Please familiarize yourself with these safety resources. During an emergency, this web page will be one of several tools used to communicate the latest official university news and information.
To report an emergency on campus, please call Capital's Public Safety emergency number at 614-236-6666. To report an emergency off campus, please call 911.
What is a critical incident or emergency?
A critical incident, or emergency, is defined as a sudden, unforeseen occurrence of a serious and urgent nature that requires immediate action to protect lives and/or property associated with Capital University. It has the potential to cause significant injury or death, or to shut down the university, disrupt operations, cause physical or environmental damage, or threaten Capital's reputation or financial standing.
How will the university respond?
It's impossible to anticipate every critical incident or emergency that can occur on a college campus. So we have developed protocols that represent, in some detail, emergencies that might arise and steps that students, faculty or staff should take in encountering and/or reporting a critical incident.
It's important to remember that in real situations, the actual circumstances — the nature, scope and duration of the incident — will determine the appropriate response. It is also important to note that each protocol is designed with two goals in mind:
- to ensure the health, safety and security of the campus community
- to minimize damage to university property
Since emergencies don't always abide by normal business hours, it is understood that the Department of Public Safety and/or Facilities Management will make every attempt to contact the resources and assets necessary to mitigate an emergency or critical incident.
Important phone numbers
Emergency: 614-236-6666
University Public Safety (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.): 614-236-6504
Emergency off campus: 911
Information Desk: 6011
Outside operator: 9-0
Facilities Management (Power plant): 614-236-6400
Campus Health Center: 614-236-6114
Rape Crisis Center: 614-267-7020
Suicide Prevention Service: 614-221-5445
Communication tools
Capital University has several tools for communicating official university information. During a critical incident, the university will use the following tools as its primary means of communicating official university information:
- Capital web site — www.capital.edu — and this page — www.capital.edu/emergency
- Capital Alert, an emergency notification system that will notify you of an emergency on campus by sending a text message to your Short Message Service Device (Ex: cell phone, pager, Blackberry, etc.) and/or e-mail account. Read more about Capital Alert.
- Toll-free call-in numbers — The university has added three toll-free phone numbers that will give callers the latest information about the status of a critical incident. To access the system from a campus phone, dial 3333. If you are off campus, dial 1-866-263-8314, 1-866-240-4627, or 1-866-240-4631. The general access code for all numbers is 0001.
- Big Voice, a commercial public address system will be installed on one or more campus buildings. This system will allow the broadcast of prerecorded or live messages, announcements, and etc. The system is designed to be clearly heard throughout the campus grounds.
- inside.capital.edu, Capital's portal tool
The university also will rely on local media to deliver the latest information about an emergency or a change in the status of campus operations to the public. Stay tuned to the following local media:
TV
- NBC 4
- ABC 6/FOX 28
- WBNS 10 TV
- Ohio News Now (ONN)
Radio
- WBNS AM 1460 and FM 97.1
- WSNY FM 94.7
- WODB FM 107.9
- WJZA FM 103.5/104.3
- WJZK, WTVN AM 610
- WNCI FM 97.9
- WCOL AM 1230 and FM 92.3
- WFJX FM 105.7 and WLZT FM 93.3
Capital Alert
Capital Alert is a free service for all Capital University faculty, staff and students, but normal text messaging fees may apply, depending on your cell phone service agreement. Vision- and hearing-impaired individuals may request text-to-speech service to a cell or TTY phone by submitting a request to capitalalert@capital.edu.
To receive emergency text messages from Capital Alert, you must update your profile by visiting www.mir3.com/capital. You will be prompted to enter your Capital University e-mail address (ex: jdoe@capital.edu) and a temporary password of “Cap1234.” The password is case sensitive.
Note: Do not click on the “Create Account” link because your Capital University e-mail address is already in the Capital Alert database.
This system is only effective if it has accurate contact information, which is why it is very important that you provide the appropriate information and update it regularly. Your Capital e-mail account is already in the Capital Alert database, but you can provide an alternative e-mail address and up to two SMS devices (ex: cell phone, pager, Blackberry, etc.) if you want them to receive emergency notifications.
The university will use the system only in high-level emergencies, and your personal information will remain absolutely private. If you have any trouble updating your profile in the Capital Alert System, please contact Information Technology, or send an e-mail to capitalalert@capital.edu.