Calling All Community Colleges
Two-year schools lag in implementing emergency notification systems-- but all
higher ed institutions need to boost awareness of these life-saving systems.
All may not be equal on college
campuses when it comes to
emergency notification systems.
According to a 2009 CDW-G
nationwide survey of higher education
institutions*, community
college denizens are less likely
to know if their campus has a
modern notification system than
faculty, students, and IT staff at
four-year schools. (The survey
defined a "modern" system as
one that uses a combination of
mass e-mail, text-messaging,
loudspeakers, and sirens.)
Sixty-two percent of community
college survey respondents
reported that their campus has
some kind of campus emergency
notification system, compared to
85+ percent of respondents from
public and private four-year institutions.
That could mean that fewer
community colleges actually have
these systems, or that community
colleges are doing a lesser job of
making their constituencies aware
that these systems exist (or a
little of both).
Community colleges also lag
behind when it comes to participation
in these systems. Of the 62
percent of community college
respondents who said their campus
has emergency notification,
only 66 percent acknowledged participating
in the system. The
reported participation numbers for
four-year public and private institutions
are much higher.
Furthermore, when it comes to the
actual use of technologies, four-year
institutions are more likely to utilize
mass e-mail and text-message notifications than their two-year-college
colleagues, according to IT staff
responders to the survey.
About three-quarters (76 percent)
of community college IT
staff reported that their school
uses e-mail alerts for emergency
notification, compared to 90+
percent of four-year public and private
school IT staff respondents.
There’s an even larger discrepancy
in the use of text messaging: 66
percent of community colleges
send text-message alerts, compared
to 80+ percent of four-year
publics and privates.
The lower usage levels of e-mail
and texting may be particularly
unfortunate for community colleges--
since their students spend
so much time off campus, it would
be beneficial for their alert systems
to reach students wherever they are.
The goal, of course, is to achieve
100 percent participation in emergency
notification systems on all
campuses. That can only happen
with better communication from
campus administrators about the
systems that are in place. See
Login for some creative suggestions
the study gathered from students
about how schools can boost
awareness and participation among
campus constituents.
*The March 2009 online survey canvassed
400 students, 303 faculty, and
314 campus IT professionals at community
college, four-year public, and four-year
private institutions. For more info, go here.