The Clery Act: Keeping a Campus Safe, Secure and Informed During a Crisis

Posted on December 20, 2011

On December 8, 2011, just minutes after local law enforcement received the first reports of a shooting on the Virginia Tech campus, campus safety personnel began sending out one of what would be six “VT Alerts” (powered by Everbridge) to notify the entire university community of more than 40,000 students, faculty, and staff. They continued to send updates every 30 minutes until the final alert indicating that the crisis was over and that it was safe to go outside. This fast response by the Virginia Tech campus safety team, along with Everbridge’s reliable emergency notification system, helped the university communicate across multiple modalities to make sure that every member of the campus community stayed informed during the incident. “Timely notification” fulfills a federal requirement for all colleges and universities to provide prompt information about dangers on campus under the 1990 federal law, The Clery Act. To learn more about the importance of emergency notification systems on college campuses and the crisis communications requirements of the Clery Act, watch our free on-demand Webinar, Campus Safety for 2011. For more information: Media Alert: Virginia Tech’s Campus-wide Emergency Alerts, Powered by Everbridge, Inc., Helped Keep Students and Staff Informed