Emergency Notification Policy | Adelphi University

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The University Mass Notification System enables the University to instantly broadcast urgent messages and delivery instructions to the campus community when necessary.

Policy Statement

The University Mass Notification System enables the University to immediately broadcast urgent messages and delivery instructions to the campus community when necessary.

Reason for Policy

For the University Mass Notification System (Rave Alert) The telephone is the primary means of emergency notifications at the University. The University utilizes an off campus vendor for these notifications to the entire University community.

Who is Governed by this Policy

Faculty, Staff and Students

Policy

Adelphi University Department of Public Safety is responsible for responding to all significant incidents that may involve an immediate or ongoing threat to the health and/or safety of the Adelphi Community, in addition to, using appropriate resources to mitigate and investigate such incidents. An emergency notification may apply to both criminal and non-criminal incidents and can include but is not limited to: weather or natural disaster events, public health emergencies, hazardous materials spills or gas leaks, riots or armed intruders.

The University’s Mass Notification System is the system used for emergency notifications. An SMS message will be sent to all cellular telephones and voice messages to office telephones (if registered with the University’s Mass Notification System). Notification can also be sent over the University exterior Public Address System to the University community from the Command center located in Levermore Hall. The University’s Mass Notification System is intended for the immediate transmission of specific information regarding an emergency to all members of the University. Public Safety signs up the University Community for the University’s Mass Notification system upon receipt of their Adelphi University Identification Card. You can change or update your registered devices through the Rave Manager Profile Dashboard accessible through eCampus at portal.adelphi.edu. It is part of the single sign-on, so you will sign in with your Adelphi username and password. After you are signed in to eCampus, go to the Services tab and select the University Mass Notification System icon. The Department of Public Safety and Transportation tests the University Mass Notification System at least once every calendar year, and such tests may be announced or unannounced. The campus also tests its emergency response and evacuation procedures on at least an annual basis. Furthermore, emergency tabletop exercises are conducted on an annual basis.

Definitions

Emergency Notification: Wide focus on any significant emergency or dangerous situation (may include Clery Act crimes). An emergency notification is triggered by an event that is currently occurring on or imminently threatening the campus. Initiate emergency notification procedures for any significant emergency or dangerous situation occurring on the campus involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees. The notification applies to situations that occur on our campus. The University will initiate procedures immediately upon confirmation that a dangerous situation or emergency exists or threatens.

Procedures

Confirming the Existence of a Significant Emergency or Dangerous Situation and Initiating the Emergency Notification System:

The University President or designee who includes: the Provost and Executive Vice President (or designee), or Vice President of Administration (or designee), or the Executive Director of Public Safety and Security (or designee). The Executive Director of Public Safety and Security, or designee, may confirm and has the authority to declare an emergency or dangerous situation (emergency condition) involving an immediate threat to the health and/or safety of students or employees. An emergency condition is defined as a sudden, unexpected, or impending situation that may cause injury, loss of life, damage to property, and/or interference with the normal activities of the University and which, therefore, requires immediate attention and remedial action.The Department of Public Safety and Transportation takes the initial lead in implementing the appropriate response plan, assessing the crisis, reviewing all the available information, delegating responsibility where appropriate, and ensuring the information needs of the Campus community and/or segment(s) of the community are met.

Upon being notified of an emergency on campus [through phone call or in-person reporting] the Department of Public Safety will be immediately dispatched to the reported emergency location and/or view the situation via CCTV. Public Safety will verify that a legitimate emergency or dangerous situation exists on campus, accomplishing confirmation. As needed, the Department of Public Safety and Transportation will utilize all information resources at its disposal to confirm that there is an emergency. Confirmation may come from a number of sources, including departments on campus and/or local agencies depending on the type of emergency. To evaluate the significance of the threat, the Department of Public Safety may consult with experts, including but not limited to: Garden City Police Department, Garden City Fire Department Other Local Law Enforcement Officials, University Environmental Health and Safety, National Weather Service, etc. The Executive Director of Public Safety and Security, or designee, may confer with the Vice President of Student Affairs, University Communications representative, and/or the Vice President of Administration, if readily available, and then will, without delay and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification, dependent on the emergency, and initiate the notification system(s). Due to the time sensitivity of emergency alerts, the decision to initiate the alert system will be determined as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

Determining the Contents of the Emergency Notification:

The Department of Public Safety will develop a concise message to convey the appropriate message to the community. The messages are designed to Alert, Inform, and Reassure the community. The Department of Public Safety does not use pre-determined* template messages, however, the content of every communication, which notifies the Adelphi Community of an emergency, will include:

The specific nature and location of the event;
Actions being taken by the University;
Status of those involved (when known);
Actions one should take to help assure their own safety; and
Follow-up information will be provided to the community as well as at the conclusion of the immediate threat/emergency.

The goal of the alert is to ensure individuals are aware of the situation and that they know the steps to take for personal and community safety.

The Department of Public Safety maintains a written record of actions and decisions for after-action assessment and archival purposes.

*The Department does have at least five (5) predetermined message activation devices in the Command Center that can activate the Rave Alert system and Alertus beacons. The predetermined messages are for Hostile Intruder, Emergency PSO Response, Weather Alert, All Clear and Test.

