ROWAN UNIVERSITY POLICY
Title: University Mass Notification Systems
Subject:University Communications
Policy No:
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Adm: 2016:
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02
Applies:University-Wide
Issuing Authority:President
Responsible Officers:
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Assistant Vice President for Public Safety,
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Vice President of
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University Relations
Adopted:
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03/07/2016
Last Revision:
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08/01/2023
Last Reviewed:
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08/01/2023
I.
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PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to define and limit when administrative and academic set forth the circumstances under which administrative officials at Rowan University can may use Rowan Alert and Rowan Connect Mass Notification System to send SMS text messages, voice over phone, and emailnotifications.
II. ACCOUNTABILITY
Under direction of the President, the Associate Vice President of Information Resources & Technology, the Vice President of University Relations, and the Assistant Vice President for the Department of Public Safety, shall implement and ensure compliance with this policy. The Assistant Vice President for the Department of Public Safety and the Vice President of University Relations shall be responsible for utilization of Rowan Alert. The Rowan Connect Committee, chaired by the Associate VP of Information Resources & Technology, and consisting of management-level representatives from the Bursar's Office, IRT, Residential Learning & Inclusion, Strategic Enrollment Management, and Student Health Services, will be responsible for utilization of Rowan Connect. Mass Notification System and shall implement and ensure compliance with this policy.
III. APPLICABILITY
This policy is applicable to all Rowan Alert and Rowan Connect Mass Notification System communications utilizing the Rowan University network.
IV. DEFINITIONS
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- SMS - Short Message Service. SMS is a message system designed for cellular phones. Unlike email, SMS messages, commonly referred to as text messages, are sent to phone numbers, not addresses. They are routed through a gateway, which connects directly to the carrier's network. SMS is also identified as SMPP - Short Message Peer to Peer Protocol.
V. REFERENCES
- IRT Rowan Connect website: https://confluence.rowan.edu/x/PAN0Aw
- Rowan Emergency Information website: http://www.rowan.edu/emergency/
- POLICY
VI. POLICY
- Rowan University recognizes that emergent communication to students and employees is critical to the success of the University, and that additional mediums of communication are needed to supplement electronic mail in situations that require rapid notification and response. Based on the increasing reach of mobile phones, the Rowan Alert Mass Notification System is utilized by the Department of Public Safety (DPS), Office of Emergency Management and University Relations solely for use in emergent situations , and Rowan Connect is utilized when an important deadline requiring action is approaching.
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- and/or time-sensitive communications.
- SubscriptionsRowan Alert and Rowan Connect are both subscription services that allow users to opt out of the system. Initially,
- Rowan Mass Notification System is a subscription in which all students and employees with mobile numbers in Banner are opted-in to
- ensure their receipt of emergent and/or time-sensitive communications. All individuals are asked to update their mobile contact information via id.rowan.edu on a periodic basis
- pursuant to user password reset guidelines
- All contact data is maintained in Banner, and transferred to Rowan Connect on a periodic basis. As new mobile numbers are transferred, a welcome text is sent to the subscriber, providing them with an option to remove themselves from Rowan Connect or stay connected. In the event that a person who is not affiliated with Rowan University is contacted via SMS or voice over phone, the person or department responsible for the communication shall immediately inactivate the mobile or telephone record in Banner.
- to ensure receipt of communications.
- Rowan Mass Notification System
- is the University's primary emergency alert notification system, maintaining a
- subscription process managed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS), Office of Emergency Management and University Relations. All faculty, staff, administrators, and students
- are required to provide their cell numbers to be used
- by the DPS
- for
- immediate and emergency notifications (Rowan Alerts). Students will not be allowed to opt out of Rowan
- Mass Notification System. Faculty will be allowed to opt out of Rowan
- Mass Notification System only with the approval of the Provost. Staff will be allowed to opt out
- only with the approval of the
- Chief Human Resources Officer.
- Acceptable Use Policy:
- All communications
- sent via Rowan
- Mass Notification System will meet the following criteria:
- Short Message System (SMS) should not be used for information the user will need to reference later, such as receipts or confirmation codes, and any information sent by SMS should be readily actionable in a short timeframe.
- SMS is designed to supplement the communication methods currently used
- and should not be used as the sole source of messaging.
- All SMS messages will be targeted to the appropriate subset(s) of these populations for effectiveness, based on the content and applicability to the target audience(s).
- The Department of Public Safety uses
- several message systems to deliver information to the Rowan Community, i.e.
- , SMS
- , email, voicemail, social media, or a
- Rowan Announcer. Selection of the message delivery used is dependent on whether the incident is currently occurring and poses an imminent threat to the Rowan community, or an incident that has already occurred, but requires timely notification.
- Rowan Announcer. Selection of the message delivery used is dependent on whether the incident is currently occurring and poses an imminent threat to the Rowan community, or an incident that has already occurred, but requires timely notification.
