KU News Release

KU to test emergency public address system March 13

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas will test one component of its comprehensive emergency communication system at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13.

As part of ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the KU community, university officials will broadcast a test over the new public address system. A three-second tone will sound, followed by the test message. Building occupants should continue with normal activities during the tests.

Speakers for the public address system have been installed in and around about 60 buildings, representing 63 percent of the square footage of campus buildings. That figure will grow to more than 70 percent once current construction projects are completed. The buildings comprise the highest concentration of students, faculty and staff.

“Effective notification is key to ensuring the safety of the KU community,” said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “The university is making every effort to provide an effective, comprehensive alert system for students, faculty and staff.”

The public address system allows emergency dispatchers in the 911 center to provide real-time voice messages to an individual building, a group of buildings or to all equipped buildings. Tests have been performed on individual buildings, but this will be the first simultaneous assessment of all buildings.

Anyone who is on campus during the test is encouraged to provide feedback by taking a short survey at https://fmis3w.fmis.ku.edu/evaluation/. The Web site will be available after the test.

Other facets of the university’s multitiered emergency notification strategy include:

• Test message alerts: More than 13,000 students, faculty and staff have signed up for the text messaging since a secure Web site, https://sa.ku.edu, was launched. Those who have not yet signed up are encouraged to do so.
• E-mail alerts: The university has established an emergency broadcast e-mail system to reach approximately 33,000 KU e-mail accounts.
• Voice mail: Faculty and staff with voice mail-equipped phones can receive a broadcast voice mail message.
• Web page alerts. The university will use its homepage, www.ku.edu, as a centralized location for information updates. The university also has established protocols to use local media to help inform the public in the event of an ongoing crisis.

For inclement weather, the university also maintains an 864-SNOW hotline that is activated if bad weather forces the delay or cancellation of classes or the closure of campus.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.