Virginia Commonwealth University

Filling the Communication Gap When Sending Emergency Alerts

Overview

Location: Richmond, VA
Campus Type: Urban
Enrollment: 32,436
Faculty: 18,218
Campus Size: 140.6 acres
Building Count: 201
Established: 1968

Over the past decade, an increase in the frequency of on-campus violence has revealed the inadequacies of traditional methods of emergency mass notification. As the number of potential threats to campus safety grows, so does the need for a system capable of sending a message to an entire campus community when it matters most. Virginia Commonwealth University recognized this need for campus safety and saw the next step in emergency notification technology in Alertus.

Challenge

VCU’s urban location and massive size presented numerous potential threats to campus safety. The university’s previous method of notification, SMS alerting, was plagued by low student opt-in, cell signal congestion, and poor reception. SMS alerts lacked the communication coverage necessary to reach a significant percentage of the campus population. VCU required a mass notification system capable of sending a message during emergencies to its entire campus quickly, reliably, and effectively.

Sam Kennedy, assistant director of technology user services who oversees emergency notification at VCU, discusses the university’s unique challenge and solution.

Solution

Filling in the Communication Gaps

I think we’re like a lot of campuses, especially urban campuses. We have threats that could happen anytime, every day, and not just from nefarious people. A lot of times, it could be something from out of nowhere, almost like an act of God. That’s why we’re always keeping watch because we never know where a threat will come from. We thought that we were in good shape. Many people have said, “VCU is way ahead of everybody else.”

Before the Alertus System, we relied on SMS alerts and digital signage. You can reach a broad audience with SMS and digital signage, but are you reaching the right audience? While SMS remains an important component of our notification system, students won‘t get a message when their phone is off or doesn’t have reception. There are many reasons not to get an SMS, but with the Alertus Alert Beacon, you know you’ll catch someone’s attention.

We saw Alertus as an opportunity to widen our ability to reach the people we needed to talk to. Many times, it’s going to be those people in class or on campus who might not get an SMS alert or be near our digital signage. So we installed Alert Beacons in every classroom and public meeting space around campus.

Integration with Personal Recipient System

One of the nice things about the system is its ability to integrate with existing notification systems here on campus. We’ve tied the Alert Beacons into our SMS console with e2Campus, so no additional activation steps are involved. It pretty much clicks a box, and away you go. One-click sets off the Alert Beacons, the SMS alerts, and the Alertus Digital Signage Override. It is nice to have all that configurable from one console. That kind of one-button system is what we’ve wanted from day one.

In terms of activation, VCU police send out the alerts, and our communications and public relations office can issue alerts if necessary. It just makes sense. Now, police dispatchers can send out a message anytime, all at a moment’s notice.

Conclusion

Alertus has given everyone at VCU a sense of protection, and peace of mind, if you will. I feel like the Alert Beacons, the SMS, and the sirens give us a great bubble of coverage over the entire university. With Alertus, we know that no matter where people are, whether in a classroom, walking outside, or in a basement, they will hear those Alert Beacons — it just works.