Campus Technology features Rave
09.05.2008
Campus Technology: ...Quick implementation and lower cost. Rave Wireless is the emergency notification solution the University of Colorado at Boulder, Saint Michael's College of Vermont, and the University of Louisville have selected, following on the heels of Montclair State University (NJ), which was the first higher education institution to use the system. (Montclair State received an award from the nonprofit Security on Campus organization, for its innovative use of the solution, and was recognized as a 2007 Campus Technology Innovator in the Cellular/ Mobile category.) The Rave Wireless system can send messages via phone, e-mail, text, and RSS-- up to 9,000 texts and 8,000 calls per minute. On May 22, 2008, around 225,000 text messages went out to individuals in Colorado and Wyoming, warning about tornado activity in the region.
According to Malinda Miller-Huey, director of web communications at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the institution selected Rave Wireless for two primary reasons: quick implementation, and cost. Though Miller-Huey doesn't recommend it, UCB implemented the system in less than a month and completed the installation three days before classes started in August 2007. (Importantly, the Rave Wireless messaging system is part of an overall emergency communications plan that includes sirens, UCB's portal, e-mail, and a telephone information line.) UCB has an opt-in system and uses ads and e-mails to promote enrollment in the notification system. When students sign up for classes, they are prompted to verify or update their contact information-- a move that has led to a student enrollment rate of more than 90 percent. Unhappily, the university was the scene of a stabbing incident the very first day of school but, fortunately, Miller-Huey and her team had already discussed scripts for emergency message content and so were able to activate the system right away. UCB has written guidelines regarding who can approve and send out emergency messages; currently a dozen or so people on campus are trained and authorized to perform this function.
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