Blackboard Connect for Campus Safety
Fri: 9:00 - 3:00 pm
Stay Connected for Campus Alerts
Communication is one of the most important things to establish and maintain in an emergency. In addition to Campus Police, Coppin has several ways of reaching our campus community to share important information about emergency and non-emergency events. One of the tools we use to spread information through the Coppin community is Blackboard Connect.
Blackboard Connect
Blackboard Connect is a multi-modal communication service Coppin uses to schedule, send, and track personalized voice messages to up to 6 phone numbers for every student and staff member. It also immediately sends messages through 4 different modes of communication:
- Voice messages to home phones, work phones, and cell phones
- Text messages to cell phones, personal digital assistant (PDA) devices, networked digital signage, and other text-based devices
- Email messages to the Coppin email account
- Messages to TTY/TDD receiving devices for the hearing impaired
Blackboard Connect Enrollment
According to the FCC, persons who provide mobile numbers to schools are effectively granting consent to receive SMS text messages for “important information" — sent as Important Announcements — as well as sending out non-emergency messages related to the school's "educational mission."
Just as bulk emails are governed by regulations such as the CAN-SPAM Act, automated text messages and recorded voice messages are required to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Per the TCPA, text communication must occur between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. (not including "Important Announcement" messages, such as school closures, which may be sent during hours outside this time frame).
A few types of messages are explicitly disallowed, including:
- High-risk financial services
- Third-party lead generation services
- “Get rich quick” schemes
- Illegal substances
- Gambling
- "S.H.A.F.T." use cases
Unsubscribing from text messages
If you are no longer interested in receiving text alerts from Coppin, text "STOP" to 23177, and your number will be unsubscribed from all SMS messages. If you unsubscribed and wish to begin receiving messages again, text "START" to 23177. You may also send an email to the IT Help Desk for assistance.
Unsubscribing from voice messages
At the end of a voice message, you will hear an audio prompt to press a number to unsubscribe. You may also send an email to the IT Help Desk for assistance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Log in to your EagleLinks account, on the left hand menu section, visit the self-service section. Here, enter your phone numbers and emergency contacts.
No. Blackboard Connect does not sell, lease, share, or rent personally identifiable information (PII), including names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. to any companies or people outside of Blackboard Connect or their service providers.
While you are still on the call, press the star key (*) at any time to replay the message.
Most often, Blackboard Connect detects an answering machine and plays the message appropriately. On rare occasions, the systems detects a real person, and starts the message before the recording begins.
In other cases, an answering machine only allows recording for a limited time (usually one minute), so the entire message gets cut off.
Yes, you should still receive Coppin messages. Blackboard Connect sends Coppin's calls through a university number so that important messages won't be blocked.
All calls generated by Blackboard Connect look like other University numbers (410-951-XXXX). Also, all messages state that it is a message from Coppin State University.
In most cases, Blackboard Connect only sends calls to one number. During an emergency situation, we can activate the system to simultaneously call all phone numbers on file.
Are you concerned about your or another person's immediate safety? Dial 911 or call Campus Police at 410.951.3911.
Contact Us
Questions? Reach out to Campus Police at (410) 951-3900.