“You have to be sure you have a credible system that precludes as much as possible the spreading of rumors or false information,” he said. “The information out there has to be acted upon, and we want people acting on accurate, clear and reliable information.”

The text-messaging system allows students to receive text messages from the university. It was tested when a tornado hit Williamston last fall. More than 90 percent of the text messages sent were received, Dunlap said.

However, because of jams in cellular service providers’ airwaves, there have been problems with messages being delayed before reaching students.

“MSU’s system can send those messages out very rapidly, but a given wireless service provider … has the ability to slow that down,” Dunlap said.

About 11,000 people are enrolled in the program, which doesn’t require instructors to register their cell phone numbers.

Those same professors receive some instruction but no direct training on how to deal with emergencies, Denbow said. He added that they should simply look to the university text messages if a situation arises.

“The experts will come in and give direction,” Denbow said. “You can’t describe a scenario ahead of time. Leaving may be the most important thing to do, it may be the worst thing to do. There’s no formulas in advance, just guidelines.”

Some students said they would be more comfortable if instructors knew what to do in the event of an emergency.

“I’d probably feel better if the professors had some type of training,” said chemistry freshman James Tinkey.

MSU revamped its emergency procedures after a report about the incident at Virginia Tech was released, Dunlap said. Both police and campus administrators received copies of the report, which states that campuses should have a way to instantly alert students to a problem and faculty and staff should be able to identify troubled individuals, among other things.

Still, MSU’s revamped plans might not be enough.

“Those are not foolproof,” Dunlap said.

The university defines three different levels of an emergency situation to aid university communication — issues, crises and incidences, Denbow said.

“I call it the pyramid of peril,” he said. “We have a universitywide commitment to incident communication. (Provost Kim Wilcox) is central to the thing because informing the academic community is very important.”

Police have separate plans to deal with situations in different parts of campus, Denbow said.

MSU Trustee Colleen McNamara said she’s comfortable with the safety measures MSU implemented after Virginia Tech, although the board likely will examine the shootings at Northern Illinois University during its Feb. 22 meeting.

“I’m as comfortable as you can get,” she said. “I’d be really comfortable if you put a big fence all around and you had to show IDs to get in, with cops with guns in the halls, but that’s not what we’re about.”

MSU Provost Kim Wilcox said several buildings on campus, including the Administration Building, use ID cards to access buildings.

Officials will continue to evaluate the best access systems for each building, he said, but the Northern Illinois shootings won’t speed up the process.

“We’ve been serious about safety and security for a long time,” he said. “We’re going to continue at the same pace, because it’s always been a concern.”