Winthrop University

Delivering Powerful, Simple, and Fast Emergency Notification

Overview

Location: Rock Hill, SC
Enrollment: 6,241
Faculty: 543
Campus Size: 418 acres
Building Count: 60

The 2007 Virginia Tech massacre left a wake of emotional and physical devastation. In the weeks that followed that day, as people started to tread down the long road of the healing process, a hot topic began to surface in the collective consciousness of the nation—campus safety.

Winthrop University saw the massacre as a wake-up call, and the college immediately began looking for a solution to notify the campus in times of emergency. Initially, Winthrop deployed an SMS alert system but found that SMS alerts alone couldn’t reach enough students to be effective. When Winthrop discovered Alertus, they knew they had finally found a system capable of delivering an emergency message with the power, simplicity, and speed they desired.

Frank Zebedis, chief of campus police, and Patrice Bruneau, director of technology services at Winthrop University, discuss the university’s unique challenge and solution.

Challenge

Frank Zebedis: Before Alertus, we used an email notification system; at that point we could only notify students via emails and hope for the best. Back in 2007, right after the Virginia Tech shooting, we implemented an SMS notification system. Then I started reading about Alertus, and soon after that I saw Alertus at a conference. After we learned what the system could do, I was sold on it. I knew we had to get it.

Patrice Bruneau: It was really in the aftermath of Virginia Tech when the awareness began to rise about emergency notification. When specialists looked back at Virginia Tech—what went wrong, and how it could’ve been prevented—they saw that people just didn’t know that something was going on. It took too long for the word to get out at Virginia Tech. So we looked at our own system and saw the lack of that same ability. So now we have the Alertus system in place along with the SMS to create a multi-tiered system.

Solution

Complete Notification Coverage

Frank Zebedis: We liked everything about Alertus. It was another tier of notification, so if cell phones weren’t working or the infrastructure was down, the Alertus System would fill in those gaps. I thought the Alertus Alert Beacon themselves were genius. I liked that the siren and strobes catch your attention, and when you go to the Alert Beacon, you can get a specific message. I think the entire system is such a good design. All of those features, the system’s totality, made Alertus stand out. The whole system was of great value as well. The amount of coverage the system gives us; was reasonably priced.

The more multi-tiered we can make our system, the better off we are. That way, you don’t miss anyone during an emergency. When we purchased the system, we just had the Alert Beacons. Still, now we’ve got it tied into our campus center, it’s on our digital displays, and we’ve tied it into the computers on campus with Alertus Desktop Notification. We've ensured everyone will get the message between the Alert Beacons, the desktop pop-ups, the digital displays, and the SMS alerts.

Customization

Frank Zebedis: We like Alertus because the system is so customizable. You can tailor it to the specific needs of any campus. One of people’s biggest fears is, “oh, it’s going to sound like a fire alarm,” but the Alertus System is so flexible that you can even customize what the siren sounds like. Alertus is adaptable in almost every way. It can be customized to specific needs for any campus, building, or institution.

Patrice Bruneau: “Speaking of flexibility, we discussed using the Alertus system to activate our electronic door locks to lock down buildings during active shooters, etc. We keep finding functionality in the Alertus system that we didn’t even consider or think about before.”

Conclusion

Frank Zebedis: I think the Alertus system is self-explanatory. It’s so simple; it’s pretty much idiot-proof. It allows you to quickly send a message with an audible with the sirens, a visual with the strobes, and a message on display. How much more simple can that be? They work as long as you have the Alert Beacons in a place where people can hear them. The system gets even more powerful as Alertus continually introduces new features like integrating digital displays and desktop popups. But no matter how much we integrate with the system, it’s still a one-button solution. Alertus is simple, and, being a cop, I’ll tell you that we like things simple.