Wellesley College Police Department - Emergency Notification System

Emergency Information:

College numbers:
EMERGENCY:
(781) 283-5555
Nonhearing:
(781) 283- 2303
Non-emergency:
(781) 283- 2121
Emergency Update Web Site

Town of Wellesley:
EMERGENCY -- Dial 911
Non-emergency:
Police Department:
(781) 235-1212
Fire Department:
(781) 235-1300

Police Department@Wellesley College

Wellesley College Emergency Notification System

In February 2008, Wellesley College implemented our new emergency notification system, which will enable us to contact members of the campus community in the case of an emergency. We have contracted with Connect-ED® for this service, a company that has considerable experience with other colleges and universities.

In the event of a serious public safety emergency, the system will allow us to reach members of the community via voice messages, e-mails, and text messages. This service is part of Wellesley's overall emergency preparedness efforts.

We are collecting contact information for the system in two phases:

Phase 1

Faculty and employees -- college and home phone numbers and FirstClass e-mail addresses will be downloaded from Banner.

Students – In the case of an emergency, students will be notified via their cell phone, text messaging and campus email. If there is no cell phone number on file, then the emergency phone message will be sent to the campus phone. At this point in time, we will not call cell phones with international numbers.

Please realize that text messaging rates will apply in accordance with your particular service plan.

Phase 2

After our initial test of the system, there will be the opportunity for students, faculty and other employees to provide additional contact information (for example, additional phone numbers, e-mail addresses and text messaging options).

We will only use this system in cases of extreme emergency and testing. We will not use the system for routine notices or announcements.

Test of the Connect-Ed Emergency Notification System

A campus-wide test of the notification system took place during Community Time (12:30 pm - 2:00 pm) on Wednesday, February 27th, 2008. A test message was sent to members of the campus community.

Students are encouraged to provide or update cell phone numbers using Banner Self Service at the following link:https://bannerss.wellesley.edu:4453
After logging in, go to the Student Menu. Select Cell Phone at the bottom of the list.

Caller ID for phone messages is (781) 283-2121. For text messages, it is 23-177.

Students will also receive a text message to confirm they are set to receive emergency text messages. You will see 23177 as the number sending you the message and all subsequent messages. Save this number. Program it as WCALERT so that you can quickly recognize it as the official source of Wellesley College emergency notification messages.

For more information: Please contact Lisa Barbin, Chief of Police

Frequently Asked Questions

Question:
Do I need to enroll to receive messages?

Answer:
No. If you do not receive a message, please send information to the Emergency Notification FirstClass conference.

Question:
How do I update my emergency information?

Answer:

STUDENTS can provide or update cell phone information using Self Service: https://bannerss.wellesley.edu:4453
After logging in , go to the Student Menu. Select Cell Phone at the bottom of the list.
EMPLOYEES (FACULTY, ADMINISTRATIVE AND UNION STAFF), please contact Human Resources.

Question:
How do I opt-out of text messages?

Answer:
This service is part of Wellesley College’s overall emergency preparedness efforts. Wellesley College urges you to not opt-out since text messaging is an important means of contacting you in the event of an emergency.

You may opt-out of text messaging by texting “STOP [WCALERT]" or “QUIT [WCALERT]" to 23177.

Question:
Can I opt out of email and voice messages?

Answer:
No. Text messaging is the only option you may opt out of.

Question:
What will the text message to students on 2/22 state?

Answer:
The confirmation message will state the following:

[AbbrevName]: You are now confirmed to receive alerts from us. More info text reply "HELP" or "STOP [WCALERT]" to opt-out.

Question:
From what number will these text messages display?

Answer:
You will see 23177 as the text messaging number sending you the confirmation message and all subsequent messages. Please save this number and program it as WCALERT so that you can quickly recognize this number as the official source of Wellesley College emergency messages.

Question:
I did not receive a confirmation message. What happened?

Answer:
Only students will receive confirmation of text messaging. First, be sure that the College has your correct cell phone number by going to: https://bannerss.wellesley.edu:4453. Then, check with your mobile phone provider to find out if your device accepts text messages. You may also want to check with your provider to see if text messaging has been enabled. You may need to subscribe to a text messaging plan in order to receive or reply to text messages.

Question:
I did not receive a confirmation message because my phone wasn’t text enabled. I have since contacted my mobile phone provider to enable it. Do I need another confirmation message sent?

Answer:
No. If your SMS phone was already submitted to our database, you should be confirmed to receive SMS alerts from us. However, you may also test to find out by texting the word “SUBSCRIBE” to 23177 and you will receive a reply with the following:

[AbbrevName]: This phone number has already been opted in. More info text reply "HELP" or "STOP [WCALERT]" to opt-out.

Question:
What if I opted-out but later decide I would like to opt-in again?

Answer:
You may request to begin receiving text messages by texting “SUBSCRIBE [WCALERT]" to 23177

Question:
If I change mobile phone providers but keep the same number, do I need to opt-in again?

Answer:
No. Once your phone number has been opted-in, it stays registered within the system.

Question:
What if I'm not sure I opted in after a previous opt out?

Answer:

The following message will be sent if the phone number is present in the system:

[AbbrevName]: This phone number has already been opted in. More info text reply "HELP" or "STOP [WCALERT]" to opt-out.

Question:
How do I provide feedback about the tests on 2/22 and 2/27?

Answer:
Please send feedback to the Emergency Notification FirstClass conference.

Question:
The voice message I received started in the middle of a sentence then repeated. Is this normal?

Answer:
It is normal. Connect-Ed uses energy level detection to identify whether they reach an answering machine or a live person. Throughout the outgoing voicemail message, they continue to loop the message until they detect a beat of silence. When that happens, the message is stopped and is replayed in its entirety. Connect-Ed continues to upgrade and recalibrate their detection settings but it has been challenging.