University of Hawaii Invites Students to Register for Emergency Text Message Alert System

Open registration for UH students of all 10 campuses begins February 28

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
David Lassner, (808) 956-3501
VP for Information Technology and CIO
Posted: Feb 28, 2008

The University of Hawai'i today invited students of all 10 campuses to register for its emergency text message notification system. The text messaging alert system is one of several steps being initiated by the University of Hawai'i to enhance its communications capability for students, faculty and staff in times of emergency. The first test of the UH Alert emergency notification system was conducted on February 20, 2008, with faculty and staff of all 10 campuses. It tested a mix of notification options, including one or more phone, email and/or text message addresses. Over 2,900 UH faculty and staff have registered for the system, which is on par with national averages at peer institutions.

"The first test was successful," said UH Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer David Lassner. "According to data collected, only 30 people were not reachable at the phone numbers in the database. UH will be using the faculty/staff test results to refine the database over the next few weeks, while simultaneously expanding the reach of the database to include text message notification for students."

After the student registration process, another test similar to the one with faculty and staff will be held to ensure that the system is successful in alerting students of emergencies on campus. Lassner noted that "one of the lessons learned from other institutions is that no single communication medium can reach everyone. In the event of an emergency, we need to use multiple channels and ask for everyone‘s help in sharing emergency information with everyone in their vicinity."

For more information about the university‘s emergency alert system, visit www.hawaii.edu/emergency.

For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/emergency