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Frequently
Asked Questions
Return to UGAAlert
UGAAlert is the name chosen by UGA for
the emergency mass notification system made available through the vendor,
Blackboard-Connect-ED. 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 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 when ArchNews is 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.
Additional information about emergency situations when UGAAlert is activated will be posted
on the UGA Home Page at www.uga.edu.
UGAAlert is administered by the Office
of Security and Emergency Preparedness (OSEP). However, several UGA
departments are involved in the project including the UGA Police Department
(UGAPD), Public Affairs, and Enterprise Information Technology Services
(EITS). Only authorized representatives from OSEP, UGAPD, and Public
Affairs can send emergency messages using UGAAlert.
All UGA students, faculty, and staff with a
valid MyID and password are automatically entered
into the UGAAlert system.
In the event that you are a UGA student, faculty, or staff member and see
the error message: "The MyID you entered is
not eligible for self-registration to UGAAlert", you will need to
contact the EITS Helpdesk at 706-542-3106 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. Basic contact information is
automatically entered into the system and registrants are encouraged to
verify that the information is correct and the UGAAlert
messages will go to the listed phone numbers and/or email addresses.
Registrants enter up to three telephone numbers and two email addresses to
receive emergency alerts. Emergency messages are broadcast to all contact
numbers and email addresses provided.
Blackboard Connect has service level agreements
with redundant telecommunications providers which allow the company to
initiate over 2,000,000 60-second voice calls per hour. Blackboard Connect
has pre-purchased capacity to send over 17 billion voice messages per year
but currently uses less than 2% of the contracted capacity daily.
Blackboard Connect has an open architecture which allows the company to
increase additional capacity as the client base grows.
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
you account includes the best phone numbers and e-mail addresses on which
to send you a message about an emergency situation.
Each registrant can reflect up to three phone
numbers and two email addresses. Typically, most registrants need only
reflect one or two phone numbers (e.g. cell and office) to ensure they will
be able to receive emergency announcements but more are permitted (up to
three). Each person can receive text
messages on one phone.
Yes. Since you register using your MyID, you will be recognized upon reentry. This allows
you to edit your information at any time. Once you are in the system, you
must "opt out" your information if you want to opt out for awhile
and register again at a later time.
When I logged in using MyID, my name was not
reflected the way it appears on my official records...why?
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 your MyID. 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) 542-3106 and press "2" to speak to a
representative.
The primary number is the main phone number
associated with your account.
Primary phone numbers do not receive phone calls before other phone
numbers. Due to the way the
Blackboard Connect system works, a primary phone number is required.
If you only want text messages and no voice
phone call. Please list your cell
phone number and check the text box.
Then list 999-999-9999 as your 1st alternate phone number
and chose your first alternate phone number as your primary phone number.
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.
Yes. UGAAlert is set up to send out
emergency information for the Athens
campus, the Gwinnett campus and the Griffin 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. Just type
over the current information with your updated information and select
"Submit" to update. Once you are in the system, you must
"opt out" your information if you want to opt out for awhile and
register again at a later time.
Yes. At any time, you can log into the UGAAlert
system at www.ugaalert.uga.edu
and chose to opt out of the system. The opt out
box is located at the bottom of the screen just above the button that says,
"Submit My Information." However, we encourage you to remain in
the system unless you will be leaving the university.
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. Should the audible alarm fail, we are able to contact
only the students assigned to the impacted residence hall through
"groups" established within UGAAlert. However, should an actual
fire impact a large portion of campus, including pedestrian and vehicular
traffic, a campus-wide alert will be issued using UGAAlert.
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 to ensure incoming freshmen know how the
system works.
Can I receive UGAAlert text messages on
my cell phone?
Yes. You can choose to receive both a voice
phone call to your cell phone and a text message to your cell phone. If
your cell phone supports SMS messaging you can receive the message to your
phone as an SMS message. Check with your cell phone carrier to find out if
there are any charges for text messaging.
Login to UGAAlert using your MyID username and password. Next to "Cell Phone
Method," choose "Text." If you want to receive both text
messages and voice messages to your cell phone, select text and voice.
A confirmation message will be sent to your cell phone within 48 hours.
Confirmation messages are sent out between 7am and 3pm.
The confirmation message will read the following: You are now confirmed to
receive alerts from us. For more info, text reply
"HELP" or "STOP UGAALRT" to opt-out.
The messages will come from the phone number 23177. Please save this phone
number and program it into your cell phone as UGA Alert Text so you can
quickly recognize this number as an incoming text message from UGA Alert.
Please check with your cell phone provider to
find out if your device accepts text messages. You may also want to check
with your provider to see if text messaging has been enabled. You may need
to subscribe to a text messaging plan in order to receive or reply to text
messages. Contact your cell phone provider for information regarding
charges for receiving text messages.
