NEWS
May 6, 2008
Testing Shows Text Messages Quickest Crisis Communication, Campus Community Encouraged to Subscribe
Recent testing of Case Western Reserve University’s emergency communications systems indicates the new CaseWARN rapid alert technology works sufficiently, but in order to reach effectiveness measures, additional students, faculty and staff need to subscribe to the text message notifications.
The university’s Security Task Force-led tests of the full layered emergency communications network—outdoor speakers, a special Web site and e-mail messages in addition to the CaseWARN technology—also confirms that multiple layers are needed to reach a broad, dispersed campus community in the case of a crisis situation.
Tested with 100 volunteers and the full campus community over the last few weeks, the new CaseWARN text and voice message alerts reach nearly 100 percent of those subscribed to the opt-in program within just a few minutes. Only about 3,300 or 20 percent of the roughly 16,000 students, faculty and staff on campus, however, have signed up to receive the alerts.
The Security Task Force has determined that the university needs at least 50 to 60 percent of the campus community to subscribe to the CaseWARN alerts. The text and voice message notifications are used only in the case of an imminent threat to the campus community.
E-mail messages, tested along with the CaseWARN alerts, reach 100 percent of the university community but can take up to an hour to be delivered, depending on various technological factors. In the recent tests, conducted during regular business hours, email met effectiveness measures, but students, faculty and staff must be at computers or have mobile access to e-mail to receive the messages. The text and voice alerts go to cell phones, which many tend to carry with them.
The university also tested nine outdoor speakers, which will help reach members of the university community who may be outside—as well as visitors to campus and residents of area institutions and neighborhoods—at the time of an emergency. These tests, a siren warning and recorded and live voice alerts, showed the speakers, which are an upgrade to the current campus police call boxes, are effective when people are within 1,000 feet of a speaker. At least three more speakers will be added to the system in the coming months.
In a combined test, all systems were exercised, and the results indicate that the use of the various communications layers will achieve the desired outcome of reaching most of the university community within 15 minutes or less. Word of mouth and forwarded text and voice messages also have been shown to be viable, additional means of notification.
Case Police and Security Services and the university’s Security Task Force strongly recommend that all members of the campus community subscribe to the CaseWARN alerts and keep their information current.
Students who will be graduating in May and any faculty or staff who may be leaving the university for other employment need to delete their information from the CaseWARN system.