Please click the button below in order to log in and review or change your emergency alert contact information.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Although college campuses are usually safe places, emergencies and disasters do occur. UGA is committed to keeping you as safe as possible through effective communication prior to, during, and following emergencies. UGAAlert allows you to receive emergency messages on multiple devices. You can receive notifications from UGAAlert on one landline phone number, two mobile phone numbers (text and voice), and receive alerts on three e-mail addresses. To register, you must have a valid UGAMyID.

The UGAAlert desktop application will display a pop-up of the UGAAlert message during an emergency. The application can be downloaded from software.uga.edu.

Additional information about an emergency will be posted on www.emergency.uga.edu as it becomes available. You can also get updates from UGAAlert through twitter on the following accounts: @UGAAlert, @Universityofga, and @UGAOEP.

To select which campus (Athens, Griffin, Gwinnett, Tifton, Skidaway) you want to receive alerts for:

  1. Login using the button above.
  2. At the top of the page next to My Account you will see a tab for Opt-in Lists. Click on that tab and then check the box that corresponds with the campus for which you want to receive alerts.

 

UGAAlert Frequently Asked Questions

UGAAlert is the name chosen by UGA for the emergency mass notification system made available through the vendor, Rave Mobile Safety. Effective communication is one of the major challenges in emergency management.UGAAlert will be used to improve our ability to communicate prior to, during, and after emergencies. UGA students, faculty, and staff with a valid MyID can register up to three telephone numbers and two email addresses to receive emergency alerts. The system can push out thousands of messages within minutes.

UGAAlert messages are sent via voice phone call, text messaging, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, and the UGAAlert Desktop application.

Messages are posted to the following twitter accounts: @universityofga, @ugaoep, and @ugaalert.

The UGAAlert Desktop application can be obtained from software.uga.edu.

In order to better trouble shoot problems, you may be asked to confirm your phone number. You can still receive an alert even if your phone number is not confirmed. Confirming your phone number will assist us with troubleshooting problems, but it is not required to receive an alert.

UGAAlert will only be used when there is a severe threat to public safety and health of the entire campus that has not been contained or controlled and when immediate action is required on the part of the recipient group(s), (e.g. chemical spills impacting public health, tornado warnings, active shooters, etc.).

UGAAlert will not be used for non-emergency notifications such as lane closures, crime updates, inclement weather closings, localized building emergencies, situations that have been contained, situations where a threat does not exist, rumor control, situations where notification is merely a convenience or other situations whenArchNewsis the most appropriate communication method.

UGAAlert will not replace ArchNews for non-urgent messages.

UGAAlert will be tested twice a year—during the February severe weather drill and again near the beginning of the fall semester.

As information becomes available during an emergency, updated information can be found at www.emergency.uga.edu.
UGAAlert is administered by the Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP). However, several UGA departments are involved in the project including the UGA Police Department (UGAPD), Marketing and Communications, and Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS).
All UGA students, faculty, and staff with a valid MyID and password are automatically entered into the UGAAlert system.For students, only a local phone number and a UGA e-mail address are automatically placed in the account. For staff members, only a work phone number and a UGA e-mail address are automatically placed in the account. It is important for uses to verify the accuracy of these automated processes.

In the event that you are a UGA student, faculty, or staff member and see the error message: "TheMyIDyou entered is not eligible for self-registration to UGAAlert", you will need to contact the EITS Helpdesk at706-542-3106 or helpdesk@uga.edu for further evaluation of your account information.

Departmental, Organizational, or Test MyIDs that are not associated with a specific individual are not eligible for UGAAlert.
The system is a fully hosted and managed system that requires no hardware or software. Registrants enter up to three telephone numbers and two email addresses to receive emergency alerts. Text messages are limited to one number. Emergency messages are sent to all the delivery methods chosen by the user. In addition, messages are posted on Twitter to @UGAOEP, @UGAAlert, and @Universityofga. Messages are also posted on Facebook to the Officer of Emergency Preparedness Facebook page.
No. It is very simple and straightforward. The university automatically enters basic contact information for all faculty, staff, and students. You contact information on file may not be the best way to contact you during an emergency. You should review your contact information at www.ugaalert.uga.edu and make sure your account includes the best phone numbers and e-mail addresses on which to send you a message about an emergency situation.

