Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; Emergency Notification Systems; and E-mail and Messaging

Higher ed’s largest maker of course management systems acquires NTI Group, one of the top mass messaging providers.

The annual Campus Computing Survey focuses on IT security and crisis management, finding gaps in preparation but fewer attacks on networks.

Experiment aims to see how well text messaging can alert students quickly in case of emergency.

"After the April 16 massacre at Virginia Tech, the lesson many came away with was that e-mail alone won’t suffice to keep students informed about emergencies on campus. One solution widely regarded as both timely and technologically in sync with undergraduate habits was to use text messages to alert them to potential dangers. "

"As the school year starts, colleges around the country are applying the lessons of Virginia Tech and using high technology to get the word out fast in a crisis. "

"The two hours it took for Virginia Tech officials to eMail students a warning about a gunman on campus last month have raised the question of how schools can get critical news out faster in a crisis--and how technology can help."

"Since 9/11, some security experts have pushed the idea that peer-to-peer alert systems that rely on openness and the crowd can save lives, particularly when centralized communications and decision-making break down. That argument is back in force following Monday's mass slayings of 32 people at Virginia Tech."