College to Conduct Emergency Alert System Tests Wednesday, Thursday

The College of Charleston, as defined by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Police and Campus Crime Statistics Act, will conduct two tests of the Cougar Alert emergency notification system on Wednesday, March 22, and Thursday, March 23.

The notifications will be sent to the campus community via email, text, phone and the Everbridge mobile app. Prior to this test, the campus community is encouraged to review the College’s Emergency Response, Evacuation, and Response Procedures located on pages 18-21 of the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, 2022-2023.

You can help us ensure that the technology is working properly by responding to the alerts when you receive them. Response instructions will be included with each message.

The testing dates and times are:

11:55 a.m., Wednesday March 22, 2023

3:55 p.m., Thursday, March 23, 2023

Please keep in mind that in the event of an actual emergency, students may be directed to reach out to their emergency contacts listed in MyPortal (parents, families, etc.) to let them know that they are accounted for and safe.

If you do not receive the notifications during the tests of the Cougar Alert system, please check your contact information to make sure that the College of Charleston has the correct information on file. You can check your contact information and make any updates by logging into your MyPortal account:

Log into MyPortal

Click on the Personal Information tile

On the Profile Page, click on Personal Information

Review the contact information. If changes are needed, click on the words “add new” in the box

Make changes and click the “add” button to save.

Additional information and instructions related to a Cougar Alert can be found at emergency.cofc.edu/cougaralert/. If you experience technical issues relating to the test, please contact the CofC IT Service Desk at 843.953.3375 or itservicedesk@cofc.edu.

The College will also test the Alertus system. When the College issues a Cougar Alert, all campus computer workstations and laptops running the Alertus system will display a full-screen pop-up alert providing messaging about the Cougar Alert on campus. Users will need to click “acknowledge” on the screen to remove the full-screen Alertus notification. The test messages will also appear on digital display screens throughout campus. These pop-up alerts are in addition to those the campus will receive by email, text, phone and the Everbridge app and are not meant to replace these notifications.

This is also a good time to review safety procedures. For information concerning campus crimes, go to the Staying Safe page. For information concerning active shooter situations and responses, go to the Run. Hide. Fight. page.