Campus Communications and Safety Solutions

Improve student safety with efficient communications

In today's campus environment, efficient communications are more important than ever. 

Amcom's secure, easy-to-use automation applications link campus telephone systems, school scheduling applications, and notification systems in a common platform, driven by a single, dynamically updated database.

finding the exact location of 911 Callers on campus

Knowing where a 911 call originates is crucial to effective emergency response on campus. Currently, the phone systems of many colleges and universities transmit only the main billing phone number to the 911 answering pointnot the 911 caller’s exact phone number, which is needed to retrieve a precise location. For campuses with numerous buildings—many of which are more than one floor—this is not sufficient detail for emergency personnel to find the 911 caller.

As an example, a 911 call originating from a dorm room would need to transmit the caller’s dorm room phone number in order to provide the 911 answering point the number they need to retrieve the caller’s dorm room address, i.e., “123 Oak Street, Smith Dorm, Room 234” instead of the school’s main billing number and address. Amcom's E911 solutions have helped many well-known schools protect the safety of all on campus with software that provides peace of mind—and meets ever-growing state legislation.

Notifying the right people of emergency events

When critical events arise on campus, Amcom's emergency management solutions help you deliver the right information to the right people at the right time. This includes quickly and reliably initiating, monitoring, and managing notifications of all types, automatically delivering messages, collecting responses, escalating if needed, and logging all activities for reporting and analysis.

Supporting Campus Security and Police

Amcom works closely with campus security officials and administrators to understand the safety and communication issues facing those in higher education. Based on these partnerships, Amcom has developed a 911 public safety application that enhances safety for students, visitors, faculty, and staff. These solutions empower campus security with the tools to respond to emergencies by working within the existing communications infrastructure.

In fact, the role of campus security/police is transforming at many schools as these teams often take 911 calls directly instead of routing them to the local public safety answering point (PSAP). Many campus police organizations are becoming certified PSAPs for the campus environment. As they assume the responsibility of responding to 911 calls, it's critical for them to consider the technology capabilities that will support these efforts:

• Identifying a 911 caller's exact location
• Onsite security and administrator alerts
• Systematic call taking
• Telecommunication network infrastructure compatibility

Leveraging SMS Technology to Communicate with Campus Police

Today’s students are accustomed to sending SMS (text) messages to request information. Amcom solutions allow your campus police to field non-emergency inquiries quickly and easily in a format many people have come to depend upon. These communications can include student requests for a campus escort, reports of suspicious activity, and any other security-related questions that don’t need to flow through your 911 call center.

Enabling Call Center Efficiency

Operators at colleges and universities need fast access to the right information to process calls at their computers, with just a few keystrokes. Amcom's operator console enables staff to perform directory, paging, and messaging quickly and accurately, while features such as pre-recorded greetings ensure that calls are handled professionally. This reduces operator fatigue and keeps operators from repeating their greeting for every call.

Amcom offers solutions that address each of these critical areas.

Contact Center Solutions (including operator consoles and Web-based directories)
Device Consolidation and Smartphone Messaging (Pager Replacement)
Enhanced 911 Solutions
911 Call Center Solutions
Mass Notification and Incident Communications
Mobile Event Notification Middleware
Paging & Paging Infrastructure

Amcom Customer Case Studies:

Cornell University (911 call center solution)
San Diego State University (Speech recognition solution)
University of Alabama at Birmingham (Operator console and Web-based directory solutions) University of California Berkeley (911 call center solution)
University of Maine (Speech recognition solution)
University of New Hampshire (Speech recognition solution)

Leading campuses are already using Amcom Software solutions. Contact sales to find out how you can start streamlining your communication system.