Wallace State

Emergency Notifications, Evacuation Procedures, and Timely Warnings (2025 ASR)

ALAnnual Security ReportLion Alert / ALERTUShigh confidence

Wallace State Community College documents Lion Alert and ALERTUS emergency notification practice in its 2025 ASR, with Responsible Authorizers confirmed by the College President, without-delay activation, building beacon strobes, and semesterly system tests.

Read the official policy

Institution

Wallace State Community College

Community College · AL

~5,000 studentsLion Alert / ALERTUS

In the policy’s own words

What the policy says

Without delay standardverbatim

Finally, the Responsible Authorizer is to direct that notification be provided through activation of Lion Alert and or the ALERTUS system. These actions are to be taken without delay, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of the Responsible Authorizer, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.

Without-delay activation with professional-judgment withhold carve-out.

WSCC 2025 ASR activation process

ALERTUS building beaconsverbatim

The College also utilizes an emergency notification system called ALERTUS, which consist of alert beacons placed in every building on campus that attract attention with sounder and flashing strobes while large text is displayed informing building occupants of the emergency and instructs them how to respond.

Building-level strobe/sounder/text beacons in every building.

WSCC 2025 ASR ALERTUS description

Semesterly system testsverbatim

The Lion Alert and ALERTUS system is tested during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.

Three-semester test cadence for Lion Alert and ALERTUS.

WSCC 2025 ASR testing cadence

At a glance

How this policy works

When it activates: Confirmed active emergency posing an immediate threat or potential emergency posing a reasonably likely threat. Timely warnings when criminal incidents do not pose immediate danger but reoccurring or similar incidents may exist. Tornado warnings trigger Lion Alert/ALERTUS from Campus Police when NWS issues a warning.
Who decides: Responsible Authorizers authorized by the College President confirm threats, approve wording, and direct Lion Alert and/or ALERTUS activation. Campus Police send Lion Alert/ALERTUS for NWS tornado warnings.
Timeliness standard: Without delay unless Responsible Authorizer professional judgment finds compromise of victim assistance or mitigation. Lion Alert delivers within moments of college send.
Emergency notification vs. timely warning: ASR combines emergency notification and timely warning under one policy section with named Lion Alert and ALERTUS systems and President-authorized Responsible Authorizers.
Testing cadence: Lion Alert and ALERTUS tested during Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters; building fire drills and other evacuations at least annually; after-action reports required.
Scope & limits: Reach depends on registered contact data; ALERTUS provides building-level fallback when phone/email throughput fails; victim names withheld from timely warnings.

ChannelsSmsEmailPhone CallDesktop PopupPa SystemUnknown

Analysis

Reading the policy

Wallace State Community College (Hanceville), an Alabama Community College System institution, publishes a combined emergency-notification and timely-warning section in its 2025 Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report. Lion Alert delivers email, voice, and text to registered contacts within moments of college-issued alerts. ALERTUS beacons in every building add sounder, flashing strobes, and large-text instructions when conventional channels are too slow or fail. Certain officials granted authority by the College President, called Responsible Authorizers, confirm threats, approve message wording using pre-approved templates, and direct Lion Alert and/or ALERTUS activation without delay unless issuance would compromise victim assistance or emergency mitigation. Timely warnings for non-immediate criminal incidents with possible recurrence are disseminated to all faculty, staff, and students with victim names withheld. Lion Alert and ALERTUS are tested during Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters, with after-action reports documenting announced or unannounced tests.

Takeaways

Key findings

President-authorized Responsible Authorizers confirm threats and activate Lion Alert and/or ALERTUS without delay.

ALERTUS beacons in every building provide strobe, sounder, and text when conventional channels fail.

Lion Alert and ALERTUS tested each Fall, Spring, and Summer semester.

Policy, meet practice

When this system actually fired

3 documented times Wallace State’s alert system was used, from the case archive.

Provenance

Sources

Official
WSCC 2025 Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report PDF
wallacestate.edu
archived copy