Each registrant can list one voice phone number, get text messages on three phone numbers, and receive e-mails on three e-mail addresses.

UGAAlert accesses information available from the UGA MyID database, not your official student or personnel records. The name reflected should be the one you used when you applied for yourMyID. A name discrepancy will not prevent you from receiving UGAAlert messages since the system calls all reflected phone numbers and sends email notification to the email addresses you enter. However, if you want to change your information in the UGA MyID database, please contact the EITS Help Desk at(706) 542-3106and press "2" to speak to a representative.
Your registration is linked to your MyID and UGAAlert is intended as a service for only UGA students, faculty, and staff. Although numbers will not be validated, you should consider whether other individuals will want to receive emergency notification messages specific to UGA (tornado warnings, etc.). If you elect to include the phone number of a friend or family member, please encourage them not to try to contact you when emergency messages are first issued. Immediately following an emergency, all phone lines should be kept open for emergency use. It is also important that your line is open to receive additional warnings or an all clear notification.
Nationwide numbers are accepted. The system will not accommodate international numbers.
UGAAlert is set up to send out emergency information for the Athens campus, the Gwinnett campus, the Griffin Campus, the Tifton Campus, and the Skidaway Campus. We do not have the ability to monitor emergency situations including weather issues for other locations. Other locations should consult their local emergency management office for information about emergency notification system in their area.

Definitely. At any time, you can log into the UGAAlert system at www.ugaalert.uga.edu and change your contact information. Since you register using your MyID, you will be recognized upon reentry. You may then update your information.

UGA is committed to reserving this system for emergencies requiring immediate action on the part of the UGA community. Examples include chemical spills, tornado warnings, and dangers requiring a building or campus-wide lockdown. For other, less urgent-events, the Archnews listserv will be used instead. Following an initial warning, the system will also be used to provide additional information or to issue an "all clear" announcement. However, to be sure the system is working properly and to remind enrollees to check their contact information for accuracy, two test messages will be sent each year. One will be initiated in connection with the annual statewide severe weather drill in February and the other will occur near the beginning of fall semester to ensure incoming freshmen know how the system works.
No, all residence halls are equipped with audible fire alarms. Those alarms are used to notify the occupants of a building that there is a fire alarm in the building. If there is a need to notify people beyond that building, responders will evaluate the need to send out an emergency message.
Yes. Because it is impossible to track which UGA students, faculty, and staff may be on the campus at any given time, when an emergency situation warrants use of this system, the warning will be issued regardless of the time of day or night. For example, if a tornado warning is issued for Athens-Clarke County at 3am,UGAAlert will be used to send emergency notification to all "Athens" registrants. Even if you live in a surrounding county that is not under a tornado warning, the numbers you reflected will still be called. It is important to keep this in mind when entering your emergency contact information.
No, UGAAlert will only be used when there is a severe threat to public safety and health of the entire campus that has not been contained or controlled and when immediate action is required on the part of the recipient group(s), (e.g. chemical spills impacting public health, tornado warnings, active shooters, etc.). For other, less urgent-events, the Archnews listserv will be used instead.

However, to be sure the system is working properly and to remind enrollees to check their contact information for accuracy. Two test messages will be sent each year. One will be initiated in connection with the annual statewide severe weather drill in February and the other will occur near the beginning of fall semester.
Yes. You can sign up to receive text messaging.
The phone number reflected on your caller ID for voice phone calls will be 706-542-0111. You should program this number into your phone so it will immediately recognize it as an urgent call.

Our vendor for UGAAlert uses several shortcodes for sending text messages. This is done so that a large number of text messages can be sent quickly. A text message from UGAAlert may come from any of the following shortcodes: 226787, 67283, 78015, 81437, and 22911.

