Test Set on Wednesday for Improved Emergency Message System

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas will conduct a test of its RazALERT (pronounced raise-alert) emergency message system at 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 27. The test messages will be sent out by text, email and voice mail. Students, faculty and staff who are signed up to receive emergency text messages will notice that they now appear from a new short code number: 67283.

University Relations and University Police, along with the teams from ISIS and BASIS, have been working together over the past year to provide an improved system for sending emergency messages with greater delivery speed and accuracy.

RazALERT administrators hope to receive feedback from the campus following this test in order to improve the emergency response. Anyone who does not receive a message, experiences a lengthy delay in receiving it or has another problem with the message should contact razalert@uark.edu.

The test should also serve as a reminder to all students, faculty and staff to update their RazALERT contact information in the ISIS or BASIS systems. More information on how to do this is available at http://razalert.uark.edu.

RAVE GUARDIAN APP

The new emergency system also features a new smartphone app, RAVE Guardian, that U of A students, faculty and staff can download and install for free from iTunes or the Google Play store. This app includes:

• A panic button to immediately connect with UAPD, supplying them the caller’s GPS and personal profile information
• The ability to anonymously text crime tips, including pictures, to UAPD
• A safety timer that will alert the user’s personal “Guardians” if it is not turned off in an allotted period of time

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.