Western Oregon Journal

Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: News

At 10:05 a.m., the message was sent.
By 10:06 a.m., the server had made at least one attempt to reach every registered user.
Western's first trial run of the new 3n notification system, implemented last spring, quickly alerted students, staff, faculty and parents during a trial run between 10:05 a.m. and 10:35 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29. After the host system sent out the first burst of messages, it continued to work its way through the database, using different methods to reach individuals until confirmation of receipt was affirmed.
"Overall, we were very pleased with the results," said Director of Public Safety Jay Carey.
At the time of the interview, Carey said 7,040 people were registered in the system. 2,300 confirmed that they received the message, the largest percentage of whom were students replying by e-mail, followed by confirmation text messages.
"Some people weren't sure if it was legitimate and sent e-mails questioning if the alert was real," said Carey.
The majority of confirmations came during the first three minutes, Carey said, followed by several later responses once classes ended.
"We wanted to run it during class times on purpose to see what kind of response we would get," he said.
Had the trial run been a real emergency, Carey said, building managers would also have been alerted and advised people in the buildings to either evacuate or lock down.
The 3n system is controlled by Public Safety and Computing Services, but a handful of staff in the different departments are also trained in using the alert messages, said Carey.
"In the event of an actual crisis, that decision (to use 3n) would come through the Administration," he said.
Carey said Public Safety will probably send another wave of all-student registration e-mails out before winter quarter in order to make sure that students who are new have a chance to sign up.
Although efforts will eventually be made to reduce the number of e-mails sent out to only those students who have not yet registered, the all-student registration e-mails currently act as a reminder for students who may have forgotten that they signed up for the emergency notification service.
"The e-mails act as a memory jogger for students about the system," Carey said. "It's there for their good and their protection."
Carey said trial alerts will probably take place two or three times a year. Public Safety will run tests again in winter and spring terms of this year.
Carey stressed the importance of quick user-response to these test messages.
"As soon as they get it, and it asks for a response, they need to respond and confirm," he said. "It allows us to track how quickly the message was sent out, and how quickly it was received."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools