Arizona State U Adds Mass Notifications for Emergency Preparedness

Arizona State University (ASU) has implemented a new mass notification system in an effort to improve communication and emergency preparedness.

"The safety of those on our campuses is our top priority, which is why we need to be able to communicate with students, faculty and staff, and other affiliates quickly in an urgent situation," said Allen Clark, director of emergency preparedness at ASU, in a prepared statement. "We are updating our emergency messaging system so the ASU community receives important messages when it matters most. We look forward to adding additional services that will enable the system to serve the community more efficiently and have the broadest reach possible."

The school chose Blackboard Connect, which began operating on January 1, and "will send both urgent notifications and important campus updates to students, faculty, and staff through email, texts, RSS, Facebook, and Twitter," according to information released by Blackboard.

Students faculty and staff were automatically enrolled in the system in late December and prompted through the university's secure Web portal, MyASU, to update, customize, or opt out of the system. Users will also have the ability to manage message settings, set the campus location they want to receive messages from, and add additional subscribers.

The move builds on a previous relationship between Blackboard and ASU, which began using the company's learning management system, Blackboard Learn, in 2000. ASU also began using Blackboard Student Services in 2011.

Arizona State University enrolls more than 72,000 undergraduate and graduate students at four campuses in the Phoenix metro area.

More information about ASU is available at asu.edu. Visit blackboard.com to learn more about Blackboard Connect.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

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