B-CU
Emergency Notification / B-CU Emergency Alerts
Bethune-Cookman University — a private HBCU in Daytona Beach, Florida — communicates emergencies through its mass-notification system, "Wildcat Alert" on the e2Campus (Omnilert) platform, and the companion Wildcat Safe mobile app, sending text-message or email alerts on emergency conditions including weather cancellations and delays.
Read the official policyInstitution
Bethune-Cookman University
Hbcu · FL
~2,700 studentsWildcat Alert
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
Mass-notification system and appverbatim
The department aims to effectively communicate to the campus community in emergent situations through the university's mass notification system (E2 Campus) and the Wildcat Safe Application.
- — Names both delivery mechanisms: the e2Campus mass-notification system (Wildcat Alert) and the Wildcat Safe app. Returned consistently as quoted text across multiple search captures of the live page.
Emergency-only / testing scopeverbatim
E2 Campus messages will be sent through the system only in an emergency and for periodic testing.
- — Bounds the channel to genuine emergencies plus periodic tests, and confirms a testing practice.
Wildcat Safe app descriptionverbatim
Wildcat Safe is the official safety app of Bethune-Cookman University and the only app that integrates with Bethune-Cookman's safety and security systems. The app will send you important safety alerts and provide instant access to campus safety resources.
- — Establishes the Wildcat Safe app as the official, integrated safety-alert channel for the University.
Wildcat Alert sign-up and contentreconstructed
Wildcat Alert is the University's emergency notification system that sends text messages or emails – whichever you choose – on emergency conditions, including weather cancellations and delays.
- — Defines Wildcat Alert as the emergency-notification system with selectable SMS/email and a weather-operations scope; sign-up is by texting COOKMAN to 237233. Captured from a search snippet of the live page / student handbook and not byte-confirmed against the source, so flagged as reconstructed.
At a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- Wildcat Alert / e2Campus messages are sent only in an emergency and for periodic testing; the alert system will only send information regarding emergency conditions, including weather cancellations and delays. Wildcat Safe pushes safety alerts during emergencies (e.g., the September 11, 2025 lockdown instruction to shelter in place).
- Who decides
- The Department of Campus Safety / Office of Emergency Management operates the mass-notification system and the Wildcat Safe app; emergencies are reported to Campus Safety at (386) 481-2900 and e2Campus notification questions are directed to the Department of Campus Safety.
- Timeliness standard
- Not stated verbatim on the public page; the system is positioned to 'effectively communicate to the campus community in emergent situations,' consistent with the Clery immediate-notification standard. In the September 11, 2025 lockdown, the campus alert and the University's public Facebook lockdown notice went out the same midday window.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- B-CU's Department of Campus Safety publishes an Annual Security & Fire Safety Report in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Act; campus-safety officer training includes Clery and Title IX compliance. The mass-notification system serves the emergency-notification function alongside the University's Clery reporting.
- Testing cadence
- E2 Campus / Wildcat Alert messages are sent only in an emergency and for periodic testing; a specific recurring cadence is not stated verbatim on the public page.
- Scope & limits
- The alert system will only send information regarding emergency conditions, including weather cancellations and delays; E2 Campus messages are sent only in an emergency and for periodic testing. Sign-up is opt-in (text COOKMAN to 237233); Wildcat Safe is the only app that integrates with B-CU's safety and security systems.
ChannelsSmsEmailPush NotificationWebsite
Analysis
Reading the policy
Bethune-Cookman's emergency-alert program centers on two complementary tools. The Office of Emergency Management states that the department "aims to effectively communicate to the campus community in emergent situations through the university's mass notification system (E2 Campus) and the Wildcat Safe Application." The mass-notification engine is branded **Wildcat Alert** and runs on **e2Campus**, a product of the vendor **Omnilert**; the **Wildcat Safe** app is the University's official mobile safety app and the only app that integrates with B-CU's safety and security systems, pushing safety alerts and providing access to campus safety resources.
**Scope and bounding.** The University is explicit that the channel is reserved for genuine emergencies: E2 Campus / Wildcat Alert messages "will be sent through the system only in an emergency and for periodic testing," and the alert system "will only send information regarding emergency conditions, including weather cancellations and delays." That bounded scope — emergencies plus weather operations, nothing else — is a deliberate design choice that protects the credibility of the alert channel. Sign-up is opt-in by text: students, faculty, and staff text COOKMAN to 237233 and receive a confirmation message; they may choose text messages or email.
**Clery framing and operations.** B-CU's Department of Campus Safety publishes an Annual Security & Fire Safety Report in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Act, and campus-safety officer training includes Clery and Title IX compliance. Emergencies are reported to Campus Safety at (386) 481-2900, and questions about e2Campus notification are directed to the Department of Campus Safety. The system was exercised in a real event on September 11, 2025, when a potential threat placed the campus on lockdown — "a campus alert sent through the Wildcat Safe system instructed students, faculty and staff" to follow lockdown protocols and shelter in place, after which the lockdown was lifted when no credible threat was found. B-CU was one of several HBCUs across the Southeast to receive coordinated threats that day.
Takeaways
Key findings
B-CU's alert program is 'Wildcat Alert' on the e2Campus mass-notification platform (vendor: Omnilert) plus the 'Wildcat Safe' official mobile safety app.
The channel is expressly bounded: messages are sent only in an emergency and for periodic testing, and the system 'will only send information regarding emergency conditions, including weather cancellations and delays.'
Sign-up is opt-in — users text COOKMAN to 237233 and may choose text messages or email; Wildcat Safe is the only app that integrates with B-CU's safety and security systems.
The Department of Campus Safety / Office of Emergency Management operates the system and publishes a Clery-compliant Annual Security & Fire Safety Report.
The system was used in a real event on September 11, 2025, when a Wildcat Safe / campus alert directed a campus-wide lockdown and shelter-in-place during a (later uncredited) threat affecting several HBCUs.
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
4 documented times B-CU’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- Official
- Official
- Official
- Clery ASR
- News
Tags
policyemergency-notificationtimely-warninghbcuflorida
Added 2026-06-21Updated 2026-06-21Via ingestion