Blackboard and LiveSafe, two companies focused on campus safety and security, have joined forces to bring LiveSafe’s mobile safety technology to more schools and students across the country.

Blackboard provides integrated campus commerce and security solutions through Blackboard Transact to hundreds of higher-education institutions. LiveSafe’s mobile technology allows for direct, two-way communication between safety officials and students that allow students to report safety concerns, receive emergency notifications and engage with an interactive safety map. The partnership marks a joint effort to offer LiveSafe to more schools and help enable them to better deter, prevent and respond to safety concerns.

With a single touch, the LiveSafe app enables any student with a smartphone to share GPS-tagged video, photos, audio and text to a secure Web-based dashboard monitored by campus safety teams. Free for students, each school may customize the app by layering branding elements and information such as the location of key buildings, resources for emergency management and shuttle bus routes.

“Safety is fundamental to ensuring a positive teaching and learning environment in order to achieve meaningful learning outcomes,” said David Marr, senior vice president of Blackboard Transact. “We are excited to partner with LiveSafe to empower students in becoming a ‘force multiplier,’ adding more eyes and ears to campus police departments in real-time. By using a mobile technology that most students own and have with them at all times, schools can take a crowd-sourced approach to safety and facilitate a more direct and meaningful relationship with their students.”

Created with the expert guidance of practitioners within the public safety and education sectors including advisors Mark Sullivan, the 22nd Director of the U.S. Secret Service, and Dr. Alan Merten, President Emeritus of George Mason University, LiveSafe has been implemented in schools across nine states and is growing rapidly.

“As we continue to meet an increasing demand for LiveSafe, we are thrilled that one of the most significant leaders in education technology has recognized the value of bringing LiveSafe to students across the nation,” said Jenny Abramson, CEO and president of LiveSafe. “We are excited to partner with Blackboard to help empower every student and give them the tools they deserve to be safe.”

The LiveSafe app can be downloaded on both Apple iOS and Android smartphones, and is available to campuses for a modest annual per student fee.