APSU upgrades outdoor emergency alert system
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University recently upgraded its aging, outdoor alert system with a new Alertus High Power Speaker Array (HPSA). The more powerful system uses innovative “text-to-speech technology that provides clearly annunciated emergency notifications.”
“They’ll be clearer when you hear the alerts instead of them sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher,” Michael Kasitz, assistant vice president for APSU Public Safety, said.
The University received Safety and Security money from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to purchase the upgraded system. The new speakers were installed this summer at Fortera Stadium, the Morgan University Center and Emerald Hill Apartments.
“This ties all our alert systems together,” Kasitz said. “We already use Alertus for our desktop popup alerts and for our virtual panic buttons. Normally, the campus will hear the speakers for inclement weather, but if there’s a different type of emergency on campus, we can use them as well.”
On Aug. 19 and 20, Alertus will be on campus adjusting the system to ensure that it is operating well. During those two days, the sirens will go off to test the system.
Once the system is operational, Kasitz said they will test the HPSA once a month.
“We’re going to do it on the third Wednesday of the month at 11:20 a.m.,” he said. “That coincides with Federal Emergency Notification testing.”
For more information on APSU’s emergency notification systems, visit https://www.apsu.edu/police/.
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