When students come to campus in the fall, they will have one new task before obtaining the keys to their residence hall room. All students will be asked to provide emergency notification information so that the university can contact them and give information in an emergency.
Students will be able to provide up to six voicemail numbers, a number for text messages and an e-mail address so that the university can contact them if there is a natural disaster, accident or intentional critical event on campus.
The university has convened an emergency notification committee with representatives from the faculty, staff and students to decide on a vendor for the system and its use. The details of how contact information will be collected and maintained and how the system will be used are still being discussed.
"It is very important that we have faculty, staff and student input into the use of the system," said Marty Kohlwey, director of student life. "At the same time, we want to get the word out before students leave for the semester, so that students are not surprised when they return in the fall."
The university is considering ConnectEd as a vendor for the system. "Besides timely, accurate delivery of messages, it is very important to us that the contract has confidentiality agreements to protect student information," said Kristy Plander, director of marketing and communication.
Chris Heins, student member of the committee, also noted, "Students don't want to be spammed with advertisements or non-emergency information; if the vendor or university spam the students, they will start to ignore the most important messages."
Most students will be asked to provide contact information upon picking up their keys. Off-campus students will be asked to give contact information when they provide their off-campus address. The emergency notification committee is still discussing how faculty and staff will be able to participate.
"This is just one step in getting information to our students quickly in a time-sensitive critical situation," said Michelle Chaffee, dean of student services and vice-president for student servant leadership. "However, it does not replace good judgment by our students."
After addressing the issue of technology-based emergency notification, the university plans to discuss other ways of contacting students. "Technology is only one part of the equation; we also have to consider how we will notify students if technology or phone lines are not available," said John Townsend, environmental health, safety and security manager.