At the beginning of a new semester, we try to make sure students have everything they need to get off to a good start. This includes reminders about where to park, how to track the trolley, and the importance of signing up for campus alerts.

The university uses a real-time messaging system to send alerts to your phone whenever there is a weather-related closing or other campus incident. It is the quickest and most convenient way to stay informed. You can receive text and/or phone alerts – both are free.

So when winter weather hits, there’s no need to get up and look out the window or watch the TV and wait (and maybe hope) and see whether UALR is listed on the screen.

How do you sign up? The Campus Alert site lists the steps involved, but I’ll include them here as well. Just go to the Personal Information section within your BOSS account. Select the last entry called Campus Alert Settings. Here you can enter a cell phone number to receive texts and another number to receive phone calls – those numbers can also be the same.

If at any time you no longer wish to receive alerts, you can select the opt-out box on that same form.

Two other things I want to point out regarding weather-related closings: UALR does not follow the decisions made by LRSD or PCSSD. The university makes its own decision regarding cancellations or closings. Also, if you forget to sign up for the alerts, you can always find out about cancellations or closings on the UALR homepage, on the official Facebook and Twitter accounts, and on local television and radio stations.