- Rowan Alerts (Immediate and Emergency Notification - Rowan Alert (SMS) shall be used only by the Department of Public Safety, the Office of Emergency Management and University Relations ) are sent through the University's Mass Notification System, using SMS, email, Rowan Announcer, and/or through other methods deemed appropriate. Rowan Alerts will only be used for an event that is currently occurring when there is an emergency or significant threat to campus safety, as required by the Clery Act. All Immediate and Emergency Notifications using SMS, must in accord with Department of Public Safety procedures. All Rowan Alerts will be prefaced with "ROWAN ALERT" to clearly identify the emergency message. Rowan Alert is used for incidents that pose an immediate threat to the campus community, or in the event of an unscheduled and immediate university closure, or evacuation of the campus. The types of incidents that may cause an immediate threat to the Rowan community could include but are not limited to emergencies such as: It is only for this kind of notification that cell phone information required by the University will be used.
Active shooter on campus
Hostage/barricade situation
Riot
Suspicious package with confirmation of a device
Tornado,
Fire/explosion
Suspicious death
Structural damage to a university building, or owned and controlled by the Facility
Biological threat (anthrax, etc.)
Significant flooding
Gas leak
Hazardous materials spill, etc.
- notifications will also include updates and/or follow-up messages.
- Rowan Timely Warnings are sent through the University's
- Mass Notification System using the email feature, SMS, the Rowan Announcer and/or through
- other methods deemed appropriate for events that have already occurred on or directly adjacent to campus property but still require notification to the Rowan community in a reasonable period
- in accord with Department of Public Safety procedures. All Rowan Timely Warning messages sent
- will be prefaced with "ROWAN TIMELY WARNING" to distinguish them. Rowan Timely
- Warnings are required by applicable law to the campus community for
- a specific set of crimes that
- represent a serious or continuing threat to the students and employees
- of
- the
- university.
- Rowan Advisory messages are sent through the University's
- Mass Notification System, using the email feature,
- and/or SMS. All Rowan Advisory messages sent
- will be prefaced with "ROWAN ADVISORY" to distinguish them.
- Rowan Advisory messages are used to communicate important information in non-emergency situationsand/or which do not require a Rowan Alert or Rowan Timely Warning under applicable law. Examples include but not limited to:
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- Power
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- outage, pattern of thefts, weather closure, assailant in custody.
- Pattern of minor arson, drink spiking, remote operations, police activity in an area, assisting law enforcement, and phone outage.
- Complaints/Additional support – Rowan Alert, Rowan Timely Warning, or Rowan Advisory
- Rowan Connect shall be used only for urgent messages that require a timely action by the receiver, as there is an issue that may impact their status at the University or have financial or negative consequences if not acted upon. Rowan Connect will not be used for emergency communications, but can be used if there could be a financial impact to the University, and/or when there is a belief that students or employees are at risk, to mitigate individual and institutional risk. All Rowan Alert messages sent must be prefaced with "ROWAN ADVISORY" to distinguish them.
- All SMS messages will begin with "ROWAN ADVISORY", "ROWAN ALERT", "ROWAN CONNECT", or "TIMELY WARNING" to identify the service provider and avoid confusion.
- Due Diligence and Compliance of University Offices and Personnel: Rowan Connect features can be used to support any University Office Personnel that can demonstrate an acceptable use to the Rowan Connect Committee. Personnel are expected to comply with communication submission requirements as provided by the Rowan Connect Administrators, including by not limited to the content, recipients, and department contact information. Offices should consult appropriate Administrator and IRT personnel for assistance as needed.
- Non-compliance and Complaints – Rowan Connect: When a student or employee believes that Rowan Connect Rowan Alert, Rowan Timely Warning, or Rowan Advisory, has not been used in accordance with this policy, he/she is encouraged to seek to resolve that concern informally by communicating their concern directly to the personnel or office which has sent the communication.
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- they are encouraged to initiate a formal complaint
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- Dean of Students (students)
- Human Resources (employees)
- Non-compliance and Complaints – Rowan Alert: When a student or employee believes that Rowan Alert has not been used in accordance with this policy, he/she is encouraged to seek to resolve that concern informally by communicating their concern directly to the office which has sent the communication, e.g.: The Department of Public Safety, Office of Emergency Management or University Relations.
In cases where an individual feels he/she would benefit from additional support or advocacy, or to initiate a formal complaint about non-compliance, he/she may contact the following offices:
- The Vice President for University Relations
- The Assistant Vice President for the Department of Public Safety
- RESPONSIBILITIES
- Rowan Connect Committee
- The Rowan Connect Committee team is responsible to review and approve communication types to be sent by each department, to ensure that they meet the Acceptable Use Policy as defined below. The Committee members will also have the authorization to approve ad-hoc urgent message types that have not been reviewed and approved by the Committee. This will ensure that urgent messages can be delivered in a timely fashion, instead of waiting for the next regularly scheduled Committee meeting.
- The Committee will meet on a quarterly basis to do the following:
- Review any modifications needed to the policy.
- Review additional acceptable communication types and criteria for use by various departments across the university, including post-mortems for previous message types approved on an ad-hoc basis by committee members.
- Review usage of Rowan Connect for university reporting, future licensing needs, and to address any concerns brought to the team's attention.
- Review of summary of usage data to be presented to the Administrative Cabinet.
- Rowan Connect Administrators
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- .