The university is calling the application the GW Alert. It will reside unobtrusively as a thumbnail-
sized icon on the bottom right-hand corner of all users’ computer desktops. On a day-to-day
basis it will provide temperature and weather, access to the GW News Center and the GW
RSS News Feed, in addition to offering useful campus phone numbers and safety resources.

“This will be our fastest way to notify the GW community of an incident,” said John Petrie, assistant vice president for public safety and emergency management for GW. “Although the university already employs several emergency communications tools GW Alert will complement those methods and will serve as our best way to reach large numbers of people quickly.”

The GW Alert is a small downloadable application that connects to the Internet automatically and uses less bandwidth than loading a single web page. When not in use it can be minimized on the desktop’s toolbar but it comes to life when activated by the university. As with all ActiveAccess applications, it contains no adware, spyware or malware.

“Communicating under emergency situations with a large campus population at any hour of the day is important; and a computer is often-times the single technology students and staff have operating round-the-clock,” said Haidee Calore, senior vice president and general manager for BIA Information Network. “Our collaboration with GW demonstrates the dimensions of ActiveAccess as a trusted resource for alerting a large community all at once of an emergency, when every moment may be critical.

BIA provided its ActiveAccess desktop alerting solution to George Washington through its partnership with SpectraRep, Inc., a leading provider of emergency alerting systems and a subsidiary of BIAfn.

About The George Washington University Located four blocks from the White House, The George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the nation’s capital. The University offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business, and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 130 countries.

About BIA Information Network BIA Information Network, LLC, (BIN), a subsidiary of BIA Financial Network, Inc., is a Chantilly, Va.-based company focused on providing new media solutions for the university, association, government, and media industries. BINs premier product, ActiveAccess, is a private-label desktop application that has the ability to deliver customized interactive content directly to any computer desktop. ActiveAccess supports marketing initiatives by fostering brand loyalty and engagement with targeted audiences. Current clients include: Penn State University, Arizona State University, Entercom Communications Corporation, Gray Television Incorporated, Meredith Corporation, and Nexstar Broadcasting. More than one million users currently use an ActiveAccess application every month. Further information is available at: http://www.activeaccess.com/education.

About SpectraRep SpectraRep is a leading provider of solutions for all-hazards emergency notification, emergency management, first responder and training applications. For more information about SpectraRep, visit http://www.spectrarep.com.