Emergency Notification Policy

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I. Purpose

The University of North Carolina Asheville (“UNC Asheville”) is committed to ensuring the campus community receives timely, accurate, and useful information in the event of a significant emergency or dangerous situation on campus so that community members can take actions to protect themselves. In accordance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (20 USC § 1092(f)) (the “Clery Act”), the University must issue an Emergency Notification to immediately notify the campus community upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on the campus (34 CFR § 668.46(g)).

Emergency Notifications can be initiated by a broad range of situations. Once designated University officials confirm the existence of any significant emergency or dangerous situation that potentially affects the health and/or safety of the campus community they will send out an emergency alert.

In the event a significant emergency or dangerous situation, UNC Asheville will: (1) confirm the existence of significant emergency or dangerous situation; (2) determine the appropriate segment or segments of the campus community to notify; (3) determine the content of the Emergency Notification; and (4) initiate the Emergency Notification system.

The University will update this Policy as soon as feasible to ensure compliance with any changes to the Clery Act or other related federal, state, and municipal laws, rules, and regulations. In consultation with the General Counsel’s Office, the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity and Access, who serves as the Clery Act Compliance Officer, will review this Policy on an annual basis in order to attend to evolving legal requirements. The University reserves the right to make changes to this document as necessary. All changes will be posted online and take effect immediately upon posting.

II. Emergency Notification Criteria

  1. At a minimum, UNC Asheville will issue an Emergency Notification upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation when:
    1. The emergency or dangerous situation Involves an immediate threat to the health and safety of students or employees;
    2. The significant emergency or dangerous situation occurs within the University’s Clery geography; and
    3. The University determines the incident poses a substantial risk to the physical safety and/or the property of the campus community; or
  2. Emergency Notifications can be triggered by a broad range of threats, including but not limited to the following:
    1. Active/Armed Assailant(s) and/or credible threat(s) of violence;
    2. Credible bomb threat(s) and/or suspected explosive devise(s);
    3. Riots and/or other forms of civil unrest;
    4. Acts of terrorism; or
    5. Significant and/or sustained law enforcement activities.
  3. The issuing of Emergency Notifications for significant emergencies or dangerous situations should not be limited to criminal activity and should also include human interference or a natural occurrence, such as:
    1. Power or other key utility outages;
    2. Fire, both accidental and intentional;
    3. Flash floods, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, and/or other sudden significant weather-related events;
    4. Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) spills, leaks, or exposures; or
    5. Significant health emergencies, outbreaks, or exposures.
  4. Upon receiving a report of a significant emergency or dangerous situation, the University must obtain confirmation. University first responders are responsible for confirmation and will use all available information known at the time. Confirmation must include, but is not limited to:
    1.  Visual;
    2. Numerous and repeated calls to the University Police Telecommunications Center;
    3. Audible screams, gunshots, or explosions overheard on a phone call with a reporting party;
    4. Credible intelligence from another first responder agency;
    5. Credible reporting from a news or other media source; or
    6. A combination of any of the above.
  5. The University, upon confirmation and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency. As soon as the condition that may compromise response efforts is no longer present, the University will issue the Emergency Notification.
  6. Although each incident will be evaluated on an individual basis, Emergency Notifications may not be issued:
    1. When a report is filed after the incident is over;
    2. The report does not pose an ongoing threat to the campus.
    3. The pertinent information has not been acquired; or
    4. The report is not credible or made in good faith.

III. Evaluation of the Need for an Emergency Notification

Once first responders confirm there is a significant emergency or dangerous situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of the campus community, first responders will notify University Police Emergency Communications Center or other authorized university offices to issue an emergency notification.

The authorized university representatives to request or initiate all or some portions of the emergency notification system in an emergency, urgent, or important situation include:

      1. Chief of Staff, or designee;
      2. Director of Emergency Management, or designee;
      3. Chief of University Police, or designee;
      4. University Police Telecommunicators;
      5. University Police shift supervisors or senior officers on duty;
      6. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, or designee; or
      7. Director of Communication and Marketing, or designee.

If, in the professional judgement of first responders, issuing a notification potentially compromises efforts to assist a victim or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency, the University may elect to delay issuing an Emergency Notification. As soon as the condition that may compromise efforts is no longer present, the University will issue the Emergency Notification to the campus community.

IV. Alternative Notification Option

For incidents that do not fall under the Clery Act or occur outside of Clery Geography but are deemed by university leadership to warrant notification to the campus community, an alternative notification option shall be utilized. This alternative notification option, referred to as a “Safety Notice”, will be disseminated through the same channels as an Emergency Notification and will be issued under the heading of Safety Notice.

V. Content of the Emergency Notification

The department responsible for issuing an Emergency Notification will determine the contents of the notification, in concert with university and local first responders as needed. The campus has developed a range of template messages addressing various types of emergencies. The official authorizing the emergency notification will choose the message most appropriate to the current situation and modify it to provide details specific to the incident. In those cases where there are no predetermined template messages in the system, the individual authorizing the alert, or their designee, will develop the most succinct message to convey the appropriate information to the community. The goal is to ensure individuals are aware of the situation and that they know the steps to take to safeguard their personal and community safety. 

