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Supportive resources

Supportive resources

Students

The latest information regarding available resources for students can be found on the Counseling and Psychiatric Services website.

Additional services:

  • Walk in counseling services at CAPS (located at Olin Health Center) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
  • 24/7 virtual crisis counseling is available. Students can call CAPS at 517-355-8270 and press “1” at the prompt to speak with a crisis counselor any time.
  • Uwill 1-1 support teletherapy. Students can create a profile and receive free, immediate access to a therapist of their choice.
  • To request a University Health and Wellbeing listening space, students can use this request form.


Families

Counseling and Psychiatric Services also has a guide for families to help support their student. In addition, a recording of the webinar on responding to tragic events at MSU can be found here.

All Employees

Counseling and Psychiatric Services has webpage dedicated to supporting employees.

The Spartan Resilience Training Program offered several Reflect and Connect Sessions throughout February for MSU faculty, staff and graduate students. Teams interested in additional sessions can request them by emailing Lisa Laughman at laughman@msu.edu.

Additional services:

  • MSU Employee Assistance Program can also receive employees in person or by ZOOM. Usual hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employees can call 517-355-4506 or email eap@msu.edu to make an appointment.
  • To request a University Health and Wellbeing listening space, faculty and staff can use this request form.

Faculty

Resources for teaching after a crisis are available on #iteachmsu playlist. The Office of the Provost developed a 6-Step Approach to Starting Class.

A recording of the webinar Rebuilding Hope: Teaching in the Aftermath, presented by Alyssa Hadley Dunn, is now available. Dunn was joined by Chris Rozman from MSU Police who spoke about campus safety.

A recording of the Trauma Informed Response training for advisors that took place on March 3 is available to watch. 

Staff

The Office of Human Resources developed a toolkit to assist supervisors in the transition to standard operations.

Stay Informed

Please follow MSU Police and Public Safety (@msupolice) for verified and accurate updates as well as msu.edu/emergency. Recordings of MSU DPPS media briefings are available online.



Frequently Asked Questions



Campus safety

Most buildings on the East Lansing campus now require key card access by current students, faculty or staff members between the hours of 6 p.m. through 7:30 a.m. each day. Accommodations will be made for public events that take place on campus. 

The university also will begin outfitting 1,300 classrooms on campus with an appropriate lock system that allows instructors to secure classrooms while maintaining building and fire code compliance and allowing first responders to enter the spaces in the event of an emergency. University leaders identified the fall 2023 semester as the goal to have this measure in place. Other doors outside of classroom settings also may be considered for additional safety measures.  

MSU will expand its camera network of more than 2,000 to include additional cameras throughout campus, including academic buildings and Green Light phones already on campus, to provide adequate monitoring coverage. Simultaneously, MSU Police and Public Safety is proceeding with its project to centralize the oversight of all cameras and security systems.

While the university has voluntary active violence training available through MSU Police and Public Safety, it will begin requiring all students, faculty and staff to complete active violence intruder training starting this fall. 

If you tap your ID card on a door card reader and the door fails to unlock, the ID card is either failing or access to that particular building has not been authorized for the ID card.

 

Test the ID card to determine what happens if the ID card is tapped on the door card reader:

When tapped, does the card reader fail to beep? If yes, then the ID card has a chip failure. A new ID card is required and must be acquired in person.

  • Bring the failing ID card to the ID Office, which is open 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday through Friday.
  • Unless the ID card has received abnormal use (e.g., a hole has been punched into the ID card), there will be no charge to replace a damaged ID card.
  • Questions about IDs can be emailed to idoffice@msu.edu.

 

When tapped, does the card reader beep but the doors remain locked? This is an access control challenge and individuals should email DPPS.SecuritySvcs@msu.edu with information about the building they are trying to access. Emails are typically responded to by the next business day.

Yes. Currently, MSU Police and Public Safety officers and the East Lansing Fire Department have access to MSU’s buildings in the event of an emergency. MSU Police and Public Safety is evaluating ways in which additional law enforcement agencies from surrounding communities could access MSU buildings in case of an emergency.

