The University has adopted an early alert system that can instantaneously disseminate messages to students, faculty, and staff in the event of a campus emergency.

“The tragedy at Virginia Tech served as a sobering national wake-up call for higher education with regard to emergency management and emergency communication procedures,” says President Arnold Speert.  “We learned that we need to be able to communicate almost immediately with the campus community, and this new system will allow us to notify students, faculty, and staff quickly and through various technologies.”

The system, Connect Ed, enables William Paterson to send and track personalized voice and e-mail messages. Notification can include voice messages to home, work, and cell phones; text messages to cell phones, personal digital assistants, and other text-based services; written messages to e-mail accounts, and messages to receiving devices for the hearing impaired.  The system, which can send out two million messages simultaneously, will be used solely for emergency purposes.

All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to opt in to the system, which will also be used to inform the campus community about weather closing emergencies.  The sign-up form can be accessed by logging into WPConnect on the University home page, and clicking on the link titled “Emergency Notification Service Sign Up” under campus announcements.

“Connect Ed is a critical addition to the University’s ability to communicate with our students, faculty, and staff in the event of a crisis,” says Stephen Bolyai, vice president for administration and finance.  “I strongly encourage everyone to sign up for the system.

Bolyai adds that in addition to electronic communication media, the University will continue to take a hands-on approach by communicating emergency information and instructions to occupants of campus buildings that are directly affected by any incident.  “Our campus police will go door-to-door if necessary.  The safety of our community is of paramount importance.”