Foothill-De Anza Improves Emergency Preparedness and Communication with Implementation of Connect-ED® Service
School-to-Student Communication System Built Specifically for Higher Education Allows Campus Leaders to Reach Thousands of Students, Faculty and Staff in Minutes
Today we are forced to prepare for situations that years ago we never could have anticipated happening. We recognize the important role that immediate communication plays in safety and have selected the Connect-ED service because of its successful track record and multi-modal capabilities that will allow us to keep students, faculty and staff informed whether they are sitting in front of their computers or on their way to class.
To properly implement this service, it is important that we have up-to-date contact information for all staff and faculty. If you have not yet done so, please take a moment to go to the FHDA Emergency Notification System page to enter or update your contact information.
Built exclusively for post-secondary institutions using the experience gained in delivering hundreds of millions of messages for educators over the past seven years, the service enables campus leaders to schedule, send, and track personalized voice messages at up to six phone numbers and two e-mail addresses per student, faculty and staff member. In all, the multi-modal service helps officials reach out to students, faculty and staff via:
- Voice messages to home phones, work phones, cell phones, and even e-mail addresses
- Text messages to cell phones, PDAs, networked digital signage, and other text-based devices
- Text messages to e-mail accounts
- Messages to TTY/TDD receiving devices for the hearing impaired
It's crucial that we are able to notify students quickly in time-sensitive situations because up-to-date communication helps minimize the spread of misinformation, restore order and provide direction. The system can be used to notify entire student populations, faculty and staff members of school closures and contingency plans due to unforeseen incidents. The Connect-ED service has been successfully used for communication by schools across the country during events, such as the wildfires in Southern California and Hurricane Katrina.
Go to the Emergency Notification FAQ page for more information about the Emergency Notification system.
More information about the Connect-ED service for post-secondary educators is available at http://www.blackboardconnect.com.
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