Boston University Adds Text Messaging
Saturday, October 20, 2007 by HackCollege 
Probably with the Virginia Tech Tragedy in mind (though not specifically stated), Boston University recently began requiring its students to hand over their cell phone numbers for the university's new Send Word Now system (or SWN, if you text with a lot of acronyms).
Send Word Now is an emergency notification system that will help ensure rapid and reliable mass communication to students, faculty, and staff. The Send Word Now system is designed to communicate with cell phones (text and voice messages), landlines, e-mail systems, and pagers during a crisis or time-sensitive situation on the Boston University Charles River and Medical campuses. In certain cases, Send Word Now has the capability of allowing recipients to provide responses to messages received.
Great step, Boston University. Here's hoping other colleges and universities follow your lead.
Reader Comments (11)
Troy University in Troy, Alabama has a similar new system this semester as well, simply called SOS (alliteration unintended yet necessary, my deepest apologies). So far it's only been used for tornado watch alerts.
My school, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, instituted a text messaging system this semester in the wake of the VT tragedy.
Emerson College instituted this over the summer. It allows for 2 different text message numbers per student, 2 phone numbers, 2 emergency contacts, and 2 emails. It's pretty awesome, but since we don't really have a campus (hello Boston Common...) it seems a little over-the-top.
Not to brag or anything, but LMU has had this for a few months ;).
[...] here for more Possibly Related Posts:- Fatal error: Call to undefined function similar_posts() in [...]
Johns Hopkins also deployed a system in September.
Arizona State also has the text message alert system, although only on a voluntary basis. While this system may sound effective, we just recently found it to be very much the opposite.
On Nov. 1 we had a fire in our Memorial Union. While the university claims to have sent out text messages to the few thousand students who signed up for the service, no one received a text until about 2 hours after the fire had begun. By that time, it was contained.
Apparently, the system can only send 15 messages per second. If all 60,000+ students at ASU had signed up for the service, it would take 70 minutes to reach all students. (This still doesn't explain the delay a few days ago...)
The shootings at VA Tech lasted a whole 9 minutes. Looks like we need to find a better solution.
[...] In response to what happened in Virginia last April, LMU had established a fast-response system that would send out text messages and recorded voice messages to every student registered for the service. Many other universities have done the same, including Boston University and Arizona State (thanks readers!). [...]
Ditto to Jrock
The message system at ASU takes way to long. They really need to figure out how to get messages to everyone in a timely manner.
Very nice for improving emergency response and things of that nature.