The "from" address will reflect the following: University of Georgia[ugaalert@uga.edu]. Please set your spam filters to allow mail from this address. The e-mail addresses for our vendor have already been whitelisted by EITS and should be delivered to your inbox unless the spam filtering on your e-mail program classifies the e-mail as spam.

You should take the warning very seriously as this system will only be used when there is an immediate threat. Follow the instructions provided and take immediate action. Never attempt to go past barricaded areas.

UGA uses a number of redundant notification systems including outdoor emergency sirens (primarily for weather related events); the UGA emergency web page (www.emergency.uga.edu), public address systems located in certain campus buildings; Archnews; AM radio station 1650 maintained by the UGA Police Department; NOAA weather radios located in many UGA buildings; telephone trees (where assigned individuals call others with emergency messages); UGA cablevision emergency announcements and over police cruiser PA systems when warranted.
It is imperative to keep phone lines open during an emergency situation. As soon as additional information is available, it will be reflected on the UGA Emergency Web Page ( www.emergency.uga.edu). When immediate additional instructions are warranted (an all clear message or need for decontamination, for example), they will be issued usingUGAAlert.
Although college campuses are usually safe places, emergencies and disasters do occur. Individual preparedness is the cornerstone of emergency preparedness and response. Every individual should have an emergency kit and emergency plan-including a family communication plan. The plan should be tested periodically. Each campus office and dorm room should have a NOAA weather radio. Visit www.ready.gov for information about individual emergency preparedness. Visit www.prepare.uga.edu for more information on emergency preparedness at UGA or contact the Office of Emergency Preparedness at 706-542-5845 or ugaalert@uga.edu.
Contact the Office of Emergency Preparedness at 706-542-5845 or ugaalert@uga.edu.
Yes. The University of Georgia’s (UGA) Emergency Preparedness and Communications Committee (EPCC) was established in May of 2007 by UGA President Adams to assess the University’s emergency preparedness, crisis communication and public safety capabilities in the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. One of the recommendations put forth by the EPCC was to mandate participation of faculty, staff and students in UGAAlert.

For students, only a local phone number and a UGA e-mail address are included in the system. For staff, only a work phone number and a UGA e-mail address are included. It is important that users verify the accuracy of this automated process.

For students, the phone number listed in their records as their local phone number and their UGA e-mail address were placed in the system. For faculty and staff, the office phone number from their human resources’ record and their UGA e-mail address were placed in the system.For students, faculty, and staff who were already in the system, no changes were made to those accounts.
You can change, review, or update your information at any time by going to www.ugaalert.uga.edu. You must sign in with your UGAMyID.
Yes. It is necessary to purge users out of the UGAAlert system who are no longer affiliated with the University of Georgia. Purging users allows the system to function more smoothly as bad e-mail addresses and phone numbers are removed from the system.


Users will receive an e-mail letting them know that they are set to be purged from the system one week prior to their purge date. Users who are set to be purged, but wish to remain in the system should contact the Office of Emergency Preparedness at 706-542-5845 or prepare@uga.edu. Not all requests to remain in the UGAAlert system will be honored.

A student will be purged from UGAAlert if a student:

  1. Is not currently enrolled; and
  2. Was not enrolled one semester ago; and
  3. Was not enrolled two semesters ago; and
  4. Has not updated their information in UGAAlert for over 4 months; and
  5. If the student is an employee, meets the employee purge criteria

An employee will be purged from UGAAlert if the employee:

  1. Has been terminated for over three months; and
  2. Has not received a paycheck from UGA in the past 7 months; and
  3. Has retired from UGA; and
  4. If the employee is a student, meets the student purge criteria

Opt-in lists are the lists created to allow users on the Tifton, Griffin, Gwinnett, and Skidaway campuses to sign up for alerts for those campuses. Currently, all UGAAlert users are defaulted to the Athens campus. New users in Griffin, Gwinnett, Tifton, and Skidaway will need to click on the Opt-in List tab and subscribe to alerts for their campus. When information from the data warehouse becomes available, we hope to default users to the correct campus, but that information is not currently available.