The External Notification System sound alert means that there is a significant emergency
on campus, a potentially dangerous condition, or impending threat. Examples of these
significant emergencies would be a person with a gun, flooding, a large building fire
with toxic smoke, a chemical release into the air, a HAZMAT incident, or the approach
of severe weather. You should log into www.wcupa.edu for information and/or instructions. If you do not have access to this information
source, chances are you will be close to someone who does (a fellow student or coworker,
a Building Administrator, a campus police officer or other authority figure, etc.)
and they can tell you what is taking place and what you should do.
Please remember to assist those with disabilities and share emergency notification
information with them if appropriate.
The External Notification System has the capability to emit a variety of alert tones.
The University has chosen to use a combination of tones and voice commands to alert
the community to an emergency. After the initial External Notification System tone
is complete, a pre-recorded or live voice message will follow providing information
regarding the emergency and suggested follow-up actions. At the conclusion of an emergency,
there will be an "All Clear" signal indicating that the emergency is over.
No. The University believes in redundancy in emergency notification. Although the
External Notification System will be a prominent part of the University's emergency
warning system, the system also includes mass emails, website posting, digital signage,
and text messages. All members of the University community should enroll in
WCU ALERTto receive text messages.
No. The External Notification Systems must be tested at regular intervals. The University
tests all components emergency communications system together once each semester.
The protocol for testing the emergency communication systems is quarterly. The test
tone will sound differently than the emergency tone. Additionally, there may be maintenance
performed on a particular system siren or the entire system that requires activation.
In cases of External Notification System maintenance where it is necessary to activate
the system, the campus community will be notified in advance.
The External Notification System is designed to alert people outdoors. Some people
will be able to hear the system indoors; depending on how close the indoor location
is to the nearest system speaker array and depending on the volume of other noise
indoors, such as a TV, radio, or machinery. Since there is the possibility that people
who are indoors may not hear or clearly hear the External Notification System, it
is important to enroll in WCU ALERT and receive alerts through other forms of communication.
The External Notification System is designed to provide all the campus with audio
coverage. However, depending upon how close you are to a system speaker array, whether
your car windows are open or closed, and whether there is audio interference in your
vehicle from other sources such as a cellular telephone or stereo system, you may
or may not hear the External Notification System.