IU-Notify to primarily use texts

Students who rely on their e-mail for emergency updates from IU-Notify might want to consider signing up for text message alerts after authorities decided Tuesday that text alerts will be the primary notification tool.

Representatives in charge of the IU-Notify system met Tuesday morning to evaluate the results of the emergency test held on Sept. 5 and to discuss possible changes. Kirk White, coordinator for the Critical Incidents Communications Team, said the group, which included IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger and others, decided text messages will be the primary way to contact students because of its time efficiency.

But that leaves the majority of current subscribers out of the loop.

In total, about 6,700 students are signed up for text messages, while 67,000 people are signed up for e-mail alerts, White said.

The change also comes more than one week after the system was used to notify students that an attack occurred just south of Memorial Stadium. That alert was sent several hours after the incident because officials weren’t initially going to send out a notification.

In some instances, e-mail alerts would do little to make students safer, White said.

“We decided, for example, in a tornado warning we would use only text messaging if the tornado is issued for the campus area,” White said.

The reasoning behind this is if an event such as a tornado warning were to occur it would only last about 20 to 30 minutes, White said. During the IU-Notify test, it took about two hours to get all of the e-mails out to students in comparison with the minutes it took to get text messages out.

However, there might be instances where the sirens will go off on campus but there will be no text messages, e-mails or voice mails. White said when things occur in Monroe County and not necessarily on the campus area, the sirens are required to go off. 

Thus, when an emergency occurs on campus, students will first be notified by text messages, then by e-mail and eventually by voice mail, White said.

Minger said there is no way to determine ahead of time which situations are more severe than others. Instead, he said the kinds of alerts that will be sent out to students will depend on each case.

White said with the help of University Information Technology Services, the time it takes to get all of the e-mails out might go down to 30 minutes, but text messages are still faster.

Minger said they might also change the content of messages during tests, because some people were not immediately informed that it was a test and not a real emergency.

Lauren VanCleve, a sophomore who only signed up for the e-mail notifications, said she does not know how she even signed up for the notifications but would like to see emergency e-mails that indicate the severity of the event.

Freshman Jordan West said she first learned about the IU-Notify system during orientation.

“I thought it was efficient and helpful,” West said. “I think they do a good way of informing people.”

Like White and Minger, West agrees phones are the best way to contact students because “everyone relies on their phone.”

Minger said students, faculty and staff will get used to the system as time goes on and as future tests such as the upcoming one in January occur.

“I think it’s something that everyone will get comfortable with as time goes on,” Minger said. “You know it affects so many people; there is a certain amount of people that have the wrong expectations of what it’s for and what it does.”

Students can change their information for the IU-Notify system by going online to OneStart. They can also go to www.indianauniversity.info to check the status of safety on campus.