Students, employees urged to sign up for text-alert service, hotline in event of emergency

Waldorf College administrators have taken steps to make the campus safer in the event of a major crisis or emergency with the addition of an emergency cell phone text-alert service and hotline.

"These are two additional sources of information for people in the event of a problem that we did not have in the past," said Jason Ramaker, dean of students. "Before 2009, all we had was campus e-mail to alert the campus community in a timely manner that there was a problem. Between the three services and having information on our web page, I think we would be providing a good variety of options for students, employees and family members to receive up-to-date information."

The system, called FastCommand, will allow students, parents and employees to receive a direct text message from the college to their cell phone and e-mail (personal account) in the event of a campus emergency. Callers would not be able to leave a message.

Most students signed up for the text-alert service at the beginning of the semester. Now, Waldorf employees may sign up for the service, which Ramaker encourages.

Employees and students who are interested in signing up for the service may go to http://waldorf.fastcommand.com/. The link will take you to a custom Waldorf FastCommand website that will provide a page for inputting your information.

Additionally, Waldorf has added an emergency hotline phone number to its crisis communication plan. The hotline allows students, parents or employees to call and receive updates and instructions in the event of an emergency. The hotline number is 877-270-7333. Waldorf students and employees are encouraged to add this number to their mobile phones.

The text message alert system and hotline number would work in tandem if an emergency occurs. A message would be sent to the people who have signed up for the text alerts, and the hotline would have an updated message, instructions or information on the issue.

Waldorf officials will only use the service for periodic testing and campus emergencies, Ramaker said. The service will not be used for campus updates, general alerts or for basic information purposes.

"We hope these are services we never have to use," Ramaker said.