Michigan State University is improving its emergency alert systems

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — In less than a month, Michigan State University students will be returning to campus, and to better prepare for the semester, campus police and public safety are enhancing the school’s mass notification alert systems.

The MSU Police Department says it has been working diligently to improve and enhance the existing emergency notification systems and plans to launch a comprehensive test next Wednesday to ensure that everything is working.

“That includes MSU Alert by text message, e-mail, outdoor sirens, green light, emergency phones, landline phones on campus,” said MSU police chief Chris Rozman. “We know that when there’s a critical incident on campus, when there may be an emergency situation, getting information to our community in a timely matter is so, so important.”

Earlier this month, the university began automatically enrolling phone numbers into the system, which is designed to be accessible, timely, and accurate.

“Some people may have their phone silenced, and so [we are able] to reach them through an outdoor speaker or an audible tone,” said Rozman.

Along with the 650 emergency Green Light phones and eight outdoor sirens, MSU implemented a new system that delivers sound to all campus computers in the event of an emergency.

Next week’s test will not replace the annual test in the fall semester.

“We just really want our community to know that we are going to be transparent,” said Rozman. “And we are going to provide accurate and timely information and that, in those situations, we are the source of the accurate information.”

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