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• Test of UB Alert

  

  University Communications will test UB’s campus crisis communication plan on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Members signed up to receive UB Alert text messages will receive a text, while the entire UB community will receive an email. UB’s social network sites on Facebook and Twitter also will post information, and an announcement will be posted to the UB Alert website.

  To sign up to receive text messages, visit the UB Alert website.

By DAVID J. Hill

Published: October 13, 2011

Communication is critical during an emergency, especially when the event has the potential to affect tens of thousands of people across UB’s three campuses.

University officials hope to never encounter such an emergency, but if one arises, UB has a system in place that provides vital information to the campus community.

UB Alert is UB’s official crisis communication vehicle. This system will send emergency messages to everyone who has a UB “.edu” email address. Anyone who wants to receive UB Alert text messages on their cellphone, or have email alerts sent to an alternative email address, such as a Gmail or Hotmail account, must sign up via the UB Alert website.

“We think it helps improve safety. If we can warn people about impending disasters, then the chances are better that they can take action to protect themselves and the people around them,” explains Joseph A. Brennan, UB’s associate vice president for university communications. “When you know about things that are happening, you can take precautions. We think awareness is good.”

With a fall-semester test of the system scheduled to occur on Oct. 19, the university wants to spread the word about UB Alert and ensure that as many people as possible sign up for the free service, which also is used when any of UB’s campuses are affected by severe weather or other events that cause classes and activities to be canceled. The system was used in February 2011 when classes were canceled due to the possibility of a threatening snow storm, Brennan notes.

The UB Alert system offers many advantages, officials say. “In the mobile environment we live in today, it gives us quick notification of emergency events on campus,” says James H. Reger, UB’s emergency manager. “The notification allows the person the option to continue as planned or to change plans depending on the alert.”

During emergencies, UB Alert will provide the campus community with the best information currently available, as quickly as possible. That information will be distributed across numerous channels, including the UB Alert website, UB homepage, MyUB, UB Reporter, 716-645-NEWS, the UB Alert Twitter feed and UB Facebook pages, in addition to traditional media outlets.

“We want people to know that we will make every effort to communicate with the campus to alert them to emergencies,” Brennan says. “It may not be possible to provide perfect information because in a disaster things are often uncertain, especially in the early stages. Our No. 1 goal is safety.”

The message system will be deployed only when absolutely necessary. University emergency preparedness officials note that in many incidents, emergency responders are acting with incomplete information and people on campus should be aware that the situation may change rapidly and multiple messages and updates may be sent. Members of the campus community, in all situations, should exercise common sense and take prudent steps to ensure their personal safety, officials note.

“It’s not going to be a Tweet every two minutes,” says Brennan. “We’re not going to text you about every incident. When it’s severe enough that it could have a major impact on large groups of people, or it presents a significant risk to safety, that’s the threshold that we use.”

Officials stress that people should not contact University Police when they receive a UB Alert, as it’s imperative that police keep phone lines open during an emergency. Members of the university community should contact the police department only if they need help, or have relevant information pertaining to the incident. Anyone who wants to verify the authenticity of a UB Alert is advised to check the university’s emergency website rather than calling University Police.

Faculty, staff and students also are advised to share the information with those around them. “There is no perfect form of communication that always reaches every person with 100 percent accuracy and clarity,” Brennan says. “There is no silver bullet. If you receive one of these alerts, please let the people around you know.”

In addition to emergency situations, the alert system is used to comply with the federal Clery Act, which requires all U.S. universities to provide timely and relevant information on violent crimes on and around their campuses. For example, the latest UB Alert, deployed on Sunday, provided details on a strong-armed robbery that occurred at a residence hall on the North Campus.

For more information, visit the UB Alert website. To report an emergency on campus, call campus police at 716-645-2222.