U-M
U-M Emergency Alerts
U-M Emergency Alert is a free, mass notification system through which the University of Michigan notifies students, faculty, and staff of an active, major campus emergency; the U-M Police Department (UMPD) initiates an urgent notification when it determines there is an active emergency that may put campus public safety at risk, with alerts delivered by text/SMS, voice message, and email (U-M Division of Public Safety & Security).
Read the official policy~53,488 studentsU-M Emergency Alert
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
What the system isnot yet verified against the source
The policy addresses this topic; its exact wording has not yet been verified against the source, so no text is quoted here. Open the official policy to read it.
U-M DPSS - U-M Emergency Alerts page (text reproduced identically across multiple search snippets; official page returned HTTP 403 in this environment)Who activates and whennot yet verified against the source
The policy addresses this topic; its exact wording has not yet been verified against the source, so no text is quoted here. Open the official policy to read it.
U-M DPSS - U-M Emergency Alerts page (reproduced via search snippet; official page HTTP 403)When the system won't be usednot yet verified against the source
The policy addresses this topic; its exact wording has not yet been verified against the source, so no text is quoted here. Open the official policy to read it.
U-M DPSS - U-M Emergency Alert FAQs (reproduced via search snippet; official page HTTP 403)Testing cadenceverbatim
DPSS tests the system at least once during the fall and winter semesters. A test message will include the word "Test."
- Documents the at-least-twice-yearly test schedule and the 'Test' marker used to distinguish drills. Not verbatim-confirmed because the official page could not be fetched directly.
At a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- Activated when UMPD determines there is an active emergency in which the public safety of the campus may be at risk. Examples: a person actively shooting a weapon is on the loose; a tornado is predicted to strike the campus area; a major hazardous material spill is impacting a large portion of campus. Reserved for campus-wide emergencies; not used for localized or suspicious incidents such as small fires or suspicious behavior, and usually not for localized incidents within a building such as a small fire.
- Who decides
- The U-M Police Department (UMPD) determines whether an active emergency exists that may put campus public safety at risk and initiates the urgent notification. The program is administered by the Division of Public Safety & Security (DPSS).
- Timeliness standard
- U-M characterizes the alert as an 'urgent notification' for an 'active, major campus emergency' but does not publish a specific minute-based timing standard on the public page; under Clery, emergency notifications are issued without unreasonable delay upon confirmation of a significant emergency.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- The U-M Emergency Alert serves the Clery emergency-notification function (significant emergency or dangerous situation posing an immediate threat to health or safety). Clery 'timely warnings' for reportable crimes that represent an ongoing threat are a separate, distinct category from the major-emergency alert blast.
- Testing cadence
- DPSS tests the system at least once during the fall and winter semesters; a test message will include the word "Test."
- Scope & limits
- Sent to students, faculty, and staff, who are automatically enrolled via email and text/SMS; the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses each provide alerts. Reserved for active, major, campus-wide emergencies; not used for localized or suspicious incidents (e.g., small fires, suspicious behavior) or localized incidents within a single building.
ChannelsSmsEmailPhone Call
Analysis
Reading the policy
U-M Emergency Alert is the University of Michigan's free, mass-notification system used to inform students, faculty, and staff of an active, major campus emergency. The decision to activate rests with the U-M Police Department: when UMPD determines there is an active emergency in which the public safety of the campus may be at risk, UMPD will initiate an urgent notification through the system. The university gives concrete triggering examples — when a person actively shooting a weapon is on the loose, when a tornado is predicted to strike the campus area, or when a major hazardous material spill is impacting a large portion of campus.
The system is deliberately reserved for campus-wide emergencies. U-M states it does not activate the system for localized or suspicious incidents such as small fires or suspicious behavior, and that U-M Emergency Alert usually won't be used for localized incidents within a building such as a small fire. Alerts can be received via text message (SMS), voice message to phones, or email, and students, faculty, and staff are automatically enrolled to receive U-M Emergency Alerts via email and text message/SMS. The Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses each provide emergency alerts through the program, which is administered by the Division of Public Safety & Security (DPSS).
On testing and Clery framing, DPSS tests the system at least once during the fall and winter semesters, and a test message will include the word "Test." U-M's emergency-notification function satisfies the Jeanne Clery Act obligation to notify the community upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees; this is distinct from Clery "timely warnings" issued for reportable crimes that represent an ongoing threat. Because the program is for major, campus-wide emergencies, lower-level crime advisories and timely warnings are handled separately from the urgent U-M Emergency Alert blast. (Most policy language here is reproduced from search-engine snippets of the official DPSS pages, which returned HTTP 403 when fetched directly in this environment.)
Takeaways
Key findings
U-M Emergency Alert is a free, mass-notification system for active, major campus emergencies, reaching students, faculty, and staff by text/SMS, voice call, and email.
The U-M Police Department (UMPD) makes the activation decision when it determines an active emergency may put campus public safety at risk; DPSS administers the program.
Triggering examples include an active shooter on the loose, a tornado predicted to strike campus, or a major hazardous-material spill affecting a large portion of campus.
The system is reserved for campus-wide emergencies and is not used for localized or suspicious incidents such as small fires, suspicious behavior, or single-building incidents.
DPSS tests the system at least once each fall and winter semester, with test messages marked by the word 'Test'; the alert fulfills the Clery emergency-notification obligation, separate from Clery timely warnings.
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
120 documented times U-M’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- Official
- Official
- Official
- Official
Tags
policyemergency-notificationtimely-warninguniversity-of-michiganu-m-emergency-alertclery
Added 2026-06-21Updated 2026-10-12Via ingestion