It’s easy to remember that feeling of freedom when leaving for college. You’re no longer living under your parents’ roof; you’re living with friends and able to do as you please. For most, your only major responsibilities are attending class and maintaining good grades in hopes of landing a solid job right out of college or continuing your education. Planning out what actions you should take in case of an emergency situation is probably not at the top of your priority list. It shouldn’t have to be.
While attending school, most of us probably didn’t realize that colleges and universities are required to have a structured emergency action and response plan in place, which includes the various potential emergency scenarios. Each campus’ plan varies as they each have their own unique needs. In addition to planning the actions taken during each possible emergency scenario, campuses must also establish the procedures to be followed after the emergency, including who they will notify to provide timely warnings and how they will reach them.
Despite each university having their own action and response plan, implementing these plans and procedures into actionable notifications is still a struggle. As college campuses expand to support the increasing number of attending students, the increasing number of possible locations that students and staff frequent also makes contact more difficult. This situation isn’t unique to college campuses; as all organizations have this responsibility for their employees, guests, students, members, etc…
For example, for High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, just having an established campus emergency action and response plan in place wasn’t enough. Instead, they also needed a way to bring their action and response plan to life by reaching all of their students, staff, and visitors, no matter where they were. Like High Point, recently acknowledged as an America’s Safe Campus, many organizations cover hundreds of acres – so relying on just text and/or email to alert their students in an emergency situation isn’t sufficient. High Point uses multiple endpoints – digital signage, PA systems, fire alarms, and so on – throughout campus in order to alert everyone in the case of an emergency.
And by mapping their emergency action and response plan to Omnilert’s emergency notification system, they ensure their action plans and procedures for each potential emergency are aligned and set to be sent when needed – immediately. There’s no time to plan and prepare when an emergency happens. Gus Porter, High Point University’s Environmental Health, Safety, and Preparedness Manager says, “Omnilert gives me a level of comfort and peace of mind knowing that we can reach our campus 24/7 with a variety of endpoints.”
High Point understands that they aren’t immune to potential danger; however, they are prepared for it. Watch the video case study to learn more about how High Point University brought their emergency response and action plans to life in an effort to reach everyone, everywhere.
