Officials hope changing the on-campus dialing system will put an end to false alarms caused by accidental 911 calls.

Callers no longer need to dial “9” before dialing a long-distance phone number from campus. Since the 911 emergency system was introduced to campus in March 1997, the University Police Department has reported an outstanding number of accidental calls to the number.

Adam Due, chief public safety officer, said police would receive an average of 80 accidental 911 emergency calls in the first few months the system was in place. Problems arose when people would dial “9” before dialing out, then dial an extra “1” before the area code. After callers realize they made the mistake, they hang up and emergency dispatchers hear a busy signal when they call back. Then, police are required to send an officer to the call to confirm no emergency.

“We were tying up man power with misdials and wasting a lot of time responding to calls there were no grounds for. When officers were busy answering a call, they are not available for other calls and other duties,” said Due. “I think the misdialing will be almost nonexistent now.”

To call long distance within the 217 area code from on-campus, callers should not dial “1” before the area code. Callers need to dial the seven digits, wait for three beeps and then dial a personal identification number, said Clay Hopkins, director of information technology services.

To dial another Eastern telephone from on campus, callers should dial all seven digits; callers can no longer only dial the last four digits of an on campus number. Toll-free calls to Charleston telephones also require all seven digits of the telephone number.

For more information, or if students have any problems dialing, call the Telecommunications Office at 581-5951.