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UB Alert test goes as planned
University Communications on Wednesday tested UB’s crisis communication plan by conducting a test of the UB Alert system, the communication vehicle the university will use in the event of an emergency or severe weather situation.
“Overall it was a very successful test. It gave us the opportunity to make sure each of UB’s emergency communication channels works properly, and it was useful in raising awareness about how the university will communicate to the campus in a major emergency,” says Joe Brennan, associate vice president for university communications.
“We are planning another test for next semester and will continue to improve upon our emergency communication technologies and procedures year-round,” Brennan adds.
In advance of the fall semester test, University Communications worked with various entities on campus to spread the word about UB Alert in an effort to get as many new students, faculty and staff as possible to sign up to receive alerts via text message or an alternate email account. More than 470 new users registered, including 182 on the day of the test.
When a UB Alert is deployed for a major emergency or weather-related event affecting campus, anyone with an “@buffalo.edu” email address will receive a message at their UB email account. The alerts also are posted to UB’s social media accounts, the university’s emergency website and the 716-645-NEWS hotline; alerts are texted as well to the cellphones of those who registered.
The fall semester test of UB Alert began shortly after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the following message was sent to all UB email accounts, plus 6,181 additional email accounts registered: “This is a test of the UB Alert emergency communication system. In a major emergency or weather event, the university will communicate to faculty, staff and students through email, text messaging, UB websites, official social media channels and the 645-NEWS hotline. For more information about UB Alert or to sign up to receive text messages, go to www.emergency.buffalo.edu.”
A text message also was sent to more than 14,400 registered cellphones.
Similar messages were deployed to UB’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The test message also appeared along the top of the UB homepage and on the UB Reporter website. The test concluded around noon, when the alert messages were removed from these sites.
Members of the UB community may sign up for UB Alert at any time. The service is free. However, users may incur text messaging fees depending on their wireless service provider and plan.
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