The university tested new additions to its VCU Alert system Wednesday, sending out an alert message through Facebook and Twitter for the first time. The additions accompany VCU’s system already in place, which includes 10 sirens, more than 400 classroom alert beacons, e-mail and text messaging alerts.
According to Pam Lepley, the director of VCU Communications and Public Relations, the move to add social media to the alert system developed from contingency plans.
“At another university, they used Facebook to send out their alert system after their power outage,” Lepley said. “After that success, VCU decided to do the same and add Facebook and Twitter.”
Last semester, when the sirens went off by mistake during repairs, the university used its public relations Twitter account to spread the message quickly. Currently, there are 1,776 followers of VCU PR on Twitter and 870 on Facebook.
“We feel that the social media communication is just a niche way to get the message out,” said John Bennett, the senior vice president of Ffinance and administration.
According to Bennett, 29,226 phones are currently signed up for text message alerts. Of those, 27,482 received messages Wednesday, equaling a 94 percent delivery rate.
Of the more than 400 Alertus brand alert beacons, Bennett said 96 percent of them worked as intended. The beacons were brought in to fix a flaw in the text messaging system. If phone ringers were left on during class to receive alerts, they would also receive many non-emergency messages and calls, creating a constant interruption in an academic setting. With the Alertus beacons, phones could be off and classrooms would still receive the emergency information.
Altogether, Bennett said the whole system cost approximately $1 million to implement, with an additional cost of roughly $28,000 per year for the text message system.
For freshman who had never experienced a VCU alarm, hearing the 130-decibel emergency siren was as alarming as could be predicted.
“I thought it was a fire truck,” said Lauren Vance, an undeclared freshman. “Then there was this noise coming from the sky.”
Vance said she knew about the alarm because of VCU’s e-mails and received a text just after the siren went off. She signed up for her text service during her freshman orientation.