Emergency Response Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,                                             May 2008

I am writing to encourage you to take a moment to sign up for the emergency text messaging system at Gettysburg College.

We all recognize that communication is an important component in responding to an emergency. Our Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT) in conjunction with Information Technology (IT) has explored a variety of technologies to improve communication in the event of an emergency. The College implemented an emergency mass notification system in the fall of 2007.  This new system was implemented to provide immediate communication with students, faculty, and staff in the event of a critical incident, such as severe weather, hazardous materials incidents, and/or acts of criminal violence that broadly threaten the safety of the campus community. All students with cell phone numbers on record have been and will continue to be automatically enrolled in the emergency notification system. 

Under certain circumstances, the College may need to notify parents via this cell-phone text/voice notification process of incidents that have occurred at Gettysburg College.  The College's primary responsibility during an active emergency remains the immediate notification of campus community members in residence, at work, or otherwise actively engaged in some program or activity on the campus. However, we do plan to notify parents as quickly as possible in the event of emergency operations affecting the entire campus.

You can sign up for this service by logging on to the College website under CNAV and navigating to My Place, My Settings, and selecting My Preferences.  Under "Contact Devices", simply add your cell phone number (with area code) in the box named "Cell Phone Number". Then click "Submit". 

In an emergency and when activated, those who have opted into the service may receive a brief text or voice-mail message with information relevant to the incident.  Text messaging and voice-mail notifications are just a few of the College's methods for notifying campus community members of an active emergency incident on or near campus.  Additional notification methods include; e-mail, Web posting, campus television, phone tree notifications, mobile public address systems equipped to safety and security vehicles, and door to door notifications.  A campus siren system has also become an integral part of our campus notification process.

We anticipate using the text messaging service only in rare instances and for occasional testing purposes.  If you do not have a CNAV account, please go to https://biz.gettysburg.edu/cnav/accounts/parent/ and sign up for one. 

Please know that safety is of paramount importance to all of us at Gettysburg College. If you have specific questions, concerns, or feedback regarding the College's emergency operations, please feel free to contact Bill Lafferty, Assistant Dean/Director of Public Safety/Director of Greek Life, at: wlaffert@gettysburg.edu or (717)337-6912.

Sincerely,

Julie L. Ramsey
Vice President for College Life and Dean of Students

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