October 10, 2007
Dear Parent/Guardian of a University at Albany Student:
The tragedy at Virginia Tech last spring focused with even greater intensity our efforts to assess the University’s emergency communications capabilities. In recent months, UAlbany has been working closely with the State Office of Emergency Management and SUNY System Administration on a project called SUNY NY Alert. SUNY NY Alert is a system that enables us to send out critical emergency information about our campus concurrently through email, phone and text messaging.
The University is launching a comprehensive campaign during the week of October 15, aimed at encouraging students to participate in the SUNY NY Alert system. The timing of this letter is such that when you receive it, this “sign-up” effort will be underway. We are looking to you for assistance with this effort. Please consider talking to your son or daughter about the importance of entering their emergency contact information with SUNY NY Alert. If they choose to participate, they will receive an email, a phone message, and a text (if their phone is set up for text messaging) in the event of a critical emergency on the UAlbany campus.
All registered students will be notified by email on October 15 with directions explaining how to sign on and register for the new alert system through their MyUAlbany portal – something all students are very familiar with. Their UAlbany email addresses will automatically be part of this system, but we are asking them to enter a cell phone number as well in order to receive a phone and/or text message.
There are three cell phone “fields” available on this system. While you yourself can not sign up directly for emergency alert information on the system, your son or daughter can enter your cell phone and/or email information into this database, which would allow you to be contacted in the event of a critical emergency on campus.
The SUNY NY Alert system is just one more tool to assist us in getting the word out quickly regarding critical incident information. The system will complement methods we already use, including broadcast emails, alerts on the UAlbany homepage, person-to-person contact, bulletin board postings and local media outreach. The SUNY NY Alert system will be used in critical emergencies where there is an imminent threat to the safety and security of the members of our community.
SUNY NY Alert is a secure databank and the information contained in its databank will not be provided or otherwise disclosed except as necessary to respond to an emergency.
The University at Albany takes matters of safety and security very seriously and this is one more tool to help ensure that we are doing everything possible to alert students in a timely manner when a serious emergency occurs. For more information on SUNY NY Alert, please go to www.albany.edu/sunynyalert.
Thank you for your assistance in this important matter.
James A. Anderson, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Success
