Emergency communications to be tested Sept. 9

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

If you’re a student, staff or faculty member at Rice, you can expect to hear
from Rice’s Crisis Management Team shortly before noon Sept. 9 when the
university’s Emergency Communication System is tested.

The trial run will begin with
short text messages sent to cellphones, followed by emails to Rice addresses
and voice messages to cellphones. Because the test involves more than 11,000
phone numbers and email addresses provided by members of the Rice community,
including freshmen and other new students and employees, it is unlikely that
everyone will receive the series of notices in different formats
simultaneously.

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“It’s very important that we have a way to communicate timely, critical
information to students, faculty and staff to protect their safety when we
experience an emergency,” said Kevin Kirby, vice president for
administration and chair of the Crisis Management Team.

Students, faculty and staff should provide their emergency contact information
in their Esther account no later than 5
p.m. Sept. 7 to ensure that it is processed in the database in time for the
Sept. 9 trial run. Esther (Employee and Student Tools, Help and Electronic Resources)
is a personal account that Rice sets up online for each student, faculty and
staff member.

The system allows subscribers to tailor the contact information to their needs.
They can specify cellphone and home phone numbers that they want urgent messages
sent to during an emergency on campus. They can also provide contact
information for family and friends as a backup, but they should alert their
parents, other family members and friends that their contact information has
been included so that these non-Rice people will understand why they are
receiving emergency notices intended for Rice employees and students.

Subscribers should not put
their Rice phone or Rice email on the Esther form because the university
already has that information.

The system will display Rice’s special emergency notification phone number —
713-348-8888 — on caller ID when it sends text and phone messages.

“We want everyone to pay attention to these messages and realize that when
they get one, something significant must be happening,” Kirby said.
“So we intend to use the system sparingly.”

To subscribe to the system, log in to your personal account at esther.rice.edu and click on the link to the
Rice University Emergency Notification System at the top of the main menu. Fill
out the form, which asks for the campus buildings where you live and work, your
cellphone number and service provider and other on- and off-campus numbers. For
other contact information, select “self” under the relationship
column. The form allows you to enter phone numbers and email addresses for
family members and friends.

If you don’t know your PIN for your Esther account, use the “Forgot
PIN” feature, or send an email to people@rice.edu
if you are an employee, or to registrar@rice.edu
if you are a student. All personal contact information will be kept
confidential. Faculty and staff with questions about how to fill out the emergency
notification form can contact Human Resources at 713-348-2514. Students can
contact the Office of the Registrar at 713-348-4999.

Because text messaging is fast and efficient, the Crisis Management Team
encourages everyone to enable the text-messaging function on their cellphone
for emergency notifications. Depending on the telephone plan, subscribers might
be charged a small fee when Rice sends a short text message. Text messages will
provide limited details and alert subscribers to the website where more
information is available.

Anyone who does not want Rice to contact them during an emergency can check the
“opt out” box at the bottom of the form, but this may prevent them
from getting critical notices, including campus closings, intended to protect
their safety. Critical information during an emergency will also be posted at
the Rice home page, www.rice.edu.

Students, faculty and staff who have entered their emergency contact
information in their Esther account should alert the Crisis Management Team if
they do not receive the Sept. 9 test message in the various formats they have
requested. They can report the problem by sending an email to cmtcomment@rice.edu that states their
name and which messages (text, email or voice mail) they did not receive. If
the text or cellphone message was not received, they should include their
cellphone number and cellphone service provider in their email to the Crisis
Management Team.