W&M to test emergency notification system Feb. 5
Sam Jones, chair of the Emergency Management Team sent the following message to the campus community Feb. 3, 2020. - Ed.
Dear William & Mary community –
Each semester William & Mary tests its emergency warning and mass notification systems. The university uses these systems in cases of a campus-wide emergency, a natural disaster, or for inclement weather closings. This semester’s test will be on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 12:15 p.m.
William & Mary’s emergency communications are sent through RAVE. This emergency notification system allows the university to send automated messages and provides the flexibility to communicate via phone, email (“TribeAlerts”), text and, for the most urgent situations, through the emergency sirens on campus and Alertus on your computer. In addition to testing these components, the Feb. 5 drill will also test the system’s backup activation methods. Due to this additional testing, community members may hear up to three additional short (two to three seconds each) blasts from the campus’s emergency sirens following the initial two-minute test tone.
To ensure that you receive these alert messages, your personal mobile number should be the first number listed in Banner. Alerts are sent to that number first. Please do not duplicate numbers. All members of the William & Mary community should annually review the information they have submitted for emergency notifications in Banner. If you are new to the campus and have not yet enrolled in the mass notification system, you may do so through the emergency phone numbers and contact form in Banner.
We test these alert systems at the beginning of each semester to ensure that all members of our community become familiar with them. The various communications channels will not reach each individual simultaneously, the system uses its multiple channels to create redundancy with the aim of ensuring that each individual is reached through at least one channel.
The university’s mass notification system is linked with the social media sites of W&M News. Therefore, in addition to campus email, text, and cell phone, you can also receive emergency messages by following the W&M News Facebook and W&M News Twitter pages as well as the free W&M mobile app.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sam Jones, chair
William & Mary Emergency Management Team