Steps you can take to strive for a safer campus.

  • Sign up for Emergency Notifications
  • Locate the Emergency Phones around campus
  • Know what to do in case of an emergency
  • Remain knowledgeable of the offices on and off campus that are here to help

                                    Sign up for alerts

Emergency Phone Numbers
Emergency telephones are located across campus to enable you easy access to call for help when you need it.

Phones are mounted on poles across campus and marked “emergency” with a blue light on top.

To use the phone, press the button and talk into the speaker.

  • Emergency: 911 or from an on-campus phone: 5-1111
  • from a cellular phone: 765-285-1111
  • Muncie Fire Department: 765-747-4877
  • Muncie Police Department: 765-747-4838
  • Emergency Medical Services: 765-747-7790
  • Poison Control: 1-800-382-9097
  • IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Switchboard: 765-747-3111

Phone Locations

For your safety, learn the locations of the emergency telephones, especially those along the routes you usually take in the evening and after dark. See our campus map for locations.

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act requires colleges and universities to disclose statistics for certain types of reported crimes.

Reports must include:

  • where the crimes occurred
  • to whom the crimes were reported
  • the year in which the crimes were reported

Ball State makes all efforts to comply with this act by reporting Clery crimes that occur:

  • on campus
  • on public property such as thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities within or adjacent to the campus
  • Clery-defined noncampus buildings or property
Campus Health & Safety Emergency Notifications

The university may issue a BSUInform notice when a situation is not an emergency and does not pose an immediate threat to the campus community but it is of significant safety interest to members of the Ball State community.

The service is intended to make students and employees aware by providing information about a situation. For instance, police might receive reports of a crime but do not believe a continuing threat exists. Or a crime might occur off campus, but the incident’s location might concern students’ or employees’ safety.

The university sends BSUInform notices through Ball State email.

Examples

Would the university issue a BSUInform notice in the following scenarios?

Maybe. There were reports of gunshots associated with an armed robbery at a convenience store several blocks east of the university. Muncie Police arrived and quickly had suspects in custody. A BSUInform may be sent out to alleviate concerns and dispel rumors.

Maybe. School breaks are times where opportunistic crimes, such as burglaries, increase. The university may issue a BSUInform notice before the break to remind people to secure their belongings and homes.

The director of public safety or a designee might determine there is an immediate threat to the health and safety of students or employees on campus who need to protect themselves from imminent danger, such as a gas leak in a building.

In these cases, the university sends emergency notifications via Ball State's website, email, Twitter, classroom call boxes, and mobile text messaging to subscribers. The university may also use a campus siren.

In each classroom there is a square red Emergency callbox which can dial directly to University Police. If an Emergency Text is sent out, the call boxes will convert text to voice to alert the class. Should there be an emergency affecting a particular classroom, hit the ‘call’ button to be connected to University Police.

Weather Alerts

The university sends weather-related text alerts for tornado warnings. To receive notifications about other types of weather, consider the following:

When the National Weather Service issues a tornado warning, Ball State will post pertinent information on the homepage of bsu.edu and send a text message to subscribers of the university’s emergency text-messaging system. Students, employees, and others should continue to monitor the weather via radio or television until the tornado warning has been lifted for their area.

Marketing and Communications also uses this system when the vice president for business affairs or a designee determines classes are canceled or the campus is closed.

Examples

Would Ball State issue an emergency warning in the following scenarios?

Yes. University Police confirm a report of an explosion in an on campus building.

Yes. The university confirms a report of a gas leak in the Art and Journalism Building. 

No. A multiple-vehicle accident at the Scramble Light injures several people. There is no time-sensitive threat or action required by other university community members. Instead, the university may issue a public safety advisory encouraging others to avoid the area.

When a crime occurs on campus or on a public area adjacent to campus, the Department of Public Safety may decide to issue a public safety advisory if the situation poses a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community.

Public safety advisories are intended to heighten safety awareness, alert campus community members of potential dangers, and to seek information that could lead to an arrest and conviction of perpetrators of violent crimes or major crimes against property.

The university issues public safety advisories through Ball State email.

Process

The Ball State chief of police or a designee reviews all reports to determine if there is an on-going threat to the community and if the incidents warrant public safety advisories. The university issues advisories subject to the availability of pertinent information concerning the incident.

University Police may consult with other university officials or local law enforcement and safety personnel on a case-by-case basis.

Ball State does not publish the names of crime victims or provide information that could lead to a victim’s identity.

Criteria

The university will issue a public safety advisory if the Department of Public Safety determines an incident meets all of the following conditions:

  • a reportable crime, under the Clery Act, has been reported: criminal homicide, sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, hate crime (includes any of the previously mentioned offenses, as well as cases of larceny or theft, simple assault, intimidation, or destruction of property motivated by bias)
  • the crime was reported to university officials
  • a crime occurred on campus or the public property surrounding the campus
  • there is a continuing danger to the campus community and issuing the public safety advisory will not compromise law enforcement efforts to address the crime
  • any non-Clery crime occurring on campus or on public property adjacent to campus that, in the opinion of the director of public safety or a designee, constitutes a serious or continuing threat to the campus community

The Department of Public Safety determines cases of aggravated assault and sex offenses on a case-by-case basis.

Examples

Would the university issue a public safety advisory in the following scenarios?

Yes. University Police confirmed a report of an explosion in an on campus building and it is determined that a continued threat may still exist.

Maybe. University Police received a report of a sexual assault in a residence hall. This crime occurred on campus, and even if the people involved knew one another, there could be a continuing threat. If there is an advisory, the university will not provide the name of the victim nor the residence hall. Doing so could lead to the identification of the victim.

No. Someone was assaulted south of the Village, and police arrested the assailant. The crime occurred outside of the Clery reporting area, and the assailant was arrested, so no continuing threat exists.

Prepare for an Emergency

The safety of students, faculty, and staff is a top priority at Ball State University. To help prepare you in the event of an emergency, the Crisis Management Team, University Police, Academic Affairs, People and Culture Services, and Marketing and Communications have collaborated to develop and implement an online crisis training video. 

Watch Training Video

Communication is Key

The university relies on an array of communication tools to keep the campus community informed and relay safety instructions in the event of an emergency. University Police and Marketing and Communications are the only campus offices authorized to disseminate official information about campus emergencies to the campus community. 

Guidelines for Emergency Situations

The Ball State Crisis Management Team, which developed these guidelines, works closely with emergency response, law enforcement, and medical agencies in Delaware County to ensure a coordinated response in the event of a crisis.

Emergency Notification Archives

Review previously sent Emergency Notifications and Public Safety Advisory Messages.

View Messages