Major upgrades to university security systems well under way

Maintaining a strong and long held commitment to provide the Oakland University community the highest level of campus safety and security possible, university leaders are overseeing major upgrades to monitoring, reporting and notification systems.

With the approval of the 2023-24 fiscal year budget, the Board of Trustees allocated more than $655,000 to finance now ongoing enhancement projects.

To date, work in four key safety and security areas is progressing as follows:

Closed Circuit TV System

• 131 cameras have been installed and all cameras within the system have been verified as fully functional. The Oakland University Police Department (OUPD) Dispatch Center is able to monitor images from any of the system cameras at any time.

Exterior Blue Light Emergency Phones

• 30 outdoor loudspeaker units incorporated into blue light phone towers have been replaced to ensure that the loudspeaker system as a whole is fully functional. The OUPD IT Office is working with University Technology Services to integrate these devices into the RAVE emergency text message alert system, which will allow all emergency text message alerts to also be announced over the exterior loudspeaker system.

RAVE Emergency Text Messaging System

• The university's emergency text message alert system – the most immediate and most efficient emergency notification resource in place at OU – has been expanded to include all current students, faculty and staff members. The impact of this change has been to triple the number of individuals receiving emergency text message alerts from roughly 7,000 to nearly 21,000.

Remote Door Access Control

• Multiple university departments continue work leading to the installation of additional remote door access control equipment in the Oakland Center, Recreation Center and Kresge Library. A timeline for installation will be developed upon the delivery of ordered equipment.

As campus safety and security technology enhancement progresses, OUPD leaders remind campus community members that safety and security is everyone's responsibility. The following tips are offered to help raise OU's collective level of protection. 

• Always be aware of your surroundings on campus.

• Report all suspicious behavior to the OUPD at extension 3331.

• Report concerning behavior on the part of a student or faculty or staff member online using the link provided at the top right of OU's homepage.

• Always know where the exits of a room or space are and determine the quickest route out in the event of an emergency.

• Always know the address of the university building you are in and be prepared to provide it to a dispatcher when calling 911.