At this time of year, students, faculty, and staff are preparing for the everyday realities of the semester ahead: classes, research assignments, deadlines, and busy work schedules. Though rare, campus emergencies are also something for which to be well prepared. Taking a few minutes to register for ISU Emergency Alert is an easy way to assure that you will receive timely notification.
“We think of ISU Emergency Alert as the ‘front door’ to notification and information about campus emergencies,” said Eric Hodges, Illinois State University’s emergency manager. “The system is the fastest way to alert people to incidents on campus and direct them to the Illinois State homepage for follow-up information.”
Registration for ISU Emergency Alert can be done online.
In place since 2008, ISU Emergency Alert has expanded the number of channels it uses to push information to the campus community during an emergency. Text message alerts to registered cell phones are still a signature feature of the system, but other channels include campus VOIP phones, lecture hall and smart classroom computers, digital display boards, campus flagship social media accounts, University email addresses, and the Illinois State homepage.
Hodges notes that, in the event of an emergency, a message can be sent to the campus community very quickly through the ISU Emergency Alert system. “The initial alert message is sent from the Illinois State University Police Department,” said Hodges. “The shift commander on duty has the authority to alert the campus. The system also uses pre-scripted messages that cover a variety of situations, so we have removed as much delay as possible in sending that crucial first alert.”
Illinois State has a robust emergency management infrastructure which involves staff members from numerous departments across campus. During an incident, personnel come together in teams to address incident management and communications. Regular training in specific roles means that members of those teams are ready to respond to an emergency at any time.
