Wednesday, February 13, 2008
USI is Raving!
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When this week’s winter storms prompted concern about treacherous travel conditions, the quickest and most reliable tool to communicate information to employees and students was the Rave system that sends a text message to your phone. The local media couldn’t keep up with all the information they were receiving from area schools, businesses, and organizations. Email and Web are only helpful if you are sitting at your computer. And checking your voicemail means you need to go to the phone and dial in. Odds are you have your cell phone in your pocket or purse 95 percent of the time. Annie Krug, vice president of Advancement, said, “I watched information filter out through voicemail, email, media, and text yesterday. Since I knew exactly when the messages were sent, I could track when they arrived at their destination. I’m telling you, Rave won every time.” Employees already signed up for the text service have rave reviews. Linda Dillbeck, administrative assistant in the College of Business, was four blocks from home when she received a text message. “I was able to turn around and go home safely,” she said. “It is a wonderful tool for campus to get emergency information out.” Martha Niemeier, associate director of Rice Library, said, “I have nothing but compliments for the Rave system. The text messaging worked great and was received much sooner than email and voicemail. It helped greatly in responding to people’s questions to know that the University was closed and staff did not need to report to work.” “The text messages were great!” said Dr. Tim Schibik, professor of economics. He called colleagues to notify them of delays and closings prior to their receiving the news through other means. Sign-up for Rave is easy and only takes a minute. Just go to www.usi.edu/emergency and sign in with your MyUSI name and password. Indiana University School of Medicine-Evansville Center staff and students don’t have access to MyUSI, through which you register for Rave, but Computer Services is at work to get Rave access for them. For more information, contact Wayne Bohm, director of the Computer Center, at 812/465-1255. |
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