Siemens’ mass notification experts analyzed data from 77 colleges and universities that had provided the information as 2010 Clery Reports, which are submitted to the federal government as part of Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act. The experts rated the institutions’ notification capability levels from one to five with one being the most rudimentary and generally consisting of a non-layered approach and five considered holistic with an integrated multimodal approach.
Fifty-one percent of schools fell into either level three or four, which means they had a layered approach with multiple modalities or modes of communication. None fell into level 5.
The levels were delineated as follows:
Level 1: The most simplistic emergency notification capabilities, generally consisting of a non-layered approach with fewer than three modalities.
Level 2: A non-layered approach to emergency communications incorporating four to six modalities.
Level 3: A more sophisticated system including six to eight modalities.
Level 4: A multilayered approach to mass notification with some degree of integration among layers.
Level 5: An integrated, multimodal approach to mass notification consisting of more than five layers of technology with streamlined activation across messaging layers.
The various layers of messaging were comprised of communications platforms including: Web-based alerting; indoor public address; outdoor warnings and social media. Seventeen percent of the schools evaluated use methods of communicating from each of the platforms.
Analysts found that Web-based technologies (SMS/text, email, voicemail, call-in emergency hotline, websites, internal portal, blog) were most common and that 29 percent of the schools had no other means of mass communication. The white paper noted that although Web-based systems are important, relying on them alone is not a “sound practice.” The most common outdoor method of notification is the blue light/outdoor emergency phones, found on 60 percent of the campuses examined.
The white paper said the most effective way to reach the maximum number of people and ensure consistency of message is to deploy comprehensive, multimodal systems that incorporate various layers of messaging and are managed by a single command center.
The analysts found that the larger the school the more sophisticated the notification system appeared to be and that community colleges were least likely to have integrated, multimodal systems. The analysis included 34 private, 31 public and 12 community colleges from the four regions of the United States.
