Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Caribbean Schools Face Hurricane Season with Notifications in Place

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/01/09

Inter-American University in Puerto Rico and the American University of Antigua--both in the Caribbean--have signed onto Blackboard Connect for text, voice, and e-mail notification services. Both schools are users of the Blackboard Learn course management system.

"It is a tremendous relief to have the Blackboard Connect service in place for the start of our new school year, which coincides with hurricane season in Puerto Rico," said Manuel Fernos, president of the 44,000-student Inter-American U. "We are now able to notify students and staff instantly about urgent news such as campus closures. In addition, we can promote new class openings, campus activities, and registration deadlines to help ensure our students' academic success."

AUA will also integrate the Blackboard Connect service as part of its campus-wide communication plan to reach students and the community with notices and instruction surrounding hurricane and tropical storm warnings, as well as volcanoes and earthquakes, which aren't uncommon in the area.

The service provides geo-targeting technology so that notifications can be sent to special groups to quickly address a specific need.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Businessman using laptop to analyze and control information security data

    Survey Reveals Data Governance Enforcement Gap for Agentic AI Tools

    According to a new report, 99.7% of IT and security leaders surveyed by identity security company Delinea said their organization has a formal policy governing what data AI tools and agents are permitted to access. Yet only about 51% said AI access is checked against those policies in real time.

  • Hootsuite

    Beyond the Feed: How Higher Ed Turns Social Media Into a Measurable Enrollment Engine

    More than half of prospective students research programs on social media before visiting a university website, and nearly half will skip applying to a school that looks inactive online. Hootsuite, the all-in-one social OS platform trusted by more than 2,000 higher education institutions, helps campus teams turn everyday posts into measurable outcomes, from applications to alumni giving.

  • Abstract Network Connection Structure with Glowing Nodes and Lines on Dark Background

    Rubrik, CrowdStrike Expand Integration to Speed Identity Recovery

    Cybersecurity companies Rubrik and CrowdStrike have announced an expanded identity-security integration intended to move compromised identity environments from threat detection through clean recovery with less manual intervention.

  • Minimalist binary data fragmentation

    Fragmented Data Is Quietly Undermining Student Success and Cybersecurity Hygiene

    Siloed tools, teams, budgets, and resources spread across departments and campuses generate massive amounts of data. However, fragmentation creates unnecessary exposure to security threats and inadvertently reduces student support because no one can see the whole picture.