Emergency Preparedness

Colleges and universities around the country, ever more mindful of campus safety, are installing outdoor sirens. The systems can blast spoken messages or tone alerts of danger—and one of the preset messages on many of the public-address systems warns: "There is a shooter on campus. Seek shelter immediately."

Saint Peter’s College responded to a bomb threat and evacuated the campus safely and efficiently thanks to close integration of human systems with IT.

Investigation of recent disasters reveals use of online social media as an emergent, significant, and often accurate form of public participation and backchannel communication.

This is ALA's Disaster Preparedness and Recovery" page, resources found on this page includes;
Disaster Mitigation Planning Assistance Website, Flood Mitigation Assistance Program: FEMA's grant program to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of flood damage, and dPlan: The Online Disaster-Planning Tool: A site from the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) which allows you to enter data into an online template to create a customized disaster plan for your institution.

The purpose of this toolkit is to provide resources for business continuity and disaster recovery planning, including guides, templates, examples and tips.  The information provided herein is intended to be of value in the development, testing, enactment and revising of business continuity efforts. This Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery toolkit is an ongoing work in progress.  As new resources are developed and best practices shift, updated information will be provided here.

This presentation will explore the challenges that UNC–Wilmington encountered in providing for the broadcast and communication of emergency notification alerts to the at-large campus community. A "layered approach" was adopted by using multiple methods of information delivery to maximize effectiveness and eliminate the reliance on any single technology or delivery system. Since the methods of delivery can be diverse (siren, cable broadcast, Internet, and e-messaging), several departments including information technology, marketing and communications, environmental health and safety, and the university police were involved to create this well-rounded solution.

Whether used for emergency notification or campus outreach, a quick and reliable mass notification service is a requisite for every university campus. Although choosing a mass notification system can be a daunting task, industry standards can help your campus leaders choose the right system for their needs. Whether your institution seeks a mass notification service for emergency use or to help with student enrollment and retention, this session will help you and your technology team lead your campus through the process of deciding which system to purchase. You’ll learn the industry standards and speak with other campuses that have gone through the mass notification selection process.