Determining the Appropriate Segment or Segments of the Campus Community to Receive an Emergency Notification

Upon confirmation of a significant emergency or threat to the Adelphi Community, the Executive Director of Public Safety and Security, or designee, will immediately notify the campus community. Adelphi University notifies the entire campus community and does not segment the community for notifications., or segment(s) of the community. Subsequently, they will initiate the University emergency notification system (Rave Alert), unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

Procedures Used to Notify the Campus Community

In the event of a serious incident that poses an immediate threat to members of the Adelphi community, the Department of Public Safety and Transportation will initiate various electronic, public address systems and text message notifications in place for communicating information quickly. Generally, all members of the campus community will receive an emergency notification. In addition, the University may issue additional emergency notifications to the wider community members. In order to notify the larger campus community, Adelphi University will share information via email and post updates on the website for alumnae and families.

Some or all of the following methods of communication may be activated in the event of an immediate threat to the Adelphi community.

Adelphi University Rave Alert System (discussed below)
Adelphi University Webpage
Mass Email
Exterior Emergency Call Box Public Address Announcement System
Alert Beacons
Fire Alarms
Radio and Television stations

Procedures Used to Notify the Larger Campus Community

The University may issue additional emergency notifications to the larger campus community. In order to notify the larger campus community, Adelphi University will share information via email and post updates on the University website. If the emergency needs to be communicated to the surrounding community, local television and/or radio stations will be notified to give or post a statement with the appropriate content as described in the section titled “Determining the Contents of the Emergency Notification”. In addition, the Commissioner of the Garden City Police Department receives a University Mass Notification System (RAVE Alert), which they use to notify the surrounding community through their mass notification system “SwiftReach”.

University Mass Notification System (Rave Alert)

The telephone is the primary means of emergency notifications at the University. The University utilizes an off campus vendor to send emergency notifications and timely warnings (case-by-case basis) to the entire University community. The University’s Mass Notification System is the system used for this purpose. Upon confirmation of a significant emergency or threat, the Chief of Campus Safety and Emergency Management will initiate the Rave Alert system. This is done by going into the Rave Alert system, entering in the message that needs to be sent, and selecting the entire campus community. An SMS message will be sent to all cellular telephones and voice messages to office telephones (if registered with the University’s Mass Notification System). Notification can also be sent over the University exterior Emergency Call Box Public Address System and/or Alert Beacons to the University community from the Command Center located in Levermore Hall.

The University’s Mass Notification System is intended for the immediate transmission of specific information regarding an emergency to all members of the University. Public Safety signs up the University Community for the University’s Mass Notification system upon receipt of their Adelphi University Identification Card.

You can change or update your registered devices through the Rave Manager Profile Dashboard accessible through eCampus at portal.adelphi.edu. It is part of the single sign-on, so you will sign in with your Adelphi username and password. After you are signed in to eCampus, go to the Services tab and select the University Mass Notification System icon.

The following instructions allow you to get to your RAVE Profile Dashboard, where you can input, update, change and/or test your information.

Go to the University Mass Notification System accessible with your eCampus login.
The first time you access the Rave Alert service you must accept the service provider’s terms and conditions.
Your mobile device and email can also be tested by hitting the yellow “Test” button at any time.
You then must confirm your mobile carrier and hit continue. The system will then send a four digit confirmation code to your device that must be entered on the next screen. Then hit continue and your device is confirmed.

The Department of Public Safety and Transportation tests the University Mass Notification System at least once every calendar year, and such tests may be announced or unannounced. The campus also tests its emergency response and evacuation procedures on at least an annual basis. Furthermore, emergency tabletop exercises are conducted on an annual basis.

For additional help and answers to FAQs, click the “Help” button in the upper right hand corner of the University Mass Notification System screen.

Please note that although the system settings may include your email address, at this time the University is using text and voice message to broadcast urgent messages.

What type of messages will I receive?

The University will only send you messages related to critical campus information and emergencies. You will never receive advertisements and your information is never provided to advertisers.

What will be done with my personal information?

The University will only use the Rave Alert system to amplify its emergency communications system. The information is safeguarded and is not shared with any other party.

Alert Beacons

The Department of Public Safety and Transportation along with our partners in Information Technology have incorporated a new feature to the existing “Adelphi Alert” platform. The integration of “Alert beacons” to the existing Adelphi Alert (RAVE) platform has increased the university’s capability to reach a wider audience while simultaneously reducing the time it takes to send timely and actionable information in the event of an incident affecting the campus community.

The alert beacons are strategically located in the common areas of public use spaces throughout campus and are easily identifiable in that when activated by Public Safety Officers manning the Public Safety Command Center, the beacons emit an alert tone and signal through the use of a strobe light, red flashers, and an alert siren. A predetermined message is simultaneously displayed on the screen which provides information as to the nature of the emergency and what actions to take.

In addition to the alert beacon activation, an SMS message will be immediately and concurrently sent to your wireless devices (if registered with the University’s Mass Notification System) further increasing the university’s reach when it comes to emergency notification. Follow-up information and incident updates will be disseminated through the use of the “Adelphi Alert” (RAVE) system as necessary.

Beacons are currently located in the following spaces: