As sexual assault and other college safety issues continue to attract national attention, schools have rightly invested in programs and initiatives designed to improve the safety of the campus population and comply with Title IX. New departments, counseling services, call lines and other means of victim support are common sights on campuses for good reason: the federal government is looking for them, the public expects them and victims deserve them.
But even the best victim resources won’t keep students safe (or bring schools into compliance with Title IX, for that matter) if students can’t easily access them.
This issue was apparent to administrators at St. John Fisher College (SJFC) in Rochester, N.Y. SJFC was planning on giving students double-sided cards to help disperse emergency contact information, then realized the costs of printing alone would be similar to investing in an electronic source. Additionally, officials worried that many students would throw out or misplace the cards. Officials also worried that, even if students carried the card on them, getting the card out of a wallet or purse and dialing the appropriate number might take too much time during emergencies.
To solve the problem, St. John Fisher partnered with KeynectUp, which took the information on the cards and created a contact profile that could be saved on students’ smartphones. Through an easy-to-navigate interface, students can use the contact profile to reach any of the emergency services offered by the school, including campus safety, the Title IX office and local confidential hotlines.
Administrators were able to get the profile downloaded on 100 percent of new students’ phones by asking them to opt in during freshman orientation. To do so, SJFC Wellness Education Programmer Sara Shipley simply asked students to text the school’s short code to 444-999.
“KeynectUp has been an incredible resource to us at SJFC in getting information into our students’ hands, literally,” Shipley says. “We are sure that if our students need a phone number, a way to get ahold of someone in an instant, or more information, they’ll be able to do so at the touch of a button.”
Now an increasing amount of administrators are leveraging KeynectUp’s technology to ensure students have immediate access to the full range of services offered by the school. Colleges across the country are investing in high quality emergency resources for their students. Doesn’t it make sense for schools to invest in a service that maximizes the effectiveness of those resources?
For more information on how your campus can make your emergency services more accessible to students, faculty and staff, visit Keynectup at Keynectup.com.
