Narrowing the Gap Between
Success and Disaster
By Bryan Crum

A single tragic day at Virginia Tech highlighted the need to shorten the response rate in a crisis from hours to seconds. Frequent quotes from students at Virginia Tech during the dreadful April day were, “I didn’t know what was going on,” and “I just wanted to know what to do”.  Communicating ongoing vital news, information, and instructions during a disaster to the entire campus community without delay has become critical. The cost of an emergency communication system might seem out of reach for many colleges, but through partnering with other institutions it might be more affordable than you think.
     
During 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, landline phones and cell phone networks became jammed because of extremely high call volumes. At Virginia Tech many people trying to make a call on or near campus heard a busy signal. However, students were able to send and receive a short service message (SMS), better known as text messaging. As a result, many students stayed in touch by “texting” each other.
     
A valuable lesson learned from Virginia Tech was that students use their cell phones more than any other communication medium—whether it is during a typical day or during an emergency on campus. Many students are constantly on the move and are not checking their email or a web page. Many others are listening to their iPod and not the radio. School sirens do not communicate specific information and students in buildings or off campus can not always hear them. During an emergency, a college needs to communicate to students in whichever way that is most effective. Today it is SMS text messaging. Next year, it may be something else.
     
A mass notification system (MNS) communicates to students, faculty, and staff in as many methods as possible or in whatever mode of communication that is relevant to the particular college or university. For instance, a fax machine may have been a good way to communicate to faculty and staff ten years ago, but not today. Most college employees now prefer email.
     
On the other hand, most students on campus today consider emails outdated technology. Recent internal studies conducted by several universities found that as many as 15% of students had email inboxes that were full and no longer accepting emails. Students prefer their own cell phones to campus landline phones. Many institutions each year pull the phone lines out of dorm rooms because students aren’t using their campus dorm landline.
     
Dr. Lawrence Dotolo, President of the Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education summarized it best by stating, “Since a campus is so spread out, sending a text message to students’ cell phones is the best way to reach everyone quickly.”

Text Messaging Your Students
Any authorized person on campus can send a mass text message to all students utilizing a MNS. The benefit of such a system is that it simultaneously sends the same message as an email, a voice call, a web posting, a really simple syndication feed (RSS), and other forms of communication.
     
RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either a summary of content from an associated website or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite websites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually. Students, faculty, and staff sitting in front of a computer will see the incoming email message or notice the news posting on the website. Others may be far away at home and get a phone call with a previously recorded message. Others may see the message (via RSS) on the big flat-panel TV in the lobby, student union, or in the cafeteria.
     
There are three basic ways to send a mass notification message:

• From a computer: log on to a web page, type the message, select the group to receive it, and send.
• From a BlackBerry, Treo, iPhone or any Smartphone: log on to a web page, type the message, select the group to receive it, and send.
• From a traditional phone: call the MNS provider, give your credentials, explain the message and group to receive it.

Within moments your campus message is simultaneously sent to everyone in the system. In the coming years, as new technologies are developed and as social preferences change, MNS will keep up with the times and deliver messages on those newer mediums as well.
     
MNS are web-based, so they do not rely on your own school’s technological infrastructure. For instance, an MNS that is installed on your server or your network is useless when the power goes out or when your network is down or crippled by a virus.
     
Web-based MNS that are located in data centers around the country are still accessible from a cell phone that has web access and its own backup power. Hence, web-based systems can act as a failsafe communications tool. The top notification systems are certified daily as “hacker safe” by third party independent testing.
     
New York City College of Technology, a member institution of CUNY, has already installed a MNS and found it to be an effective way to communicate with its students, faculty, and staff.

Flex Your Consortia Muscle when Buying
If you are a member college or university of a higher education consortium, you have the unique opportunity to negotiate a lower cost for this MNS service. Since the system is web-based, no software or hardware will need to be shipped to your campus. No extra phone lines will need to be installed. Training to use the system is done online and over the phone. The Tennessee Independent Colleges and University Association (TICUA) consortium has already taken advantage of MNS.
     
Pricing is typically based on the number of people using the system. As more people use the system, the cost per capita drops. For a consortium, this translates into a higher economy of scale if the member colleges buy in bulk rather than trying to purchase a system alone.             
     
Dr. Dotolo at the Virginia Tidewater Consortium is presently researching MNS for his 15 member institutions. Dr. Dotolo concluded that, “It makes a lot of sense. Institutions can come together and leverage the resources to get a better price.”
     
The tragic events of 911, Katrina, and Virginia Tech brought to light the imperative need for quick response communications systems for all institutions in the United States. Many solutions are already available to colleges, universities and consortia. Some of your valuable time now researching mass notification systems can save critical hours, minutes, and even seconds later when a disaster hits.
     
Bryan Crum is the director of communications at e2Campus, a technology company resolving higher education communications challenges. He can be reached at (703) 568-5500 or at bcrum@omnilert.com.