New texting system at Tech could save lives

RUSSELLVILLE — Text messages are used for a

variety of purposes - many of them trivial - but

Arkansas Tech University, like other campuses na

tionwide, has a more vital use for texting: potentially

saving lives.

The university has developed a new emergency

text-messaging system.

“Our new system ties in with the old and gives stu

dents more direct information from the university,” said

Susie Nicholson, vice president for student services and

university relations.

The Campus Emergency and Outreach Notification

System is being integrated into the university’s Banner

Student Information System, the “one-stop shopping”

network used daily by students and faculty, said Sam

Strasner, director of university relations.

In a crisis, students whose mobile numbers have

been entered into the system will receive a text no

tifying them of impending danger and, if necessary,

providing them with instructions.

The university’s administration will coordinate with

the Public Safety Office in deciding how and when to

issue an emergency text.

“We’d want to use it when time was of the essence

and it was important that we reach out as quickly as

possible to the campus and let them know about an

event, whatever it might be,” Nicholson said.

However, she said, the university has never had to issue an emergency text.

“Thank goodness, we’ve never had a situation where we needed to use it,” she said. “Every semester, we have done tests on the old system to make sure it was working.

“We’ve had some storms in the past, and some people wondered if we would use [text messages] to communicate with everyone regarding storms or a tornado warning, but we haven’t used it for that because we have tornado sirens that are the most immediate form of warning - they’re heard all over campus.”

Storm notification “would not be the proper use of the system,” she said. “Only in case of a crisis - that’s kind of how we’ve chosen to work with it.”

But why and when to issue mass texts will be “subject to change,” Nicholson said. CEON is not yet fully integrated with the university’s BlackboardCourse Management System. Options for other types of notifications receivable on cellphones will become available once the entire system is up and running. Users will eventually be able to “populate” the system with home or office phone numbers, Strasner said.

“We are using our phones for everything now,” she said. “As we discover how students are most likely to communicate with us, and us with them, it will change.”

She said students, faculty and staff whose mobile numbers already had been entered into the Banner Student Information System were automatically enrolled in CEON. However, text messages from the new system were sent out earlier this month giving campus members anopportunity to opt out of the texting portion.

“It’s not mandatory that they be able to receive texts,” Nicholson said. “Some people just don’t want to receive that kind of information.”

The fully integrated system will allow students to conduct other types of business via the “brains” of the university, Strasner said. In addition to receiving emergency texts, they will get communications from financial aid and the registrar’s office, and receive updates about classes.

The cost to students for use of the system is included in the university’s technology fee, Strasner said. All components of the fully integrated system will be complete this spring, he said.

Staff writer Daniel A. Marsh can be reached at (501) 399-3688 or dmarsh@arkansasonline.com.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 145 on 01/29/2012

Print Headline: New texting system at Tech could save lives