7 Things You Should Know About Emergency Notification Systems

An emergency notification system (ENS) provides broad-based notification to on- and off-campus communities in the event of a crisis or emergency, including natural disasters and acts of terrorism. An effective ENS can lessen the damage from such incidents. The tools involved in an ENS can be as simple as external sirens or as complex as solutions that combine elements such as a campus website, telephony, e-mail, text messaging, paging, the campus CATV system, digital signage, network pop-ups, RSS feeds, and fire alarm panels with voice enunciation. Because higher education bears a responsibility for the safety and welfare of students, faculty, staff, ENS development and maintenance must be among the highest priorities, and because technologies and the ways they’re used are always changing, colleges and universities must continually evaluate and refine their ENS plans to be as prepared as possible for the next crisis.