Emergency & Crisis Notification

In the event of a severe substantiated security or safety concern, either on College property or in the near vicinity of the campus, we will alert the campus community with a Timely Warning. Goshen College takes its duty seriously to inform students and campus community members of threatening situations and how they can best protect themselves from harm. Information related to crime-related and other potentially threatening situations is provided in an accurate and timely fashion for use by students and other community members to reduce their chances of becoming victims. These notices will be issued as a means of a “Clery Timely Warning Notice” (CTWN) or a “Safety Alert” (SA).

To help ensure the safety of our students and employees, Goshen College has partnered with Omnilert to provide a multi-tier emergency notification system that includes the following options: mobile app notifications, email, siren, SMS (Text messaging), and network notification to Macs and PC’s.

Students are automatically enrolled for emergency notifications sent from Omnilert. Sign up for the SMS service takes place during registration on the Student Information Update web form. All employees are encouraged to download and have ready access to the brief Crisis Management document.

Please download the Omnilert app using the links below. Note, that you will need to enter your unique code. Email safety@goshen.edu if you have not received your code already.
You will be asked to enter this code after installing the app.

Weather Emergencies and Closures

Because of our desire to best serve the educational needs of our students and the investment they have made, the college normally would only consider closing when there is a state of emergency issued by public authorities.

Should campus need to be closed due to extreme weather, we would notify you by 6:30 a.m. via an Omnilert SMS and mobile app notification. A similar alert would be sent out by 2 p.m. should inclement weather strike later in the day causing cancelations of evening classes and activities.

Suppose the campus needs to be closed due to any emergency (weather or otherwise). In that case, we will announce that with an Ominilert notification. We will also communicate to radio stations WGCS-FM (91.1) and WFRN-FM (104.7), and on TV stations WNDU (Ch. 16) and WSBT (Ch. 22). Should severe weather persists, the college would then continue to update you through email and Omnilert notifications about any additional closings or cancelations. We would also provide updates on the Goshen College Facebook page (facebook.com/goshencollege) and our website at goshen.edu.

If the college is closed, the dining hall will continue to be open for meals. The Physical Plant crew will clear sidewalks and parking lots during and after any snowfall.

Though the college doesn’t close often, above all, we seek to help ensure and promote all campus members’ safety during hazardous weather or other adverse conditions. Students and employees are strongly encouraged to use caution and discretion about traveling in such weather. We encourage you to make the decision that is right for you. If the college is open and you cannot make it to campus safely for class or work–please notify your professor, supervisor, and other pertinent contacts.

Professors and students should communicate if there are anticipated class changes or absences due to inclement weather and hazardous travel conditions.
Additional Information & Resources

Processes and procedures to be followed in the event of a crisis involving Goshen College

Crisis Management Guide

Questions or concerns? Contact Chad Coleman or Jodi Beyeler, Goshen College’s Crisis Management Coordinators.

Emergency Notification Desktop Client:

Click here for the Windows installer

Click here for the Mac OS installer