AlertMe FAQ

AlertMe is Cal State East Bay's alerting and warning service for students, staff, and faculty. It is activated to contact you when there is an immediate threat to safety or health affecting the campus community. AlertMe can alert you by phone, text message, and/or email.

AlertMe uses contact information you provide. Emergency alerts and instructions can be sent via cell phone, text messaging, email, and home phones, including TTY devices.

Yes. You must provide your contact information to receive warning messages and instructions. On MyCSUEB (or MyHR for Staff/Faculty) you can provide contact methods. Cal State East Bay landlines or desk phones should not be listed as a primary phone.  See instructions page.

You don’t need to sign up. All Cal State East Bay students, faculty and staff with contact information within MyCSUEB or MyHR will be notified via AlertMe.

No. If you provide a mobile phone, you will receive a text message alert. The message will come from one or more on these shortcodes: 226787, 67283, 78015, 77295. The text will start with “CSU East Bay ALERT!”  While it is not recommended, texting STOP to any one of the shortcodes will cancel messages from all of them.

No, AlertMe is only for Cal State East Bay students, faculty, and staff. However, the University does encourage you to keep you emergency contact information up to date so that we can contact your family or other loved ones in case of a campus emergency or if something happens to you.

Participation in the AlertMe system is free. If you choose text messaging as a way to alert you, depending on your cell phone plan you may receive a charge for messages received.

All contact information is protected and will be kept private. It will not be included in campus directories. Your contact information will only be used by AlertMe for emergency needs.

The campus will activate the system only when absolutely necessary. University Emergency Management or the University Police Department (UPD) will activate AlertMe in the event of an immediate threat to life or safety. AlertMe may also be used to send urgent and important messages when information will be helpful, but no individual action is immediately required. For example, you will be warned and instructed about what to do if there is:

• Shelter in-place or evacuation order
• An earthquake
• A bomb threat that police believe is credible enough to take precautions
• Someone with a gun threatening the campus
• A major chemical spill that requires action
• Other kinds of significant emergencies on or near campus where warnings will be helpful.

Messages will be sent in written text (text messages, email, and TTY) and through spoken voice (phone services), depending on the devices you have registered. The AlertMe system will make its best attempt to deliver messages, but situations and services outside the campus's control mean that we cannot guarantee delivery of all messages to all devices. For example, if the cell phone network is overloaded, it will not be able to send messages to your cell phone.

Active AlertMe messages will begin with the words CSU East Bay Alert. Tests of the system will begin with the word "test." The messages will be very brief. In a developing or fast-changing situation, the initial message may be very general, such as "Emergency: Police are responding to reports of a threatening situation. Shelter in place until further notice." As more detail is known, updates will be sent, as will more detailed instructions on what to do.

For each circumstance, AlertMe messages will include a situation description and the action you should take immediately. A message may also include additional information depending on the incident. When the message reads "emergency," it will usually mean that there is an immediate threat to life safety and that you need to take some action, such as stay where you are, keep away from a dangerous area, evacuate the campus, or some other instruction. If the message reads "urgent" or "important" the information and instructions provided will be helpful but individual action may not be immediately required.

The AlertMe alerting and warning system is the result of work undertaken by a team charged by the President to provide a way to reach individual students, faculty, and staff in the event of an emergency or crisis on campus. 

Employees who do not have access to phones and email during the work day should make their managers aware. It is vital that their managers and supervisors immediately alert them to emergency situations and provide instructions.

You will not receive any messages from the AlertMe service if you provide an SMS number that you or your cellular provider have blocked from receiving text messages. This block will prevent you from receiving any type of message from the AlertMe service, not just text messages. If you believe you have a blocked SMS number, please do not select “mobile” for that phone number within MyCSUEB or MyHR.

For more information on emergency preparedness, including what to do in numerous kinds of emergencies, go to the Emergency Management website.

You can opt-out by eliminating your contact information in MyCSUEB or MyHR, However, we strongly advise against this. It is important that we have every option available to reach you in a time of crisis. You cannot opt-out of a primary phone number or your email.