2008 Woodie Awards
Digital Down-low
In the wake of recent campus tragedies, CMU has updated its notification system.
By: Mike Wayland
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: News
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The university signed a two-year contract with National Notification Network (3N), a global provider of mass notification solutions. The deal will make it possible for CMU to contact students in a variety of ways, including text messaging. It will cost CMU about $22,000 a year.
"The system is in place right now," said Steve Smith, director of media relations. "The key element right now is getting the students to get in there and give us their information."
Marc Ladin, vice president of global marketing of 3N, said more than 100 universities are registered. Getting their students to register is one of the biggest challenges they are facing, he said.
"Every organization is different how they are (registering)," Ladin said. "A number of colleges use iPod giveaways."
Several incidents, including the recent campus shootings, also have prompted more students to register, he said.
Smith said the 3N system is quicker than sending out notifications through student e-mail addresses, and in case CMU's Internet goes out, the university still will be able to notify students.
"In the past, we had e-mail and phone systems that we could use," Smith said. "(3N) consolidates everything down into one system, where with a push of a button we can send out emergency notification to everyone that registers."
Simple Setup
To register, students sign into "My Account" through the CMU Portal under "Academics." Then they can go to "Emergency Notification" on the left and input their cell phone number, local number and/or alternate e-mail address.
"The phone end of things is quite fast - we start receiving the notifications within 10 to 15 seconds, with a couple of criteria," said Michael Reuter, manager of technical services for CMU.
When students are contacted by cell phone, they will be asked to hear an automated message and verify they heard it by pressing the '1' key.
If students choose to receive text messages, they should send a message back to the 3N system for verification. The system needs verification to know if it should try any other option to contact that person, Reuter said.
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