New text messaging service will notify students of emergencies

If an emergency is happening somewhere on the UW Tacoma campus, a text message warning can now be sent to the cell phone of every student, faculty and staff member who signs up for the service in advance.

The text message is part of UW Alert, a new service developed, in part, based on what was learned from reviewing incidents of violence on university campuses across the nation over the past year.

The system may be used to warn of a full range of possible emergencies, which could involve dangerous individuals, natural disasters, chemical spills or gas leaks.

In case of major storms, the system will be used to notify the campus community if normal operations are delayed or suspended due to inclement weather. This feature will help commuters stay safe and avoid unnecessary travel.

In addition to text message alerts, UW Tacoma will simultaneously post notices on Web pages and send related e-mail messages to students and employees.

To receive text message alerts, simply sign up for the service in advance. To sign up, and to learn more about UW Tacoma's emergency notification system, go to www.tacoma.uw.edu/alert.

The new system is connected with the university-wide UW Alert system. Given the number of students and faculty who visit the other UW campuses, messages of immediate threats on other campuses may also be sent via text messaging.

For more information about UW Alert, contact Mike Wark, director of Public Relations and Communications, at (253) 692-5771.