PhD student here. I ride about 7 miles each way. In foul weather I'll ride a beater; if it's really bad I'll dejectedly take the subway. Riding's faster than the subway and ridiculously more fun, so it takes a lot to keep me off the bike. I don't know if theft is a problem on my campus but I'm not willing to take chances: I rotate parking in one of three racks near my building and use a cable and u-lock combo. There are also way more flash bikes around than my racked and crated and anonymous looking Crosscheck, so I'm probably more worried than I need to be.

Something new my school's doing to promote biking is to pay the town police registration fee for students and staff. It's only a buck or two, but a nice way to support riding. Last year I bought a lock from the campus police at cost. What are some things that your school does to encourage cyclists?