News

Tegrity Intros Emergency Contingency Learning System for Higher Ed

• By David Nagel
• 09/16/09

Ed tech developer Tegrity has debuted a new system to allow colleges and universities to continue instruction online in the event of a campus closure.

The new Tegrity Emergency Response is a "contingency service" that's designed to provide academic continuity in times of emergency. In the event of a campus closure, faculty can log in, set up courses, invite students to participate, and record class presentations. Students can then access lectures and course materials online via an e-mail invitation.

The technology has been used in the past at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, LA following Hurricane Katrina.

“Just a few days after the storm, I started receiving calls and e-mails from other colleges telling me they had my students,” said Missy LaCour, director of Health Information Technology at Delgado CC, in a prepared statement. “They were concerned about continuing their education and I wanted to be the one to teach them. I knew I could do it, and with Tegrity, I had the means to do it. Tegrity also enabled them to remain within the Delgado community even though they lived in other cities. Those students will be graduating this semester.”

Campus Technology has published a case study on Delgado's use of the technology. It can be accessed here.

With the new service, though, colleges and universities can pay a reservation fee to ensure that the system is activated "instantly" when an emergency happens. The regular use fee is only charged when the system is put into play during an emergency. (There's also a one-time setup fee.)

Further information about Tegrity Emergency Response can be found here.

In addition, Tegrity is hosting a Webinar about the use of its system during a campus emergency, featuring a case study from Tulane University, also in New Orleans. Further information about this free event can be found here.