Miami Dade College Signs on with County-wide Emergency Alert System

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 02/11/08

Miami Dade College (MDC) is enhancing its emergency communication on campus by joining the Miami-Dade County network implementation of WENS, the wireless emergency notification system run by Inspiron Logistics.

Currently, MDC uses a number of resources, such as hotlines, the Web, voicemail, the media, and press releases to notify its community of a college emergency. The new program, Miami Dade College Alerts, adds the capability for the school to notify registered users through text messaging, personal e-mail, and pagers.

"Miami Dade College is continually looking for ways to enhance its capability to communicate quickly and effectively in a crisis because we believe this provides the best opportunity to keep our faculty, students, and staff even safer," said Scott Burnotes, director of MDC Emergency Preparedness.

Registered users will also receive messages regarding large-scale incidents affecting the county, such as hurricanes, hazardous materials releases and terrorist attacks. The alert service is provided free of charge, but text messaging fees may apply depending on the receiver's mobile calling plan.

While anyone can register, the system is aimed at the MDC college community--students, family, faculty, and staff. Although registration confirmation messages are generated in English, the registration process allows subscribers to select their preferred language for receiving alerts.