Text messaging is the fastest and most reliable way for the U to reach students, faculty and staff during an emergency. The university must communicate as quickly as possible for your personal safety—opting out of texts means you might miss critical safety information in a timely manner.

“News reports may or may not be totally accurate,” said Jeff Graviet, director for University of Utah Emergency Management. “You are going to get vetted information more quickly through campus text alerts, along with whatever protective actions you need to take to keep yourself safe.”

HOW TO RECEIVE TEXT ALERTS

To ensure you receive important campus alerts, add your cellphone number in CIS.

• Go to cis.utah.edu and login
• Select “Campus Alert”
• Enter your mobile number
• You may enter two additional mobile numbers

The university will only send text alerts during serious emergencies and your information will ONLY be used to send emergency alerts.

Alerts that aren’t time sensitive will only be sent via email with color-coding according to level of importance:

• Yellow alert: General safety information. These alerts will be sent by email and most often concern commuter issues and inclement weather.
• Orange alert: Safety warning. Orange alerts may include an email and a text message indicating a significant issue affecting your safety like power outages or severe weather.
• Red alert: Emergency alert. These alerts will always include an email and text message and are reserved for critical emergencies requiring immediate action like natural disasters or personal safety threats.

During an emergency, all alert information will also be posted on alert.utah.edu. If there is a current, active alert, the information will be available there.

WHEN WILL EMERGENCY ALERTS BE SENT?

Emergencies needing campuswide communication include:

• Extreme weather conditions
• Earthquake
• Severe power outages, major building closures or significant traffic interruptions
• Civil unrest or rioting
• Gas leaks, chemical or hazardous waste spill or explosion
• Threats such as a terrorist incident, bomb threat or gunmen

Depending on the seriousness of the emergency, an email and/or a text alert will be sent campuswide.

“If a fire alarm goes off in the building, people should evacuate immediately, not wait for the text or email notification” said Stuart Moffatt, associate director of Emergency Management. “However, you can expect an alert as quickly as possible, including the protective action.”

If a situation is ongoing, campus can expect to see alert messages every 20-30 minutes—even if the protective action and conditions remain the same.

Emergency Management tests the Campus Alert system twice per year generally in April and September.

U HEADS UP! APP

For those who want to receive emergency alerts who are not a student, staff or faculty member, download U Heads Up! on your cellphone and follow the instructions here to get emergency push notifications.