Tulane University Selects Everbridge Emergency Notification Solution

Tulane, one of the oldest and most prominent universities in the United States, joins prestigious schools such as Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, University of Maryland College Park and University of Oregon amongst others, in implementing Everbridge’s comprehensive critical event management technology.

Having transitioned their campus emergency notification capabilities to Everbridge, all Tulane students, faculty and staff are automatically enrolled in the system, said Donald Veals, Tulane’s emergency and preparedness response manager. “When an emergency or threat is identified,” explained Veals, “the university’s emergency preparedness and response team can send out necessary information to the Tulane community using the mass notification capability within the Everbridge system and recommend the best course of action. Notifications will be sent via phone call, text message and email.”

Everbridge’s dedication to innovation in the area of campus security has garnered several recent industry awards including the “Campus Safety BEST Award” from Campus Safety magazine, as well as the “Platinum Secure Campus Award” from Campus Security and Life Safety magazine. Both honors recognized Everbridge’s technology that enables schools to quickly locate and communicate with students and employees during life-threatening events, empowering them to become partners in their own safety.

A key component of the Everbridge Critical Event Management platform is Safety Connection™, used by universities to provide a location-aware approach to physical security. This helps keep mobile, traveling, and study abroad students safe and informed when threats could impact their well-being. The Safety Connection mobile app includes a virtual SOS button and “Safe Corridor” feature which allows students to notify campus officials when they need help, or to check in when they feel they are in a dangerous situation, like walking back to their dorm late at night. Additionally, campus police can provide two-way communication to assist students in harm’s way, as well as unequaled situational awareness through threat intelligence feeds. When deployed, a school can aggregate that location data from multiple sources including building access controls and travel management systems to send notifications to students who might be in danger.

“Everbridge makes sending alerts to individuals faster and more efficient while simultaneously activating campus fixed systems like outdoor warning sirens,” said Jerusha Kasch, Director of Institutional Crisis Management at Houston’s Rice University, which is integrating Everbridge with campus sirens, digital signs, fire systems, and building access control systems. “Everbridge’s proven platform is a crucial piece of our security and response strategy aimed at ensuring the safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors at all times.”

As violent incidents on university campuses continue to rise, ensuring safety is a key concern of school security professionals. The number of shooting incidents on or near college campuses rose by 153% from the 2011-12 academic year to the 2015-16 academic year, when 101 incidents were recorded, according to a nationwide survey from the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City.