Campus safety will reach a new level when the Baker Alert emergency notification system launches Oct. 20.
“Any campus community member, which means faculty, staff or students, can sign up,” Dean of Students Cassy Bailey said.
The B-Alert system will allow people to register to be notified of campus emergencies and/or school closings. Such emergencies could include severe weather alerts that require people to take cover or notification if someone with a gun were on campus.
Bailey said her only concern about the system is that students have to take the time to register because people aren’t signed up automatically.
“That means a student will have to take five or 10 minutes out of their day to register and then keep that information up-to-date,” Bailey said. “If we don’t have that, then we cannot contact the student.”
The B-Alert system is being launched at the College of Arts and Sciences campus Oct. 20 and will extend to Baker’s other campuses by next year. Students will be receiving e-mail notifications and links to the Web site where they can sign up for the service in the coming weeks.
Web Services Administrator Toby Ebel has been working on the Web component of the program.
“It’s basically like creating an account like you would in other online places,” he said. “You’re going to create a username, which might be your e-mail, and you’re going to set your password; then you’re going to make a few choices about how and when you want to receive messages for things like emergencies and school closings.”
Ebel said people can choose to receive notification via text message, voice mail or both on their cell phones. People also will be able to sign up for e-mail notifications and have the option of having two people other than themselves, such as family members, receive the notifications as well.
Senior Haydon Hubbel likes the idea of receiving notifications via text message better than voice mail on her cell phone.
“I think more people will respond to those quicker than taking the time to actually listen to a voice mail,” she said. “It’s a good idea because most people check their phones way more than their campus e-mail.”
Bailey said people might not be compelled to sign up for the system, but forgoing the registration could leave people without potentially vital information.
“This is a great benefit to our students and their families, to be able to have instant contact with them in case of an emergency,” she said.
Ebel said a toll-free number associated with the system also would be available for people to call and get updates if a message is sent. To keep students who graduate from receiving messages about emergencies, the list will be deleted and people will have to register again each fall.
“Every semester we’ll encourage students to update their information, and at the beginning of every academic year we’ll encourage students to sign up again,” Bailey said.