SFC Alerts Sends Immediate Text, Phone and Email Messages

In the continuing effort to keep St. Francis College a safe and welcome environment for all 2,300 students, faculty and staff, the College is pleased to unveil a new emergency notification system. In the event of an emergency, the system, run by the company, 3n, allows St. Francis to contact each student and employee immediately in up to seven ways including text, voice and instant message as well as email. Each person selects the best way for them to be reached in an emergency.

"We chose this system because it will keep sending students a message in various ways until they confirm they received the information," said St Francis College President Frank Macchiarola '62. "What's the point of an emergency system if we aren't absolutely sure that our messages are being read? This gives us another level of safety and confidence. And hopefully it gives our students and their parents an extra level of comfort about attending St. Francis."

The 3n system is part of the latest security plan that the College has been working on for more than a year and includes emergency drills with the New York City Office of Emergency Management, check-in procedures at the main entrance and training for various staff.

"It's really only in the last year that the increased popularity of text messages has made an emergency notification system like this workable," said Vice President of Financial Affairs June McGrisken. "We saw a system like this work effectively at St. John's earlier this year and are confident that if we need to use it, ours will be effective as well."

"Getting people to customize this system is what makes it so effective," said Executive Vice President Stephen Bogart. "We're sending them emails and letters and even setting up computers right in the lobby to make sure everyone knows about this and signs up. We're a small enough school where if a few students don't sign up for SFC Alerts, we can walk right up to them and make sure they know it's there and how to get on board."

St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City's five boroughs and beyond.
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St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
www.sfc.edu