“Kirkwood Alert” tool will share timely advisories to cell, pager and e-mail recipients
Kirkwood Community College has implemented an emergency notification system for students, faculty, staff and parents. The system can send emergency alerts, notifications and updates to cell phones, Blackberries, PDA’s, and/or e-mail accounts.
The new “Kirkwood Alert” message system was activated in early May and is ready for activation by any college-connected party interested in receiving the bulletins and alerts as necessary. College officials chose the final system after extensive research and preliminary testing earlier in 2008.
“The new ‘Kirkwood Alert is in addition to our current software which sends messages to Kirkwood computers, and is the latest addition to our emergency notification planning,” said Melissa Jensen of the college’s Facilities department. “We encourage everyone involved with Kirkwood to opt into the system, so we can share any information that must be conveyed in a speedy manner.”
Individuals sign up, or opt in for Kirkwood Alert and may enter multiple devices (cell phones, e-mail, etc). Those signing up may be students, faculty, staff, parents or family members, or business partners.
In an emergency situation, an alert message will be sent by Kirkwood officials. Additional instructions may also follow throughout the emergency. Critical messages may be sent to all users and locations, or to specific locations, individuals, and/or groups.
More information and sign-up instructions are available on the Kirkwood Web site: