In emergencies, 3 colleges will notify students via text message

Three colleges in Colorado Springs are turning to text messaging as a way to alert students and staff of a gunman or other crises on their campuses.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Community College and Colorado College decided to adopt new emergency-alert systems after the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, in which gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and himself. A report released in August concluded a better warning system could have saved lives.

The area schools are among dozens nationally that are beefing up their emergency-notification systems.

UCCS launched its new alert system during the recent semester break, and about 900 students have signed up, said UCCS Police Chief Jim Spice. Through a service provided by Virginia-based e2Campus, the university can send thousands of text messages and e-mails, and it can send voice messages to primary campus land lines, such as those in libraries, labs and classrooms.

CC and PPCC are using a similar system, Connect-Ed, provided by The NTI Group Inc., based in California.

CC signed up all students and staff to receive emergency phone calls and e-mails last fall, and text-message alerts should be in place sometime this spring, said Randy Stiles, vice president for information management.

PPCC hopes to have its system set up within the next two weeks, said spokeswoman Nan Heflin. She said students can sign up for text messages and can opt out at any time. The campus will not rely on the service to call land lines out of concern they could be overloaded, said spokesman George Sanchez.

The schools are providing the services, which cost $6,000 to $24,000 a year, free to students. Prices are influenced by factors that include the number of students served and the level of services provided.

CC is also combining its latest technology with a centuriesold warning system: church bells.

In the event of an emergency, the bells of Shove Chapel will ring in a distinct way as a signal for students and staff to check their phones or e-mail to see the latest warnings, Stiles said.

There will be no text-message alerts at the Air Force Academy, but as a military base, the northern Colorado Springs institution was prepared for attack decades before the Virginia Tech shootings.

If a gunman is present, Air Force Academy has sirens and loudspeakers similar to those that blared at Pearl Harbor, said spokesman John Van Winkle.

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