The University plans to unveil a new emergency notification system by winter 2009 that will include several features to reach students, faculty and staff on campus in the case of an emergency.
University spokesperson Phil Weiler said the University is negotiating contracts for installing both a text message warning system and an outdoor alert system.
The University is installing the text message warning system in response to a similar system that the Oregon University System is mandating and installing for all Oregon universities, Weiler said.
OUS announced its new Alert and Notification System on July 17, which includes a text message warning to cell phones, e-mail accounts, PDAs, and voice messages to home, work and cellular phones, according to a University memorandum.
Weiler said the University chose to develop its own text message warning system because it wanted to work with local vendors and local emergency response teams.
“The value is that if we ever had an emergency, it makes sense that the emergency responders be using the same alert system,” Weiler said.
The University is waiting for a final price quote from the vendor before installing an audio alert system that will be built in the EMU, Weiler said. The purchase approval has already been granted, and the University hopes to unveil this system along with the text alerts in winter 2009.
Weiler said that the audio alert will be beneficial in an emergency situation because not all students will receive the phone messages immediately.
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