CONTACT:
- Primary and WSU Pullman: Chris Tapfer, Emergency Management Coordinator, 509/ 335-7471, tapfer@wsu.edu
- WSU Spokane: Jon Schad, Director of Facilities Operations, WSU Spokane, 509/358-7991, schad@wsu.edu
- 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø: Sheri Byrd, PR/Communications Coordinator, 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø, 360/546-9602, byrds@vancouver.wsu.edu
- WSU Tri-Cities: Melissa O'Neil Perdue, WSU Tri-Cities Marketing Manager, 509/372-7319, cell 509/727-3094, moneil@tricity.wsu.edu
PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State University will conduct a simultaneous test of its emergency communications systems at the university's four major campuses at 12:15 p.m. on April 9.
During the testing, students, faculty and staff in Pullman and at WSU's regional campuses in Spokane, Vancouver and Tri-Cities will receive test emergency messages by telephone, cell phone, cell phone text, and e-mail. The brief message, indicating that an emergency test of the system is underway, will be issued to all who have registered their contact information online via the WSU computer network. In Pullman, the test will also involve use of the campus outdoor warning system, which will involve activation of a campus-wide siren system followed by a voice transmission of the test message over loudspeakers.
Although the WSU emergency communications system has been operational for several months and was used in both Pullman and Spokane this winter to announce campus snow closures, this month's exercise will mark the first actual full-scale test of the system, said Chris Tapfer, WSU emergency management coordinator.
"This is a very important test that we expect will provide valuable information about the capabilities of the system," Tapfer said. "Based on our previous experiences, we expect the test will demonstrate that the system works quite well, but we also fully expect it will identify some areas where problems remain to be addressed."
A notable feature of WSU's emergency communications system is that it is persistent - repeatedly issuing messages to individual recipients until an acknowledgement is returned, Tapfer said.
"We want to remind everyone on the system of the importance of following the instructions at the end of the message and confirming receipt," he said. "That confirmation is extremely important because it tells the system that it does not need to persist in trying to reach the recipient again by the same or other methods, which it is intentionally designed to do until such time as confirmation is acknowledged."
Tapfer said more than 80 percent of the students, faculty and staff at WSU have already registered to receive the university's emergency communications - a figure that compares favorably to the average registration figure of approximately 25 percent for similar systems in operation at colleges and universities nationwide.
Nonetheless, he said the university is encouraging those who have yet to register their contact information with the WSU system to do so - and those who have already registered to review and update contact information as necessary - prior to the April 9 test.
Anyone with a WSU computer network ID - primarily all students, faculty and staff - can register to receive emergency communications through the myWSU portal on the main WSU Web site at . Registration is available via the "REGISTER" icon under the "Emergency Notification" heading of the myWSU portal. Emergency information is also made publicly available by the university online at . The Spokane and Vancouver regional campuses maintain similar emergency information Web sites.
Tapfer said WSU is continuing to make improvements to the system and expects to install campus outdoor warning systems featuring sirens and loudspeakers at the regional campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cites and Vancouver prior to the start of the Fall 2008 semester.
[NOTE: 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø posts information about emergency situations on . In the event of a campus emergency, a notice appears on which provides a link to our alerts web page. 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø also a campus PA system to make emergency situation announcements.]
91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. We offer 16 bachelor's degrees, nine master's degrees, one doctorate degree and more than 35 fields of study. Visit us on the Web at