New campus address system being implemented

New campus address system being implemented
aerial of OU campus
In response to steady campus growth and the need for a fast and accurate means of locating campus facilities, Oakland University is implementing an important change in its campus addressing system.

Effective Monday, April 4, the University will begin using unique street addresses for each building and parking lot on campus rather than the single, campus-wide address of 2200 N. Squirrel Road.

The new addresses, which have been approved and adopted by the U.S. Postal Service, can be viewed on the Oakland University Police Department (OUPD) Campus Address Lookup web page.

Improving campus safety and security services

According to University Police Chief Mark Gordon, who also serves as chair of the Campus Addressing Committee, the most compelling reason for this change is to ensure that emergency response agencies such as fire departments and ambulance services are able to report to the exact location of an emergency as quickly as possible.

To date, some 911 calls originating from OU have prompted dispatchers to route emergency responders to the campus-wide, 2200 N. Squirrel Road address. Upon arrival, these responders can face difficulties in obtaining detailed information on the specific location of the emergency, which can result in substantially delayed response times.

“To ensure the highest level of safety and security possible for the campus community, it is imperative that outside emergency response agencies have detailed and accurate location information,” Gordon said.

“We anticipate a significant improvement in response times with the new campus addressing system. Part of this will depend on each campus community member taking time to become familiar with campus street names and with street addresses of the buildings they frequent.”

All faculty, staff and students needing to report an emergency should dial 911, regardless of whether they are using a cell phone or a landline. If the call is routed to a non-university dispatch service, callers should be prepared to:
  • provide a campus street address at or near the scene of the emergency, or;
  • ask that the call be transferred to the Oakland University Police Department dispatch center.

As a matter of convenience, the new addressing system will also allow popular online and mobile mapping services to provide users more accurate locations and directions. Presently, it is not known how quickly these services will incorporate OU’s new street addresses into their databases.

Minor changes in campus operations

Starting April 4, University departments and units will be asked to begin using unique street addresses in printed, mailed, emailed, web and other communications.

  • No existing materials – including brochures, letterhead, business cards, email templates, etc. – need be replaced as a result of the change in the campus addressing system. As these materials need to be updated and replenished, unique street addresses will be incorporated as necessary. As usual, faculty and staff needing to replenish or create new printed materials can do so through their University Communications & Marketing Account Manager.

  • The U.S. Postal Service provides guidelines on how mailing addresses should be composed. Based on these guidelines, several examples of how University mail should be addressed are available on the Oakland University Police Department How to Address Mail web page.

  • University employees who use electronic signatures in their email communications are encouraged to update them with their building’s new street address.

  • UC&M will update building location information in the left-hand navigation areas of University web sites, sections and pages over the summer months. Department and unit web content managers will be asked to update and location information included in the content areas they maintain during the same time period.

Over the summer, University Facilities Management will oversee the installation of exterior building numbers on all campus facilities. In addition, Facilities Management and UC&M will partner to post unique street address signs inside all major campus facilities. Finally, UC&M will update the University’s interactive, web-based campus map to include new street addresses.

Faculty, students and staff seeking additional information on the new campus addressing system are encouraged to visit the OUPD Campus Addresses page, which offers a helpful New Address Checklist, an FAQ document and other resources.

Campus community members are asked to not call the OUPD dispatch center for address information, as this may interfere with campus safety and security services. Instead, information is available by calling the OU Police IT Service Desk at (248) 370-3407.