After the initial Emergency Notification is issued, the university will send Bulldog Alerts via the same mode as the initial message while the threat to the campus community persists. Bulldog Alerts may include instructions for the university population, such as changes in protective actions, and information about the current state of the emergency, especially if significant time has passed since the last update. The content of the subsequent Bulldog Alerts may include one or more of the following criteria:

  1. Remind individuals to continue avoiding the area impacted; or
  2. Remind individuals to continue to shelter in place; 
  3. Advise those sheltering in place to adhere to all directives given to them by first responders; or
  4. To provide updated health and safety guidance as necessary.

An “All Clear” notification will be sent at the conclusion of an event when/if it is helpful to provide an All Clear message.

VI. Initiating the Emergency Notification System

  1. Bulldog Alert

Bulldog Alert is UNC Asheville’s alert messaging system, which is used to send Emergency Notifications when a critical incident affects the campus community. In addition, the University acknowledges the significance of its role in providing consistent, reliable, and accurate communication throughout the crisis.

Collectively known as Bulldog Alert, the university utilizes several notification channels to ensure that emergency notifications are sent quickly and reach as much of the University community as possible.

Notification channels may include:

    1. Email messages
      • All students, faculty, and staff are automatically enrolled in university email.
    2. SMS text messages
      • University registered primary contact number for students, faculty and staff is automatically enrolled. Primary contact number can be verified or changed. Registered device must be SMS/text enabled.
      • University affiliates and family may register annually (valid until August 1st of each year).
      • Requests to Opt-Out of text messages may also be submitted.
    3. SafeZone App
      • SafeZone is UNC Asheville’s mobile safety application that allows all students, faculty, and staff to contact University Police for emergency and non-emergency assistance directly from a mobile device while on campus. In the event of an emergency, you can use SafeZone to quickly share your location and profile details with University Police to ensure a timely response and get connected to the appropriate resources. SafeZone also enables community members to receive  Alerts, including Emergency Notifications.
      • Community members should download the SafeZone app. The application is available for free download for both iPhone and Android users via the iTunes App Store or Google Play Store by searching for “SafeZone.”
    4. Outdoor Emergency Alert System
      • An Emergency Alert will be activated when there is an emergency on campus, a potentially dangerous condition, or an impending threat. Upon hearing a siren, the campus community should seek additional information through Bulldog Alerts.
      • At the conclusion of the emergency, and upon confirmation from Emergency Management or University Police, public safety personnel may activate the All-Clear alert. 
    5. Digital Signs
      • Digital signage may be used to post critical messages throughout campus buildings.
    6. Desktop notifications
      • University owned and registered computer equipment may receive critical messages.
    7. Bulldog Alert Website
      • During a critical incident, the university will post updates on the UNC Asheville Bulldog Alert webpage as information becomes available. The Bulldog Alert webpage can always be accessed from the bottom of any unca.edu page via the “Bulldog Alert” link.
  2. All Clear

All Clear notifications occur when an emergency has concluded. The All Clear will be launched via Bulldog Alert when approved by the Emergency Operations Center or University Police. University officials may distribute the All Clear notification through news releases and other materials for distribution/publication as appropriate.

VII. Training

All designated campus emergency alert authorities shall participate in annual training on the Emergency Notification requirements of the Clery Act and any other emergency communications-related topics as may be required by the Clery Act and the UNC System vice president for campus safety and risk management.

VIII. Documentation

The Clery Act Compliance Officer will maintain a copy of each Emergency Notification issued for a minimum of seven years, as per Clery Act requirements.

IX. Relevant Definitions

Clery Act Geography refers to:

    1. On-Campus
      • Any building or property owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area and used by the institution in direct support of or in a manner related to the institution’s educational purposes, including residence halls; and
      • Any building or property that is within or reasonably contiguous to the area identified in paragraph (a), that is owned by the institution but controlled by another person, is frequently used by students, and supports institutional purposes (such as a food or retail vendor).
    2. On-Campus, Residential Facilities (a subset of On-Campus)
      • Any student housing facility that is owned or controlled by the institution, or is located on property that is owned or controlled by the institution, and is within the reasonably contiguous geographic area that makes up the campus.
    3. Non-Campus Building or Property
      • Any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by the institution; or
      • Any building or property owned or controlled by an institution that is used in direct support of, or in relation to, the institution’s educational purposes, is frequently used by students, and is not within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area of the institution.
    4. Public Property
      • All public property, including thoroughfares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.

First Responder

A First Responder is defined as a trained professional—including, but not limited to, law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS)—who is among the first to arrive at and provide immediate assistance at the scene of an emergency.

X. Related Regulations, Policies, and Requirements

  1. External Regulations
  2. University Policy
    • University Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
    • Timely Warning Policy