A mass campus notification service and an active-shooter training video are among the new crisis communications services now being used by the Sonoma State University Police Services Department.
SSU Police Chief Nate Johnson reports the campus has installed and is now testing the Connect-ED program which will allow the University to alert students, faculty and staff about a campus emergency within minutes of notification of the situation.
SSU has almost 8500 students attending the Rohnert Park campus and employs more than 1500 staff and faculty.
This system is reserved only for major emergency situations that may affect individuals immediate safety, says Johnson.
The service enables campus leaders to schedule, send, and track personalized voice messages at up to six phone numbers and two e-mail addresses per student and staff member. In all, the multi-modal service helps officials reach out to students and staff via:
Voice messages to home phones, work phones, cell phones, and even e-mail addresses
Text messages to cell phones, PDAs, networked digital signage, and other text-based devices
Text messages to e-mail accounts
Messages to TTY/TDD receiving devices for the hearing impaired
The Connect-ED service has been successfully used for communication by schools across the country during events, such as the wildfires in Southern California, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ernesto, school evacuations, campus notifications required by the Clery Act, and to help locate missing persons.
With the memories of campus shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois also on the minds of campus police, the University has also responded with a proactive strategy to empower the campus community to respond to a mass-casualty incident.
Survival skills for an active shooter incident on campus are also being taught to SSU students, faculty and staff with a new emphasis on individuals being aware of their option to take matters into their own hands.
An instructional DVD called "Shots Fired On Campus" is now being offered that teaches how to develop a "survival mentality."
As a follow up to the campus active shooter drill last year, SSU Director of Emergency Services and Disaster Planning Tyson Hill has made the rounds of freshman orientation seminars, faculty and staff meetings and classrooms in an ongoing effort to educate SSU's campus community and empower all with a survival mindset and skills that can be used for a lifetime.
"Ever since the tragic events of 911 and the heroic behavior of passengers on United Flight 93, there has been a newer school of thought for individuals who find themselves in critical incidents to become pro-active in protecting their lives and not rely on the passive approach used in previous times," says Hill.
The video was produced by the Center for Personal Protection and Safety, based in Spokane, Wash. and is being shown at college campuses around the country.
Questions regarding the above initiatives can be directed to Tyson Hill, Director of Emergency Services and Disaster Planning,
(707) 664-4444.
