CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, October 28, 2008 – This month, Virginia Tech conducted the first campus-wide test of its emergency mass notification system since installing visual alerting displays. During the multi-modal test, Virginia Tech instantly communicated to the vast majority of its campus community with Inova Solution’s OnAlert LED displays, while other modes of communication, such as SMS/text and email messages, took up to 20 minutes to deliver messages.

"A college campus is like a small city, so it’s important to have multiple communication channels," said Larry Hincker, Virginia Tech’s Associate Vice President for University Relations, explaining that Virginia Tech has more than 29,000 full-time students and 1,300 full-time instructors. With the largest full-time student population in Virginia, the main campus includes more than 130 buildings, 2,600 acres, and an airport.

Supplementing audio alerts with visual alerts helps ensure a comprehensive mass notification program. Failure to use multi-modal systems can result in ineffective or incomplete crisis communications because:

• Most cell phone towers are ill-equipped to handle a spike of incoming and outgoing communication traffic as a result of an emergency situation. In some cases, this can delay message transmission by up to two hours.
• Large academic buildings are notorious for poor mobile device coverage. In some cases, the use of mobile devices is even prohibited during lectures.

Recent History

As demonstrated by the tragedy at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, the intensity and frequency of campus violence and other disasters has increased in recent years, prompting law enforcement and emergency management personnel to develop more sophisticated campus security and mass notification strategies. Virginia Tech’s previous emergency response plan included email and SMS/text messaging, but critical “soft spots” limited the reach in captive spaces, such as classrooms and hallways.

Virginia Tech’s Solutions

Virginia Tech thoroughly researched alternative modes of communication, concluding that some are unreliable or excessively costly, such as PA systems. In August 2008, Virginia Tech selected OnAlert displays as part of its “VT Alerts” mass notification plan.