Eastern may be on its way to a campus-wide cell phone policy.

President Bill Perry said Faculty Senate would be a factor in deciding what policy the university should have.

“We are seeking Faculty Senate advice on classroom cell phone policy,” Perry said. “That advice is crucial to our consideration of such a policy.”

Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs, first sought the senate’s advice at its meeting last week.

He said the university is worried about the effects cell phones have in classrooms.

“The concern is the same here at Eastern as it is in the local schools or movie theaters,” Lord said. “Cell phones can be an interruption and distraction to the learning process.”

Besides being distracting, Lord said students could use cell phones to cheat in class by getting outside help on exams.

But while it may be a problem in classrooms, cell phones are the main tools of Eastern’s new emergency system, Alert EIU.

According to Alert EIU’s Web site, Alert EIU is a text-messaging system that alerts subscribers, via their cell phones, to emergency situations and (if needed) advises them to take action.

Perry said any university cell phone policy would need to account for the emergency text messaging system.

“A classroom cell phone policy must allow an emergency text message to get to the classroom,” Perry said.

Lord said a cell phone policy would balance the need to decrease distractions while addressing concerns for campus safety.

“All is still very speculative,” he said. “The ultimate objective is to come up with something that balances the needs to minimize disruptions while still allowing for (emergency) notifications.”

Lord said striking that balance will take group involvement but added Perry will make the final decision.

“It will be a collective effort,” Lord said. “Ultimately, it is the president who formally approves such policies.”

Joe Astrouski can be reached at 581-7942 or at jmastrouski@eiu.edu.