Phone System for Schools & Universities

Features & Capabilities

• Campus-Wide Emergency Paging: Instant overhead announcements and emergency alerts to every building and classroom from any phone.
• E911 / Kari's Law Compliance: Accurate location data for every campus extension — meets all federal Kari's Law emergency call requirements.
• Mobile Faculty Access: Teachers use business number from personal phone between buildings — same extension, any device.
• Centralized Multi-Campus Admin: One portal manages all extensions, all buildings, and all locations — no separate systems per campus.
• Seasonal Extension Scaling: Add faculty extensions for fall semester, remove in summer in 5 minutes — no hardware changes.
• Remote Learning Ready: Faculty join from home with full PBX features — same extensions and call flows as on campus.
• Overhead Paging & Intercom: Integrated paging system broadcasts to any zone, building, or campus-wide in seconds.

Why ATS Voice

• 40% cost reduction vs maintaining aging on-premise PBX hardware
• 100% Kari's Law compliant — E911 on every campus extension
• New faculty extensions provisioned in 5 minutes — not weeks like legacy PBX
• 99.999% uptime — critical for campus safety alert systems

Frequently Asked Questions

Can this handle hundreds of extensions across campus?

Yes. ATS Voice's cloud PBX scales to any campus size — from a 50-student K-12 school to a large university with thousands of extensions spread across dormitories, academic buildings, administrative offices, and satellite locations. Every extension is managed from a single web-based admin portal, so your IT team doesn't need to touch individual phones to make changes. Adding a new building, department, or staff member takes minutes. The platform runs on geo-redundant data centers that guarantee 99.999% uptime, meaning campus phones stay operational even during regional network disruptions.

How does emergency notification work?

ATS Voice includes overhead paging, intercom broadcasting, and full Kari's Law E911 compliance built into the base platform. In an emergency, staff can trigger an announcement that reaches every phone and PA speaker on campus simultaneously — no separate notification system required. Critically, E911 location data is accurate down to the individual extension, so when a call is placed to 911 from Room 214 in the science building, first responders receive the precise building and room location — not just the main campus address. This per-extension location accuracy is required by Kari's Law and Ray Baum's Act for educational institutions.

Is it budget-friendly for education?

Yes. ATS Voice uses per-seat monthly pricing with no upfront hardware purchase required. Schools and universities that replace aging on-premise PBX hardware typically save 35–40% on total communications costs within the first year by eliminating hardware maintenance contracts, PRI line charges, and dedicated IT support for legacy phone systems. The model is especially well suited to education's variable staffing cycle: add seats at the start of the fall semester when new faculty and staff are hired, and remove them in summer when temporary or adjunct staff leave. You only pay for active seats each month.

Can faculty use it from home for remote teaching?

Yes. The ConnectUC app is available for iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac, and also runs directly in a browser — no download required. Faculty working from home use their campus extension number exactly as they would from their office phone: inbound calls ring on their device, outbound calls display the campus number as caller ID, and they have full access to voicemail, call transfer, and department directories. This is particularly valuable for hybrid teaching schedules and for faculty who split time between campus and home. ATS Voice's East Tennessee support team can assist with remote device setup.

Is student data protected?

Yes. ATS Voice is FERPA-compliant, meaning all voice communications, call records, and associated data involving students are handled in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. All communications are encrypted in transit and at rest using TLS and SRTP protocols. The platform operates on SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure, which requires independent annual audits of security controls. Role-based access permissions ensure that only authorized administrators can access call logs or recordings. ATS Voice can provide documentation of its FERPA and security posture for institutional compliance reviews upon request.

How long does campus-wide deployment take?

Most campuses — including those with multiple buildings and complex routing requirements — are fully deployed within 1–2 weeks. The process begins with a kickoff call with our East Tennessee team, who configure extensions, call routing, emergency paging zones, and the auto attendant before a single phone is touched. Number porting from your existing carrier runs concurrently and typically takes 5–10 business days. Physical phones are pre-provisioned before shipping, so installation is plug-and-play. Our team provides on-site or remote training for administrative staff and IT personnel, and live support is available throughout the transition with zero downtime.