What is Missouri State Alert?

Missouri State Alert is the University's mass notification system, which uses a variety of methods to contact students, faculty and staff in the event of an emergency or school closing. Depending on your subscription, the system will make contact through text messages, emails, instant messages, phone calls or pager messages.

How does Missouri State Alert work?

During an urgent situation, the Missouri State Alert system will cycle through contact methods listed for your account to deliver the alert, starting with the first available. When you receive the message, it is very important that you confirm receipt when prompted. If no confirmation is received, Missouri State Alert will continue cycling through your points of contact. Missouri State Alert typically makes three complete cycles during emergency situations and one complete cycle for other situations, such as University closings.

When will the University use the Missouri State Alert system?

The Missouri State Alert system will only be used in the following situations:

• Immediate threat/violent situation on campus
• Security alert
• University closings, early dismissal, delayed start
• Severe weather alerts
• Other emergency situations of an extreme nature
• Periodic testing of the system

The system will not be used for advertisements, marketing messages, or to communicate campus or community events. Please note that notification about University closings will be sent as decisions are made, which may mean they are delivered early in the morning.

I received an alert. Where do I go for additional details?

Follow-up information about alerts will be posted to the Springfield campus homepage or West Plains campus homepage, depending on who the alert affects.

When I subscribe, what sort of contact information should I provide?

The University strongly recommends you provide Missouri State Alert with your direct, local contact information, perferably a cell phone number.

If you subscribe with a shared office phone number, anyone that answers that phone can confirm receipt of a Missouri State Alert message, which will stop Missouri State Alert from contacting you via other methods. You can prevent this problem during subscription by using the text box to manually enter your cell phone number or direct office phone number when its not listed as your Missouri State office phone number.

If students provide their parents contact information, then their parents could confirm receipt of the message and stop the Missouri State Alert contact cycle before it reaches the students.

How can I update my contact information?

You can visit the Missouri State Alert Subscription page at any time to change your contact preferences. If you selected to use your Missouri State email address, office phone or local phone, that information will be automatically updated each weeknight to match what's in your University record.

Will my contact information be shared with other University systems or third parties?

Your contact information will only be provided to the vendor supplying the Missouri State Alert system. The vendor will use this information to contact you with urgent notifications. Your contact information will not be shared with other University systems or anyone else.

I'm a member of the West Plains campus. Where do I sign up?

Visit the Subscrption page and select the option to sign up through My Grizzly Den.

Who sends Missouri State Alert notifications?

Use of the Missouri State Alert system on the Springfield campus may be authorized by the following individuals:

• President
• Vice President for Administrative and Information Services
• Associate Vice President for Administrative Services
• Director, Department of Safety and Transportation

Use of the Missouri State Alert system on the West Plains campus may be authorized by the following individuals:

• Chancellor
• Dean of Student Services
• Director of University Communications
• Coordinator of Student Life and Development
• Acting Dean of the College

Do I have to confirm receipt of the message?

We strongly recommend you confirm that you've received the notification. By confirming receipt, you allow the system to more efficiently and expeditiously reach all members of the University community, which will save valuable time during an emergency situation. Once you confirm receipt on any method, Missouri State Alert will stop sending you additional notifications; however, notifications that are already in transit will still be delivered.

What numbers and addresses will send the Missouri State Alert notifications?

• Phone calls: (417) 836-8999
• Text messages: 89361
• Emails: MissouriStateAlert@notify.com
• Instant Messenger (IM) messages:
  • AIM: nnnalert5, nnnalert6 or nnnalert7
  • Yahoo: nnnp1a1 or nnnp1a2
  • MSN: nnnalertp1a1@3nonline.com or nnnalertp1a2@3nonline.com

If your subscription includes email notification, you should add the above email address to your safe senders list in your email client. This will ensure the alert messages don't end up in your junk email folder.

If your subscription includes instant messaging notification, you should add the applicable contacts to your IM contacts list. This will ensure the messages aren't block by your IM software.

Will Missouri State test the system? How will I know what is a test?

The University strives to test the Missouri State Alert system each semester. The campus community will be informed before test notifications are sent.

If the message is a test of the system, it will be delivered with the subject line “TEST: Missouri State Alert.” Any message that does not include the word “test” is an urgent message. Urgent messages will carry subject lines such as “Emergency Alert,” “Weather Alert,” or “Campus Advisory.”

Is there a charge for subscribing to Missouri State Alert?

The University does not charge a subscriber fee for Missouri State Alert. Subscribers are responsible for paying any fees associated with receiving the messages on their phones or computers.

What if I still have questions?

Please use our Missouri State Alert Comments form to ask additional questions.