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MU alert system to serve in emergencies
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by Megan Fink
Public Relations
It’s been more than three years since the tragic shooting and killing
of 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech, yet the responsibility to
protect students, faculty and staff is still fresh on the minds of
those behind the MUSC Alert system.
MUSC Alert passed its first major test two years ago and contributors
from Risk Management, Public Safety, Information Systems,
Communications and the Web team in Marketing have been working
diligently to enhance the system since then. Most changes have been
behind the scenes; for example, making it easier for administrators to
post emergency messages on the homepage through helpful interfaces.
“Our goal is to ensure everyone on campus can receive notification,”
said University Risk Management business manager Jennifer Taylor. Even
parents or spouses can sign up for MUSC Alert through a student or
spouse’s account. Once registered, additional contact information can
be added to receive alerts.
The full system will be utilized only if there is imminent danger to
MUSC’s campus. Several channels of communication are available through
the system to disseminate emergency information, such as e-mail, alerts
on the MUSC homepage and http://mymusc.edu, messages on desktops,
voicemail, and text messages sent to cell phones. Registered users will
receive four test text messages per year on their cell phones. One text
is sent each quarter of the business year. Non-registered users will
still receive alerts through their MUSC email account.
Test e-mails read: “This is a quarterly test of the MUSC Alert
Emergency Notification System. You are getting this message, because
you have an MUSC email account. MUSC Alert is MUSC’s Emergency
Notification System. All registered users of this system receive a
text, voice, email and desktop message. If you are a registered user of
MUSC Alert and did not receive a text and/or voice message, please be
sure your mobile number is correct.”
University Risk Management also tracks the time it takes for a user to
receive an emergency notification once it is sent. According to Taylor,
users receive test text messages fairly quickly since there is less
data to send. It takes slightly longer to receive pre-recorded
voicemail notification.
Tests are done from Public Safety’s dispatch office, since they may be
the initiators of the emergency notification. Weather-related events
also have value for MUSC Alert. University Risk Management has used the
system incrementally for this purpose with noncritical messages, such
as winter weather advisories. Noncritical information is posted on the
Web, but not sent to users’ cell phones.
According to University Risk Management, participation is now at about
40 percent. Since MUSC Alert is an important tool in reaching students
and employees quickly, they hope to see that number increase. “It’s not
just MUSC that is seeing low enrollment rates for their emergency
response system,” said Taylor. “Even Virginia Tech has low numbers.”
To register for emergency text and voice messages on your cell phones,
go to
http://www.musc.edu/muscalert.
For information contact Jennifer Taylor at 792-0757 or
taylorjr@musc.edu.
Friday, Aug. 27, 2010
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