Text message alert system to include campuswide class cancellations

Faculty, staff and students who have embraced OU’s text messaging alert system will find that it has been expanded to become still more helpful.

To date, text alerts have been sent to registered cell phone users only in the event an imminent threat to health, safety or welfare, as well as during system tests conducted once per semester. Now users of the free service can look forward to learning about university closures and campuswide cancellation of classes via text messages.

“The primary and most vital role of this system is to enhance campus safety by keeping people informed during emergency and crisis situations” said Oakland University Police Chief Samuel Lucido.

“Because there are safety issues involved in road travel during inclement weather, and for the convenience of registered system users, we felt it was appropriate to add university closures and campuswide class cancellations to the list of text alert notification scenarios.”

Any registered student or active employee with an OU e-mail address and Grizzly ID can register for the service at oakland.edu/ready. Only subscribers can receive emergency text messages, and voice alerts are available for those without text messaging capability.

Complete information on OU’s emergency preparedness and communication plans – which cover university closings, tornado warnings, psychological emergencies, lock downs, evacuations, bomb threats, hazardous material incidents and more – are available online at the Emergency Preparedness Web site.