Emergency Preparedness System

Southern Arkansas University has established a multi-layered approach to emergency preparedness. This approach was developed and modeled with the Incident Life Cycle in mind. The Incident Life Cycle includes; Prevention, Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation.

Southern Arkansas University has established an Emergency Operations Plan to lay the foundation for emergency planning and response. This plan also establishes Response and Resource Teams to aid the university community in times of crisis and sets standards for continuous review of policies and procedures.

Emergency Communications

Since communication is a high priority in an emergency, Southern Arkansas University has installed a network of mass notification systems. Prior to the fall semester of 2007, Southern Arkansas University installed a campus-wide outdoor warning system which allows for broadcast messages and warning tones to alert the campus community of impending emergencies.  Southern Arkansas University utilizes Rave Alert to notify students, faculty, and staff via text messaging, phone, web, and e-mail in the event of emergencies on campus.  SAU also utilizes an internal “Emergency” e-mail system.

Alertus Desktop & Mobile

To further ensure that the university community can be reached in an emergency, the University Police Department, along with Information Technology Services, has installed an emergency broadcast alert system called Alertus Desktop. Alertus Desktop activates full-screen popup alerts on all Microsoft Windows operating system computers on SAU’s network. Upon receiving an alert message, the client application maximizes to full-screen to display alert information. Red text flashes “Alert!”, while simultaneously displaying the message details and appropriate response. Individuals can click to acknowledge the alert, and thereby provide acknowledgement to our emergency operations staff. This multi-faceted approach allows us to communicate with the university community in a quick and efficient manner.

To give the campus community the power to quickly report an emergency alert to authorities at the touch of a button, SAU has again partnered with ALERTUS to provide the Mobile Panic application. Students, faculty, and staff now have the ability to report alerts or potential alerts to the University Police Department through the mobile application. This mobile application allows the user to add photos and location tagging. It will go directly to a committee of individuals to assess and respond to properly.

With all these options and avenues, Southern Arkansas University has empowered every campus community member with the ability to help protect and save lives.

We encourage everyone to review the Active Shooter Incident Checklist [pdf], as well as our Shelter-In-Place protocol to ensure your safety while living, learning, working, or visiting Southern Arkansas University.

Emergency Response Training/Drills/Incidents