OSU students, faculty, staff encouraged to provide emergency contact information

Thursday, May 31, 2007

To broaden its ability to effectively reach the campus community in the event of an emergency, Oklahoma State University is implementing an emergency alert system that will allow immediate distribution of voice and text alerts.

“We had been evaluating an emergency alert system as part of the ongoing assessment of our emergency response plans,” said Marlene Strathe, interim OSU System CEO and president. “The tragic event at Virginia Tech emphasized the need to get this tool in place. In any emergency, the key is to have multiple communication methods on our campus. This is an important addition to our communications plans, and I urge everyone to provide their emergency contact information.”

OSU will use the voice and text numbers to alert the campus community of an emergency. The contact numbers will not be used for any other purpose.

While a person’s emergency voice and text numbers may be the same, both must be entered to match a cell carrier email address with the text number. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to register an emergency voice and text number, which is not required.

To ensure the alert system has the most accurate information, individuals should log into their O-Key account (okey.okstate.edu). Once logged in:

Emergency Voice Alerts
• Click on “Emergency Contacts” in the left-hand nav bar.
• Under the emergency contacts section, use the drop-down menu to select “Emergency Voice.”
• Submit emergency contact number.

Emergency Text Alerts
• Repeat the process, selecting “Emergency Text” under the emergency contacts section.
• Once a number is entered, select a cell carrier to match the number with an email address.
• Be sure to request a test message.

If you have questions or problems, contact the IT help desk (405-744-HELP or helpdesk@okstate.edu). Any changes to the information should be updated.