Spartanburg Community College, South Carolina
With its interest in a notification system piqued by the tragic mass shooting at Virginia Tech, this community college wanted to be able to reach its students, faculty and staff quickly and easily to keep them safe from harm. But it was an extremely dangerous tornado — not a gunman — that demonstrated the value of Regroup to the Spartanburg community.
Spartanburg is a community college with five campuses spanning several counties in South Carolina. It has a small technical staff and frequent funding pressures, so it’s on a continual search for efficient, simple and elegant technical solutions that can be implemented with ease.
FOLLOWING THE MASS SHOOTING AT VIRGINIA TECH, SCC SEARCHED FOR A SOFTWARE COMPANY THAT COULD HELP ITS STAFF — MANY OF WHOM WEAR SEVERAL HATS — TO REACH ITS STUDENTS, STAFF AND FACULTY IN NEARLY AN INSTANT.
A Massive Tornado Approaches Campus
WHILE THE SCHOOL HAD EMERGENCY PHONES IN CLASSROOMS AND ELSEWHERE, IT HAD SIGNED UP WITH REGROUP MASS NOTIFICATION TO REACH EVERYONE, ON ANY DEVICE, WHEREVER THEY WERE.
“We already had the groups setup in Regroup. Within10 minutes of hearing about (the storm) we had reached more than 22,000 people through email, voice, text, and blasted every phone on campus,” says Bruce Cannon, the Head of Information Technology for Spartanburg Community College.
Buildings were destroyed, trucks were flipped over, and trees and powerlines were felled by the storm. In the end, about nine tornadoes caused an estimated $5.6 million in damage to the region. There were no deaths from the tornadoes, though a local hospital reported eight people in the region suffered mostly minor injuries.
An Important Learning Experience
Spartanburg Community College has plans to add more loudspeakers and digital signage to its campuses, as well as create exit policies to keep its community safe.
“We will make no changes in Regroup, because it did exactly what we needed it to do. We will get better for having this experience,” Cannon says.
The Best-In-Class Service for Students, Parents, Staff, Faculty and Emergency Services
EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SOLUTIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
Enhance crisis communications and mitigate risks of active shooters, severe weather, and other critical events that endanger your community. With Regroup, you can send alerts to thousands of students, faculty, and staff in seconds.
- Automate Critical Notifications: Send rapid, two-tap alerts from Regroup’s mobile app to cell phones, landlines, campus security, 911, email, social media, and more.
- TipSafe Anonymous Reporting: Empower students and faculty to safely report suspicious behavior, potential threats, and other safety concerns from their smartphone.
- Reach Your Entire Campus: Integrate Regroup with panic buttons, desktop alerts, Help Point towers, fire and PA systems, digital signage, outdoor sirens, and more.
- Alert Specific Locations: Our geofence technology allows you to alert a specific location, and even notify people outside of the area to stay away.
- Easy Opt-In, Free Mobile Apps: Regroup’s free AlertMe Mobile App makes it easy for students and faculty to opt-in for notifications and receive them wherever they go.
- Critical Two-Way Communications: Witnesses and first responders can send important information and updates from the scene to improve response time to the emergency.
Regroup for Day-to-Day Campus Notifications
Regroup allows your various departments to create unlimited groups and admins in order to communicate daily information better than ever before. Our seamless integrations and easy-to-use platform make Regroup a tool that you’ll use every day.
- Weather Closures & Delays: Automatically provide advance warning of severe weather closures or delays with National Weather Service notifications.
- Student & Faculty Updates: Quickly and easily notify students about tuition balances, registration updates, and more while keeping faculty informed too.
- Event Reminders: Send reminders of social, academic, and athletic events to relevant groups to increase community engagement.