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].

Featured

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • Microsoft

    Microsoft Introduces Its First Quantum Computing Chip

    Microsoft has unveiled Majorana 1, its first quantum computing chip, aimed at deployment in datacenters.

  • interconnected glowing nodes and circuits in blue and green, forming a neural network on a dark background with a futuristic design

    Tech Giants Launch $100 Billion AI Infrastructure Network Project

    OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle have unveiled a new venture, Stargate, through which they aim to build a massive AI infrastructure network across the United States. The initiative, which was announced at the White House with President Donald Trump, has been described as the "largest AI infrastructure project in history."

  • glowing digital shield with a checkmark in the center, surrounded by interconnected lines and nodes on a dark blue background with subtle circuit patterns

    Navigating CMMC 2.0: New Cybersecurity Standards Impact Higher Education

    In October 2024, the Department of Defense published a new update to its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification enforcing new cybersecurity standards on universities and colleges. With Phase 1 beginning this year, here's what the new requirements mean for higher ed.