"In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, the University of Virginia is working with a company to institute an emergency alert system using text messages.

The text alerts would consist of brief messages sent during an emergency to all cellular phones and other wireless devices registered with the university. The messages would provide basic information about an incident, and direct students and staff to the university’s Web site for further information.

University officials said the alerts will be used only in rare instances, such as when a criminal act threatens the safety of the university, or when other disasters such as severe weather or chemical spills occur. In such cases, the university said, communication systems can get overwhelmed, and text messaging can be more reliable than phone calls.

University spokesman Jeff Hanna said the system is expected to be operational by July 1, and that UVa is letting people register to join the system.

“We want to get this message out now so that people have a chance to sign up, particularly if they might be leaving for the summer,” Hanna said.

To enroll, students, faculty and staff can register their cell phone numbers via the UVa Web site at www.virginia.edu/uvaalerts.

Hanna said that between now and July 1, the university will work to develop the policies for how the new system will be controlled. Once it is determined who will be responsible for sending the text messages, those employees will need to be trained before the system goes live.

“[The text messages] will really only be one element. More information will always be made available through other sources as well,” Hanna said. “We’re limited to 125 characters for the text messages, so they’ll need to be brief.”

Other communications methods will include mass e-mails, which are already used, as well as some new methods, such as using about a dozen screens being installed around the UVa campus this summer.

The screens, which will cost about $65,000 in total, were planned well before the Virginia Tech tragedy of April 16 as a way of providing general day-to-day information, but will now be used for emergencies as well.

“They’ll be used on a daily basis for promotional purposes and information sharing in each building, but then the network can also be used for emergencies,” said William Ashby, associate dean of students.

Ashby said the university will begin its first rollout of the screens by the end of August, placing them in areas such as Newcomb Hall and various recreation facilities. He said preliminary discussions have taken place about expanding the network to buildings such as libraries, dining halls and dormitories.

The company installing the screens, Visix, also provides the text messaging service through another firm, called e2campus. UVa arranged to set up the messaging after the Virginia Tech shootings in which 32 students, faculty and staff members were killed by a gunman who then shot himself to death.

The text messaging service will cost about $19,000 a year, Hanna said.

“The whole goal here is to have a variety of means to communicate in an emergency, and not be overly dependent on any one medium alone to get the message out,” Ashby said." (Aaron Kessler, The Daily Progress, May 19, 2007)