Students to be asked to register for warning service

The tragic shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February were a parent’s worst nightmare. For UC Davis, these national incidents underscored the importance of quickly notifying members of the campus community of an emergency that requires them to take action.

This fall, the university will ask students to provide personal contact information for a new notification service that is among the ways the university shares vital information with the campus community during an emergency.

UC Davis WarnMe can send messages by e-mail, telephone, cell phone and text messaging to provide students and employees with timely information and instructions during emergencies. It serves all of UC Davis (including the Davis and Sacramento campuses and other facilities).

“We understand that it’s scary for parents to send their kids off to college, but this is one way we’re trying to help keep everyone on campus safe,” said Valerie Lucus, emergency and continuity manager for Safety Services.

Registering contact information

To deliver messages, UC Davis WarnMe uses employees’ work contact information, students’ official UC Davis e-mail addresses, and personal contact information that students and employees voluntarily provide to the service. This month, students and employees will be sent a notice to ask them to register their personal information with the service. Students will be prompted to update their information each quarter when they register for classes.

“In this age of instant information, people expect to know things immediately and we have an obligation to let them know of an urgent situation as soon as possible,” Lucus said.

Because the purpose of UC Davis WarnMe is to provide life-saving information to those who might be in harm’s way, the service is limited to UC Davis students and employees at this time.

Information for parents

However, UC Davis has not forgotten parents. The university provides several ways for parents to get important information during emergencies.

UC Davis Web site — UC Davis posts information about major campus emergencies and other news on the UC Davis home page. News can also be found on the UC Davis News and Information page.

Facebook — UC Davis sends emergency bulletins to its “fans” on the Facebook social media site. If you aren’t already a member, join Facebook. You’ll be able to visit UC Davis’ main Facebook site and click through to become a fan. Then watch your Facebook page for bulletins.

Aggie Family Pack — This monthly e-mail newsletter for the parents of UC Davis undergraduates also provides e-mail bulletins to parents in major campus emergencies. Parents who receive the regular monthly e-mail newsletter will be sent the bulletins, typically necessary no more than once or twice during an academic year. Aggie Family Pack also issues bulletins to “fans” of its Facebook page.

News media — UC Davis works directly with the news media to broadly disseminate information about emergencies and provide direction to students, employees and others.

Our radio partner for emergencies is KFBK Radio 1530 AM in Sacramento. KFBK, which is the designated station for initiating broadcast of Emergency Alert System messages for several Northern California counties, has a large coverage area and offers live audio streaming on its Web site.

Recorded status line — Parents can also call the campus emergency status line to listen to a recorded telephone message about the status of the campus. In the event of an emergency, the recording indicates its nature, brief instructions and a source for additional information, usually the campus Web site. Callers dial (530) 752-4000.

Comprehensive emergency program

These communication methods are part of an integrated plan to protect the safety of students and other members of the campus community. The campus has a comprehensive emergency management program that includes formal planning and training for preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies.

UC Davis has its own full-service police and fire departments located on campus. The UC Davis Police Department provides patrol, investigative and crime prevention services on the Davis and Sacramento campuses. The UC Davis Fire Department handles fire prevention and suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response and rescue on the Davis campus.

For more information

To learn more about emergency communications, visit our site on Campus Safety and Managing Emergencies and our page on notifications and information about emergencies.