Implementation of Regroup emergency notification system (ENS)
Last year, IST and the Safety Office conducted a review of WatSAFE, our long-standing in-house emergency notification system (ENS), and recommended upgrading to the latest technologies. The June 28, 2023, hate-motivated attack on Waterloo campus expedited the procurement of a holistic and integrated ENS platform that could easily send out clear messages using different delivery methods during emergency situations.
Starting in April 2024, the implementation brought together Special Constable Service (SCS), University Relations (UR), Safety Office, and IST. The Regroup platform can send emergency notifications using multiple delivery methods to alert our entire campus community or to alert a pre-defined group of recipients (e.g, University leaders) on a situation requiring attention. Notifications can be sent through the Regroup Mobile app, desktop alerts, Teams, email, and most importantly, SMS and phone calls, the latter four of which were not available in WatSAFE. Campus visitors can also now easily sign up to receive emergency alerts.
In preparation for the October 2024 campus-wide launch, 35 ENS administrators completed comprehensive training for Regroup and helped to create pre-set messages that any ENS administrator can quickly access through a web interface or the mobile app, allowing the distribution of emergency alerts in just a few clicks to help keep the community informed and safe.
Visit the Emergency Notifications website to learn more about the Regroup platform, find installation instructions, and review the ENS FAQ.
Other 2024 accomplishments
Some of the other great work from the past year
WCMS 3 Migration project
All sites have been migrated to WCMS 3. Significant collaboration was needed between the Web Development team and all faculties and academic support units to complete this work.
WatProcure system
In Partnership with Finance, the WatProcure online purchasing and contract management system went live in November.
Digital Accessibility project
The Digital Accessibility initiative completed phase one, bringing the University’s compliance obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Our Accessibility Score is now 88% (surpassing the higher education benchmark of 82%).
Upcoming 2025 initiatives
A look at what we'll be working on in 2025
Workday expansion
Human Resources and IST are working towards the expansion of Workday to enhance employee experience and implement new features and functionality.
Legal and Immigration Services (LIS) process improvements
Supporting Legal and Immigration Services with a project to implement a single system to better manage legal matters and spend.
Microsoft Copilot
IST will work to bring awareness of and extend access of Microsoft Copilot to the University community. Copilot incorporates AI into M365 products and leverages new and integrated productivity capabilities.
Learn more about the responsible use of AI at Waterloo.