Emergency Notification

UT Alert Emergency Notification System Overview

The university employs a variety of methods to notify the campus community of dangerous situations and major interruptions in campus operations. The goal is to inform a community, not every individual by every means available.  The campus community is asked to spread UT Alerts to others and take protective action for your safety.  For additional information, see the frequently asked questions at https://www.utk.edu/utalert/faq.shtml.

Emergency Blue Phones – outdoor voice messages all over campus.

If you notice the blue light flashing and a message being announced, seek additional information if necessary via email and web.

UT Alert email – sent in conjunction with the text but with more guidance like tips of how to protect yourself for the type of emergency.

There are no text limitations to the email so it allows for more detail than can be sent via text.  Emails are delivered by internal servers and normally arrive much faster than text messages.

If you notice UT Alert emails going to your junk email, go to actions/junk email and add utalert@utk.edu to your safe senders list.

UT Alert  text – a general message notifying of a situation.

Text alerts are limited by characters so the information is very general.  The goal is to make you aware of the nature of the incident so you can take appropriate action.  Text speed is not as fast as individuals are used to because of the large volume being delivered by the UT Alert system.

Social Media – UT Alert text messages will be reposted on Twitter (@UTKnoxville).

Social media is a good way for people without a NETID to get UT Alert information.

Web – As updates and details are available they are posted on the campus homepage at utk.edu.

Speed is critical for UT Alerts to be effective; therefore, the initial notifications may lack specific details.  The campus homepage is used to provide details as they become available.

“All Clear” – All UT Alert activations will be followed by an “all clear” message telling you when the situation has been resolved.

Protective actions taken in response to a UT Alert should be continued until the all clear message is issued.

Examples of emergencies that will result in UT Alert activations:

• Fires
• Tornado Warning
• Campus closures and delays (winter storm)
• Utilities outages (power, network)
• Active Shooter
• Evacuations
• Criminal activity

Safety Notice Emails are NOT UT Alerts.  They are a federally mandated reporting requirement concerning crimes and other safety issues and sent to everyone who has a utk.edu email account.  They are not related to being a UT Alert subscriber.