All Tulane students, faculty and staff are automatically enrolled in the system, said Donald Veals, Tulane’s emergency and preparedness response manager. “When an emergency or threat is identified,” said Veals, “the university’s emergency preparedness and response team can send out necessary information to the Tulane community using the mass notification capability within the Everbridge system and recommend the best course of action. Notifications will be sent via phone call, text message and email.”
One of the components of the Everbridge Critical Event Management platform is Safety Connection, which provides a location-aware approach to physical security, informing mobile, traveling, and study abroad students when threats could impact their well-being. The Safety Connection mobile app includes a virtual SOS button and “Safe Corridor” feature which allows students to notify campus officials when they need help, or to check in when they feel they are in a dangerous situation. campus police can also provide two-way communication to assist students in harm’s way and additional situational awareness is provided by threat intelligence feeds.
The number of shooting incidents on or near college campuses rose by 153 per cent from the 2011-12 academic year to the 2015-16 academic year, when 101 incidents were recorded, according to a nationwide survey from the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City.
Tulane joins Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, University of Maryland College Park, University of Oregon, University of Texas at Austin, Michigan State University, Washington State University, and Mississippi State University, in implementing Everbridge’s critical event management technology. Internationally, Everbridge has also been deployed by Nord University in Norway, the Technical University of Denmark, Imperial College London, and the American University of Paris.
