Rave Guardian FAQs

The application is available for use by all currently registered Ithaca College students, faculty, and staff. An Ithaca College email address must be used to register to use the app. Either cellular service or an internet/web connection is necessary to access any of the Rave Guardian services.

Ithaca College’s Emergency Notification System allows campus visitors and others to sign up to receive an IC Alert text whenever the college sends out an emergency message to students, staff, and faculty via Rave Guardian. If you wish to opt in to this service, text “ICVisitor” to 226787. You can stop receiving messages at any time by texting “stop” to 226787. On July 15 of each year, all opt-in users will be purged from the system, at which time you must re-enroll if you wish to continue receiving IC Alert text messages for the next year.

The Rave Guardian app can be used in two primary ways: for receiving emergency messages from Ithaca College and for contacting/accessing emergency assistance and resources. From the home screen, you can

• Call Ithaca College Public Safety or 911 emergency services with just two clicks.
• Call a variety of Ithaca College and external crisis lines and support services.
• Access the websites of important campus resources.
• Set a safety timer through which you can invite a friend or family member to serve as your “guardian” and virtually escort you to and/or from an on-campus or off-campus location.

It is important to note that only the Guardian app features listed here and elsewhere on Ithaca College’s Emergency Notification System and Rave Guardian pages are “turned on” and available for use by members of the IC community.

Yes, IC Alert messages are sent to the app through a push notification. However, we strongly recommend that all students, faculty, and staff provide multiple contact options in order to receive Emergency Notification System messages via voice, email and text. You can do so by visiting www.ithaca.edu/emergencynotification and logging in with your Netpass credentials.

No. Your privacy is of the utmost importance. Rave Guardian location information is only activated when you enable the location setting on your smartphone. This must be done for you to utilize the safety timer, and even then only your designated “guardian(s)” will know your location. Location information is not shared with 911 or other emergency services.

No. Only your designated “guardian(s)” is/are notified when your safety timer expires. In an emergency, you can call Ithaca College Public Safety by tapping the appropriate button on the Rave Guardian home screen. Off campus, you can use the 911 button to contact emergency services.

Yes. If you assign someone from your smartphone’s contact list to be a “guardian” and set your timer, they will have the capability to track your status. Your requested guardian will receive an invitation via text with a link to a webpage where they can accept to be your guardian. They can also download the Guardian app if they do not already have it, but only current Ithaca College students, faculty, and staff will be able to register and have access to other features associated with the app.

When using the safety timer, the user will receive a reminder text message 5 minutes before the timer expires. If it expires without the user turning it off, a message immediately goes to your chosen guardian(s), who will see your current location. They can call or text you to verify that you are okay, or seek help you if you are in distress.

In order to ensure that critical messages from Ithaca College in an emergency, we strongly encourage all students, faculty, and staff to provide multiple contact options, to receive those messages via voice, email, text, and push notifications. You can provide those contacts through the Guardian app or by visiting https://www.ithaca.edu/emergencynotification and logging in with your Netpass credentials.

When sending an alert to Guardian users, there is an ability to send with a geofilter to a specific location/area on a map. When this filtering is used, this radius will determine if you are within your chosen range of that notification. It is unlikely that the college will use this filter for emergency messages. However, we suggest that you set your Notification Radius to 3 miles, which would likely put you within any geographic range that the college might use for an IC Alert.

Yes. Rave Mobile Safety (the provider of Rave Guardian) uses the latest in security technologies and processes to ensure that all of your information is kept secure and private. Rave also undergoes regular security audits to ensure the data is secure.

Yes. The Guardian app features, including the safety timer, work whether you are on or off campus. If you have an emergency at an off-campus location, use the 911 call button, which will contact emergency services dispatchers nearest to your location.

Yes. Ithaca College Public Safety can always be contacted by calling (607) 274-3333 or by utilizing any blue light or emergency phone on campus. For emergency assistance off campus, you should call 911.

Yes. Rave Guardian will work on any iPhone or Android smartphone running on any U.S.-based mobile carrier network with the app installed on it.

 

We recommend that you allow notifications from Rave Guardian. Push notifications are used by the app to receive IC Alert messages. Notifications are also used to let you know when a safety timer is about to expire or when someone has requested you as their guardian.

Yes. If you are using the safety timer, it will track your location. Factors that can affect location accuracy can include whether you are inside a building; the strength of your cell signal, such as proximity of cell towers or satellites; whether your phone is GPS enabled; and the type and quality of your phone and carrier.

Your Guardian account is removed from the system when you are no longer a registered student or current faculty or staff member.

It is not possible for one Rave Guardian account to be associated with more than institution at a time (e.g., both Ithaca College and Cornell University). 

No. In order to ensure that critical information is not mistranslated, and because there are character limits for IC Alert messages, the app is locked to receive alerts in English only.

The Email 1 slot is your Ithaca.edu email address and cannot be changed. The Mobile 1 slot is locked for future use and cannot be changed. While Landline 1 is not locked, for faculty and staff it is pre-loaded with your office desk phone if that number is listed in the college directory. We highly recommend that you keep that number in this slot.

You can update your ENS contact information either through IC Alert or the Rave Guardian app.

Whether you update in IC Alert or Rave Guardian app does not matter, but in order for it to appear updated in the other location you may need to log out and log back in to see your updated information.