Currently, MSU Police and Public Safety officers and the East Lansing Fire Department have access to MSU’s buildings. MSU Police and Public Safety is evaluating ways in which additional law enforcement agencies from surrounding communities could access MSU buildings in case of an emergency.

Our MSU campuses in Flint, Grand Rapids and Detroit are evaluating building access accommodations that need to be considered.

The measures announced March 1 are a starting point on our campus journey toward a balance of safety and a welcoming community. Additionally, on April 28, MSU Interim President Woodruff announced the establishment of the Office for Resource and Support Coordination and the selection of Security Risk Management Consultants to lead an independent after-action review of the events of Feb. 13.

MSU is always looking for ways to improve and implement new safety measures and will implement additional safety measures as needed.

All students received the alerts via their university email. And students who enrolled in text alerts also received the alert on their phone. Here is the step-by-step video on how to enroll.

When students enroll at MSU, their MSU email is automatically added to the university’s emergency alert system. Employees’ email addresses and office phone numbers also are automatically added. To receive alert notifications on a cell phone, students and employees must update their contact information at alert.msu.edu. Parents, families and the community can sign up by texting MSUALERT to 888777. MSU sends out a test alert the first few weeks of each semester.

Yes. Across campus classrooms and spaces, MSU requires the posting of information on what to do in the event of an active shooter, fire or other interior hazards, weather emergencies and hazardous material spills. A copy of the guidelines is available on MSU Police and Public Safety’s website.

MSU policy bans openly carrying a firearm on all property owned and governed by the university. Employees and students may not possess a firearm on campus even if they have a valid permit. Further, students cannot have a gun in residence halls (General Student Regulation 2.08) and no one may carry a concealed firearm in buildings on campus or buildings owned and governed by MSU. These policies do not apply to certified law enforcement officers in the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety.

Under the Board of Trustees Ordinance 18.00, the general public may carry a concealed firearm with a valid permit but not in any university building or entertainment venue.

The university cannot be more restrictive than the state law. As such, in most outdoor public spaces, MSU cannot ban carrying a concealed weapon for those with a valid permit. That includes individuals unaffiliated with the university who are traveling on campus roads to get to their destination, which may not be MSU.

Classes

Berkey Hall will remain closed for the fall 2023 semester.

For staff and faculty

Mail addressed to Berkey Hall for the College of Social Science and the Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science is being delivered to Owen Hall.

Mail addressed to the Department of Sociology and the College of Social Science Dean’s Office is being delivered to the MSU Federal Credit Union building at 195 Crescent Road.

All other Berkey Hall departmental mail, parcels or University Stores orders are available for pickup at Mail Services on 166 Service Road — open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please be prepared to provide your MSU ID and a tracking number, if applicable.

Support

The university appreciates the outpouring of support by donors and the community and their continued contribution to the well-being of our Spartan community. A committee comprised of student, faculty and staff representation is finalizing its recommendations on how the Spartan Strong Fund will be disbursed. Once approved, we will communicate how these critical funds can be accessed by our community and for what purposes.

Union reopening

The union will be under restricted access from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. in accordance with MSU’s newly implemented building hours for campus. Additionally, parts of the building will have 24/7 building access restriction, including the north doors and access to the food court. Only authorized personnel will be able to enter those spaces.

While union CAPS counseling staff will be going back to their office in the Union to provide virtual services. Their in-person services will be maintained at Olin Health Center. Virtual options also are still available for all students and can be used instead of in-person sessions as well. 

It has not yet been determined when dining within the union will reopen. When that time comes, we’ll be sure to share that information with the community. 
Yes, the Sparty’s mini-market will be opening, along with the lounges on the first floor and the computer labs. 
At this time, we have not made a decision for when classes may be brought back into the union.
The admissions office moved their tours and events from the union to the Kellogg Center for the remainder of the semester. It has not made a decision yet on when it will return that programming to the Union.