BVU Alert to be installed on all computers

A new alert system will be installed on all BVU issued computers to notify students, faculty and staff of possible emergencies.

The program, BVU Alert, is a pop up system that will be downloaded on all computers on campus. The committee worked on this in hopes of getting the program loaded into the system this year, but at latest, the alert system will be effective when students return in the fall.

"The goal is trying to have it up and active before the end of year, but it's going to be close. A lot of that depends on the decisions concerning design and other factors," Mark Kirkholm, Director of Campus Security said.

The alert system will be able to be activated by authorized people, and, although it can be used to alert on anything, it will be reserved for emergencies.

"The program itself is capable of doing anything. We are focusing on issues involving emergencies only," Kirkholm said.

The system will also be linked to the National Weather Service and will automatically alert for tornado warnings and watches as well as severe thunderstorm warnings.

The weather trigger is an automatic function. When the National Weather Service sends out an alert, it will trigger automatically so there won't be a time delay. Other alerts have to be triggered by an authorized member of the BVU community. The plan currently allows all of President's Council, Associate Dean of Students, Director of Marketing and Communications, Director of facilities and Director of campus security to trigger the alert system.

Eventually, the pop up alert system will work on the various flat screens around campus. These flat screen televisions, such as the ones located in the servery and science center, are computer based and will be able to interact with the software.

A system like this has been looked at for years and there isn't a single event that accounts for it being added to computers now.

"We have always had the advantage of the ability to send out emails notifying of emergencies. Technology is catching up, and it's up to us to look all options in a reasonable manner and improve our ability to communicate," Kirkholm said.

Also, next year all classrooms will be equipped with a phone/intercom system. The phone is for faculty to call out of the room if needed, and the intercom will serve the purpose of making announcements if needed.

Text message alerts, which are already being done on some campuses, are also being looked at as a possibility.

"A real advantage to our campus is the forum building. It's the safest spot in town, but has the worst cell phone reception. We have to look at all that when considering the text message option," Kirkholm said.

BV's current alert system consists primarily of e-mail alerts. There is also an RA alert tree in case of emergencies. A security car on campus is also equipped with an intercom system to serve as a mobile alert system.

Because BV is a wireless campus that relies greatly on computers, many see this as a very practical decision to accommodate to our campus.

"When I first saw this as an opportunity, I thought for our purposes here at BV it was absolutely the best approach to communicate," Kirkholm said.

Only one other college in the country, George Washington University, currently uses this program as an emergency alert system.

"It's non intrusive, plus it provides service for local weather. There will also be a link to BVU's calendar of events. The options are unlimited, but right now the focus is on emergency communication," Kirkholm said.