Page 68 - Security Today, November/December 2022

Case Study Solving Campus Communications Challenges at South Plains College By Chris Hurst There has been no shortage of risks facing college campuses today, from severe weather and power outages to protests and active assailants. The strain put on the teams and infra- structure responsible for the safety and secu- rity of faculty and students has never been greater. These factors, coupled with a significant increase in spam texts and calls—as well as school “swatting”—are creating significant barriers to detecting risks and communicat- ing critical information to faculty. Additionally, schools, colleges and univer- sities, especially those with large student bodies or multiple campuses, have compli- cated communications requirements and siloed processes for communicating infor- mation. Administrators also face the chal- lenge of effectively getting the attention of busy students and faculty for both routine reminders and emergency notifications. “Communication is one of the most important things we can do as a college to improve our student experience,” said Niko- lis Castillo, the Executive Director of Admin- istrative Services at South Plains College, a community college that enrolls more than 10,000 students across five campuses in Lev- elland, Texas. For Castillo, being able to make meaning- ful connections with every student and staff member is a key element in the day-to-day operations of the college. From personalized FAFSA reminders to dorm-specific emer- gency alerts, getting the right notifications to the right people at the right time is central to his job. South Plains College faced a tri-fold chal- lenge. First, they needed to successfully reach stakeholders for day-to-day and criti- cal communications. Second, they needed to make those messages memorable enough to stand out from the inundation of notifica- tions that are a part of modern life. And third, as a hub of their community, they needed to be able to expand their alerts to NemanjaMiscevic/Shutterstock.com reach local residents during emergencies. A Two-Pronged Approach to Campus Communications Like most colleges, South Plains previously used two separate communications systems: One for emergencies and another for routine messages to students and staff. Neither met the college’s needs for effectively reaching stakeholders. When a severe weather event struck the area, Castillo, then South Plains College’s Chief of Police, needed to send an alert to 11,000 students and faculty members. Unfor- tunately, the college’s existing notification system became overburdened and was unable to reach many stakeholders in a time- ly manner. While that particular incident wasn’t life- threatening, it served as a wake-up call. “Although that situation was not an imme- diate emergency, we realized that we had to come up with something else,” said Castillo. “We needed a platform that was very fast, that could be accessed in an instant by a number of administrators and was very mobile and scal- able.” He recognized the need not only for effec- tive communication in emergency circum- stances, but also for routine college messag- es. Even something as simple as a reminder to reapply for financial aid plays an impor- tant role in student retention and satisfac- tion. A system that could send critical notifica- tions just as readily as day-to-day communi- cations topped Castillo’s list of priorities. Making Messages Personal Students are deeply connected to their devic- es, and with spam texts and calls at an all- time high, the constant influx of notifications often results in critical messages getting lost in the flow of social media updates, junk 24 campuslifesecurity.com | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022