Case Study: Rancho Santiago Community College District achieves rapid, inclusive emergency notifications for temporary visitors with Rave Mobile Safety

Rancho Santiago Community College District Provides an Inclusive Safety Net to Visitors

Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) faced a fast‑moving emergency during the 2017 Canyon 2 Fire that required rapid alerts and evacuation at Santiago Canyon College and other district sites. RSCCD needed a way to notify not only students and staff but temporary visitors—parents, contractors, vendors and event attendees—who aren’t in its regular databases. The district turned to Rave Mobile Safety and its Rave Alert mass notification system, including the SMS Opt‑In add‑on.

Rave Mobile Safety implemented Rave Alert’s SMS Opt‑In so visitors can temporarily subscribe by texting a keyword to a short code and receive time‑limited alerts without being added to the district’s primary database. During the fire RSCCD sent four text/email messages the first day to mobilize an orderly evacuation, provide road and campus status updates, and continue communications as campuses closed and reopened; the district reports faster, less panicked evacuations, broader coverage across its roughly 40,000 stakeholders, and reduced IT overhead from managing temporary contacts.

Rancho Santiago Community College District

Toni Bland

Chief, District Safety and Security