UF is expected to be operating on a new integrated distribution system for emergency notifications this upcoming fall.
According to Kenneth Allen, emergency management coordinator for the Department of Environmental Health and Safety at UF, the integration system will have one single entry point of information. The news will then be dispersed through all the various systems.
The UF emergency notification system is composed of several methods to inform the campus. These methods include, but are not limited to, the UF homepage, email, text messages, voice messaging, media advisories, campus radio and television stations, campus cable television and the UF rumor control hotline.
This system is expected to begin operating late this summer.
"The goal with all our emergency notification systems is to not rely on a single method to reach the campus community," Allen said. "That is why we have multiple modes of communication."
The biggest challenge the health and safety department faces, Allen said, is the scope of the university.
"This is a massive place; there is no other way to put it," he said.
Although UF was among the first of large universities to make it a requirement for all students to give their telephone numbers in their emergency contact information, the text message system isn't 100 percent reliable, Allen said. He explained that some students may provide false numbers. Others may not have their telephone accessible.
