Linn-Benton Community College

FOR MANY ADMINISTRATORS AT BUSTLING COLLEGES AROUND THE COUNTRY, THE ABILITY TO SEND EMERGENCY AND ROUTINE MASS COMMUNICATIONS TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE.

That’s why the Public Safety Office at Oregon’s Linn-Benton Community College chose Regroup Mass Notification for their campus’ communication needs. Regroup, the leading provider of emergency and mass notification solutions, has made sharing critical alerts and routine communications a breeze for the past six years at Linn-Benton. Danny Aynes, the Director of Enrollment Services recalls a time when the campus was strapped with an outdated system that made group alerting difficult.

“The leadership in our Public Safety Office started investigating a more robust communications solution after we shared that we were experiencing some pain points with our other communications tool,” said Aynes. “Mainly it was an opt-in system through a website, so consequently, only 500 or so students and staff utilized the platform.

For a campus with a population of approximately 12,000 students, faculty and staff, such low opt-in numbers were problematic to Aynes. Linn-Benton’s Safety Officers also needed to reach more of the campus community to better ensure their safety in the event of an emergency, and keep the lines of communication open for routine alerts.

Communications Challenges

As the College explored mass notification platform options, the Public Safety Office, Aynes, and his fellow Linn-Benton administrators faced several communications challenges, including:

1. The size of campus population and its low opt-in rates
2. A geographically dispersed audience spread over multiple buildings and locations
3. A diverse target demographic with varied message delivery preferences
4. An outdated and incomplete contact database that didn’t sync with current student records

“Our team started the process by looking for a system that could address many of our communications challenges while easily integrating into our learning management software — Ellucian. Additionally, we especially wanted a solution that would allow us to send messages through a variety of channels to help us reach more of the campus community in the way they preferred to receive Linn-Benton communications,” said Aynes.

AFTER EVALUATING SEVERAL OPTIONS, LINN-BENTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SELECTED REGROUP FOR THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS’ COMMUNICATION NEEDS

Regroup’s Hassle-Free Solution

REGROUP OFFERS EASY, ONE-CLICK MESSAGING TO MOBILE PHONES (TEXT/VOICE), LANDLINES, EMAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITES AND MORE —
THE MOST WAYS TO SEND AND RECEIVE MESSAGES, PERIOD.

The College sends updates primarily for day-to-day communications, but they’re also more prepared than ever should an emergency situation ever arise.

Key differentiators of Regroup’s mass messaging platform include:

1. Integrates seamlessly with 3rd party Learning Management Systems, including Ellucian, Canvas, and Blackboard
2. Intuitive, one-page messaging interface
3. Pre-programmed templates for both emergency and day-to-day communications
4. Fast, two-click publishing from mobile and web
5. TipSafe reporting functionality allows students to share safety concerns with administrators
6. Unlimited groups, administrators, and templates in the system
7. Free training and 24/7/365 Client Support

Importing contacts in bulk using CSV file is easy in Regroup’s system. To make things even easier, Regroup’s open API means that staff, faculty, and students can be automatically enrolled in the system through employment records and the College’s student registration database. Students are enrolled in the system for as long as they are registered at Linn-Benton Community College.

Although it is discouraged, students do not have the ability to “opt-out” of the system if desired. They can also set notification preferences and select their preferred language for alerts using Regroup’s AlertMe app or by going online.

Beyond Emergency Notifications

While the College’s Public Safety Office initially sought a system that could help his team be more prepared to address emergency situations, the Enrollment Services Department also needed to send routine communications as well.

THANKS TO THE FLEXIBILITY REGROUP PROVIDES, THE LINN-BENTON COMMUNITY IS ALWAYS KEPT-UP-TO-SPEED WITH THE LATEST CAMPUS NEWS, AND MORE PREPARED THAN EVER FOR AN EMERGENCY.

“We enjoy having the flexibility to use Regroup for a multitude of communications scenarios. It’s such a useful and efficient communications tool—in a normal week we are using it for important announcements about finals, updates, on grades, major campus events, and more,” said Aynes.

Other examples of how Regroup can be used for routine communications include:

1. Staff and Teacher Communications: Create and send training updates to all employees, or individual staff members, based on pre-defined criteria.
2. Parent and Alumni Communications: Update these important members of the campus community on upcoming events, athletic games, or fundraising efforts.
3. General Communications: Transmit workplace safety and health and wellness tips.