Text Messaging and Beyond: Why Emergency Notification Systems Involve More Than Information Technology 2 nd Annual Campus Safety Symposium Massachusetts Department of Higher Education June 25, 2008

2 Emergency Notification Systems Offer an New Layer Of Communication Tools to Notify and Manage College Constituents During a Crisis… ENS is Not a Project But a New, On-going Service ENS is Not a Panacea – Does Not Guarantee Safety ENS Must be Integrated With All Other Communication Tools The Rules of Engagement for an ENS Need to be Defined by a Coordinated Crisis Management Authority Within the Organization

3 ENS Implementations Consist of Three Separate Projects… #1) Platform Installation and System Set-up #2) Marketing of The System and The Registration of Students, Staff and Faculty #3) Integration of The ENS Tool Into the Enterprise Crisis Management Protocol

4 Technical requirements for system and network connectivity Identify Data Sources - Portal Feeds Develop Protocol for Ongoing Data Updates Establish System Parameters in Registration Portal and ENS Platform Assist in Defining Levels of System Access, Scenario Development Provide For 7/24 Technical Support #1) Platform Installation & System Set-up…

5 #2 Marketing of The System and The Registration of Students, Staff and Faculty Communication to Students is the Responsibility of the President, Administration and Academic Side of the House Communication to Faculty & Staff may Come from The President Decisions of Mandatory vs. Optional Participation Mid-Year Deployment vs. Ongoing Registration Process for New and Returning Students Non-technical tasks – Politically Laced Issues

6 #3) Integration of The ENS Tool Into the Enterprise Crisis Management Protocol… The New Tool Can Not Stand On Its Own Short Quick Notice of “Heads Up” Use of the ENS Needs to Be Integrated Into the Enterprise Risk/Crisis Management Protocol Some Schools Had Good Crisis Management Plans/Organizations In Place ENS Is Driving the Development of Crisis Management Plans and Organizations at Some Schools ENS Needs to be Synchronized with Other Communication Tools…Campus Web Sites, Communications to Broadcast Media, etc. Process Needs to be Defined and Drilled to assure everyone knows How the Collection of Communication Tools Should Work Together. IT Has a Role But the Crisis Management Team Is Responsible For Defining the Rules of Engagement and Orchestrating the Communication Protocol in Response to an Emergency or Crisis

7 Looking Ahead With SMS Text Messaging… A year Ago, SMS Text Messaging Seemed a Stretch Federal Government Plan to Provide Emergency Text Messages to All Citizens Commercial Offerings – Cell Texting for Marketing Purposes Potential Use ENS Platform Within the Colleges to Support Non- Emergency Communication to Constituent Groups….Social Networking on Campus, Parent and Alumni Communications and More ENS is Not a Project But a New On-going Service!

8 Text Messaging and Beyond: Why Emergency Notification Systems Involve More Than Information Technology Bradford Ridley University of Massachusetts Ronald Reents UMass Medical School John Reynolds IAI – EcoSoft Portal Front-end