Oakland University
Monday, February 3, 2014

Emergency text message alert system will be tested Feb. 11

Already three times this term, the university has used text message alerts to notify students, faculty and staff that campus was closed due to severe weather. 
Students, faculty and staff members not currently registered to receive alerts should sign up at least 24 hours in advance of the test scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11.

The text alert system allows university police and communications personnel to rapidly distribute information regarding campus closures. More importantly, the service is in place to almost immediately provide campus community members with information necessary to protect health, safety and welfare during crisis situations.

All currently enrolled students and active employees who haven’t already registered for this free service are strongly encouraged to do so. An online registration form is available at oakland.edu/prepared. Visitors will need their OU email address and Grizzly ID to register. 

Text alert recipients can rest assured that they’ll never be bothered with unnecessary distractions. Outside of system tests conducted once each semester, alerts are broadcast only when it is determined that there is an imminent threat of danger to people on campus, or in the event of a university closure or campus-wide cancellation of classes.

Students, faculty and staff members not currently registered to receive alerts should sign up at least 24 hours in advance of the test scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 11. The winter 2014 system test is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. on that day.

Former system users who have not had an active oakland.edu email account for more than 12 months must re-register to renew their subscription, and any user who has obtained a new cell phone number since registering for text alerts will need to update their account. 

Campus community members registered to receive text alerts who do not receive the Feb. 11 test alert should complete the registration form at oakland.edu/prepared and ensure that account contact information is current. If the contact information is correct, system users who did not receive the test alert should send notification of the problem to thenews@oakland.edu.

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 website.
Students, faculty and staff members not currently registered to receive alerts should sign up at least 24 hours in advance of the test.

Created by Colleen Campbell (cjcampbell@oakland.edu) on Monday, February 3, 2014
Modified by Colleen Campbell (cjcampbell@oakland.edu) on Monday, February 3, 2014
Article Start Date: Monday, February 3, 2014