://ww2wpunj.edu/police

Caveat: WPU’s public safety officers have formal arrest powers; they have the ability to investigate criminal activity on campus, and the resources to reduce victimization off campus. Public Safety seems to have improved crime victimization on campus due to improved security resources but the following statement from the department education offers this advice. “ The department data reported by the institutions have not been subjected to independent verification by the U.S. Department of Education. Therefore, the department cannot vouch for the accuracy of the data reported. WPU Clery crime data can be found at: http://ope.ed.gov/security/Index.aspx

Local Crime Statistics

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report for 2007 has developed crime statistics for Wayne New Jersey in 2007. Wayne reported no murders or acts of manslaughter in 2007. The Wayne Police Department also reports 0 Forcible Rape, 18 Robberies, 22 Aggravated Assaults, 185 Burglaries, 1,175 Larceny Thefts, and finally 53 Motor Vehicle Thefts. The crime of Arson had 1 reported crime in 2007.

Wayne Township Community Quick Links

Wayne Police Department
475 Valley Road
Wayne N.J. 07470
Phone # (973) 694-0600 Email: www.waynetownship.com/pd.htm
Wayne Township Fire Department
475 Valley Road
Wayne, N.J. 07470
Phone (973) 694-1800
Preakness Volunteer Fire Dept. Company # 4
1739 Ratzer Road
Wayne, N.J. 07470
Phone # (973) 942-7274

Emergency Medical Technicians (Ambulance Service) St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital

WPU Quick Links

William Paterson University Local Hotel Quick Links

Best Western Regency House
140 Route 23 North
Wayne N.J. 07444
LaQuinta Inn Wayne
1850 Route 23 North
Wayne N.J. 07470
Residence Inn by Marriott
30 Nevins Road
Wayne N.J. 07470

Below is a list of hotel accommodations within a 15-minute drive to the campus.

Ramada Inn Parsippany
949 Route 46
Parsippany N.J. 07054
Days Inn Parsippany
3159 Route 46
Parsippany N.J. 07054
Sheraton Parsippany
199 Smith Road
Parsippany N.J. 07054
Embassy Suites Parsippany
909 Parsippany Blvd
Parsippany N.J. 07054
Best Western Fairfield Inn (Willowbrook Mall)
216 Route 46
Fairfield N.J. 07004
Holiday Inn Parsippany
707 Route 46
Parsippany N.J. 07054

Below is a sample list of local restaurants in Wayne N.J. National restaurant chains & shopping resources can be found on Route 23 & 46 in, and around these major highway networks along with the Willowbrook Mall in nearby Fairfield N.J. A complete list of local restaurants in Wayne New Jersey can be found at: www.foodio54.com

  • Bensi Restaurant: 629 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne N.J. 07470 (973) 904-3004
  • Crossroads Eatery: 10 Erie Ave, Wayne N.J. 07470 (973) 696-7887
  • Tony’s Touch of Italy II: 315 Valley Rd. Wayne N.J. 07470 (973) 694-7787
  • Tommy Cheng Chinese Restaurant: 1810 Route 23, Wayne N.J. 07470 (973) 406-8668
  • Baja Fresh Mexican Grill (National Chain) 1600 Route 23 Wayne N.J. (973) 872-2555
  • Wayne Crest Diner: 1809 Route 23, Wayne N.J. (973) 628-7331
  • Bachagaloops Restaurant & Pizza: 1467 Route 23 Wayne N.J. (973) 694-1116

    • Below is a sample list of entertainment venues within the City of Newark New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) One Center Street Newark N.J.

  • www.njpac.org or (973) 642-8989

    • Prudential Center in Newark (The Rock) N.J. Devils NHL Hockey & Sporting Venue Edison & Mulbery Streets in downtown Newark N.J. www.devils.nhl.com

    Newark Bears ( Minor League Baseball team) 450 Broad Street, Newark N.J. www.newarkbears.com or (888) 852-3277

    The Your College Profile web site also contains an “Everything in New York City” document for families who wish to explore the NYC while visiting William Paterson University. This site contains a full list of hotels, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, and tourism resources for families enjoying the region.

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