Communication and Presented at EDUCAUSE Annual Conferences

This group focuses on strategic issues and tactical challenges that affect IT communications in planning for, during mitigation of, and following an emergency in higher education. Discussion topics include telecommunication infrastructure and electronic services, campus coordination, the role of IT staff, campus drills, funding, security and safety, community awareness, vendors, and information and network policies. The group examines policies, best practices, and lessons learned.

This group addresses the challenge that IT professionals and organizations face in communicating strategically and clearly to user communities, to internal and external constituencies, to campus leadership, and within the IT organization itself. Topics for discussion are broad, ranging from best practices and lessons learned to feedback and/or deconstruction of communications written by participants.

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. Since the methods of delivery can be diverse (siren, cable broadcast, internet, e-messaging), collaboration across departments was necessary to create this well-rounded solution.

IT organizations are challenged with communicating to various audiences (students, faculty, staff, parents, patients, board members, vendors, community). Discover how the University of Rochester, a decentralized environment, implemented an IT communication plan to address issues. Attendees will gain examples of tools and techniques that can be repurposed to meet their needs.

Liberally paraphrasing the great American war general Dwight Eisenhower, in war, planning is everything; in battle, plans go out the window. Effective crisis communications demand significant planning. Once youre in a crisis event, instinctive reaction and reliance on experience take over. Come to this session to understand Virginia Techs crisis communications response to a tragedy for which no one can prepare.

LSU's IT communications and security officers joined forces to effectively educate campus populations about IT security threats and best practices.

ITS at Mississippi State University has created an efficient and secure online survey instrument used in the university's portal survey channel. The campus portal, onCampus, enables the instrument to be delivered to a precise target population in a secure, stable environment that produces quick, accurate responses.

Three years ago, INHOLLAND university launched a learning scenario that required the latest in electronic communication and collaboration tools. The new digital campus that was built is being redesigned now using Windows Vista and SharePoint 2007. What did we learn during the past three years, and what do we hope to achieve now?

This meeting will devote several hours to presentations and discussions regarding emergency notification systems on campus. This will include a panel of speakers from various campuses who are actively working on this issue, including Virginia Tech, and presentations by a select group of vendors. Also planned for the agenda is an update on municipal networks, 4G Wi Max and 911 capabilities on campus.

Communications technology can help differentiate your campus not only in serving current students but also in creating a sense of life-long community so that generation after generation of families keep coming back. Hear from one campus using intelligent communications today to make a difference.