Spring 2008 
Emergency Notification Test Summary

Our first DePauw Emergency Notification test was conducted at 10:00 AM on Wednesday February 6 using multiple layers of notification.  It took approximately (6) minutes to engage all notification processes. 
  • University Wide E-mail
  • WGRE / Campus Media
  • JYNGLE  SMS text messaging
  • Novell network alerts
Our follow up survey was completed by (184) people.  The following information being most relevant for evaluation of the system. 
  • 65% of respondents received notification within (5) minutes, 70% within (10) minutes      and 90% within (15)
  • 95% received the campus wide e-mail alert
  • 63% received the JYNGLE text message
  •   9% received notification via WGRE
  • 56% were logged into Novell and received network alerts. 
  • 48% advised they received the Jyngle text message first
  • 39% advised they received the e-mail or Novell network alert first
As the numbers indicate several people received notification via multiple methods.  The most efficient means of delivery according to this test was for those registered to receive text messages via Jyngle.  We were able to identify one difficulty in our campus wide e-mail alert that added an extra step to delivery of the message, thus slowing the efficiency of the e-mail alert.  This problem was promptly corrected by Information Services.    We had a total of (6) people advise they did not receive a receive a test message.  The 97% success rate among those participating in the survey is encouraging, however we know we still face the following challenges.
  • Less than one-third of the campus is registered with JYNGLE
  • E-mail and Network alerts are limited to those logged in at the time
  • Too few people listen to WGRE one of the most effective means of issuing an alert
  • Only 184 people responding to the survey suggests we have a long way to go in making Emergency Preparedness an institutional issue that enhances everyone's safety.
We will continue to benchmark with other schools and review more comprehensive means of emergency notification.  Some of those ideas being researched include networking our Emergency Blue Lights and incorporating Public Address capabilities, and also feasibility of outdoor "Emergency Sirens".