Eduardo J. Padrón
President
Office of the President
300 N.E. Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132-2297
305-237-3316
epadron@mdc.edu
Message from the President
Monday, February 04, 2008
Launch of College Emergency Notification System
The tragic incident at Virginia Tech last April has brought the topic of notification systems to the forefront of emergency preparedness at college campuses. The consensus among the higher education community is that colleges should implement various methods to alert the greatest number of students, faculty and staff of perilous conditions as expeditiously as possible.
In addition to the current resources Miami Dade College uses to notify our community, including hotlines, email messages, news releases and the College website, MDC will be deploying a wireless emergency notification system called Miami Dade College Alerts.
This new alert system will allow the College's Crisis Management Team to send messages to registered users about important incidents affecting the College. Messages will be delivered via text message, personal email and/or pager. Registered users will also receive emergency messages regarding large-scale incidents that affect the entire Miami Dade County area, such as hurricanes or hazardous materials release.
Miami Dade College Alerts will be provided free of charge to MDC students, family, faculty and staff. In order to maximize the effectiveness of the alert system, participation by the entire College is needed.
I urge you to register today by going to http://www.mdc.edu/alerts. You will notice separate registration sections for students/family and faculty/staff.
College employees should note that registering for the new alert system will not alter the emergency contact information listed in your personal records folder on the employee portal.
Also, in order to receive Miami Dade College Alerts on your cell phone, you must have text messaging capabilities and normal text message fees may apply, depending on your calling plan.
I would like to thank the members of MDC's Emergency Mass Notification Committee for spearheading this initiative. I'd also like to thank the employees and students who provided feedback during the implementation of this project.
Should you have any questions about Miami Dade College Alerts, please email mdcalerts@mdc.edu .
Thank you for your help in keeping our College community safe.
Eduardo