No, if your SMS phone was already submitted to
our database, you should be confirmed to receive SMS alerts from us.
However, you may also test to find out by texting the word
"SUBSCRIBE" to 23177 and you will receive a reply with the
following:
This phone number has already been opted in. For more info, text reply "HELP" or "STOP UGAALRT"
to opt-out.
You may opt out at any time by changing your UGAAlert
options at www.ugaalert.uga.edu.
If you want to opt-out from receiving text messages you may change your
options at www.ugaalert.uga.edu
or you may also opt out by texting the words "STOP UGAALRT" to
23177.
You must make sure that you have correctly
chosen to receive text messages to your cell phone at www.ugaalert.uga.edu. If your cell
phone number is still reflected, text "SUBSCRIBE UGAALRT" to
23177. You will receive a confirmation text message from UGAAlert
verifying that you have successfully subscribed.
No. Once your phone number has been opted-in,
it stays registered within the system. You do not need to opt-in again, but
you should update your cell provider in your UGAAlert information at www.ugaalert.uga.edu.
UGAAlert is administered by the Office
of Security and Emergency Preparedness (OSEP). However, several UGA
departments are involved in the project including the UGA Police Department
(UGAPD), Public Affairs, and Enterprise Information Technology Services
(EITS). Only a few authorized individuals from OSEP, UGAPD, Public Affairs can access your information and send
emergency messages using UGAAlert.
UGA’s
EITS staff designed and maintains the local registration site utilizing all
of UGA’s existing security protocols. The
system databases
are housed on the UGA mainframe which has many layers of security. Logging
in with your UGA MyID means you are identified by
your University ID number, not your Social
Security Number. Additionally, a login is required to view information in
the UGAAlert
system and this access is restricted to a few individuals with a need to
know. All data transmitted to and from UGA utilizes Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL). The vendor, Blackboard Connect retains an external security auditing
firm to perform audits to discover potential security threats, assess
risks, and provide solutions for patching and managing those risks. All
Clients of the Messaging Services are required to enter a unique username
and password, or other security access requirement. The password is encrypted.
No, neither UGA nor Blackboard Connect will
share or sell contact information belonging to clients.
The only costs you may incur for emergency
messages you receive via UGAAlert
will be from your cellular service provider. For example, you may incur
charges from your provider a) if you elect to receive text emergency
messages and your plan does not include this feature; b) if you have a
"pay as you go" plan for voice messages; and c) if you exceed
your allotted plan minutes for voice calls or text messages. You should
check with your cellular service provider to determine what, if any, costs
may apply. Also, please keep in mind that limited emergency and test
messages will be sent using this system so any costs outside your plan
should be nominal.
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.
The phone number 23177 will show up in your
caller ID for sms text messages from UGAAlert.
The "from" address will reflect the
following: University
of Georgia
[ugaalert@uga.edu]. Please set your spam filters to allow mail from this
address.
Doesn’t this notification system overwhelm the phone systems
(cell and land lines)?
No, Blackboard Connect utilizes proprietary
algorithms designed to maximize the available local switch network for best
success of delivery. However, because UGA’s
incoming line capacity is limited, calls to UGA’s
542/583 numbers may be delayed more than those made to cell or home phones. Lines reserved for outgoing
calls are not impacted by the incoming emergency warning calls.
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 main UGA home page (www.uga.edu), public address systems
located in certain campus buildings; Archnews (a
campus-wide email system able to send messages to approximately 50,000
individuals in 20 minutes to one hour); 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 home page (www.uga.edu).
When immediate additional instructions are warranted (an all clear message
or need for decontamination, for example), they will be issued using UGAAlert.
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.osep.uga.edu for more information
on emergency preparedness at UGA or contact the Office of Security and
Emergency Preparedness at 706-542-5845 or ugaalert@uga.edu.
Contact the Office of Security and 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 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, 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 UGA MyID. Changes that
are recorded in UGAAlert
are uploaded daily to Blackboard/Connect-ED, our notification provider.
Yes. At any time, you can log into the UGAAlert
system at www.ugaalert.uga.edu
and click the box at the bottom of the page next to "Click here to opt
out of UGAAlert."
However, we encourage you to remain in the system unless you will be
leaving the university.
No changes were made to any accounts that were
already in the system. While we encourage you to periodically verify that
your information is updated and accurate, accounts that were already in the
system were not affected.
As a part of the MyID
password update process, users are required to review their information in UGAAlert.
This means that you will be required to review your information twice a
year. This process will not take much time and will assist us in gathering
accurate information on how to contact you during an emergency.
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 Security and Emergency Preparedness at 706-542-5845 or osep@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
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Hodgson Oil
Building, Suite 200 South
286 Oconee St.
Athens, Georgia 30602-1977
Phone (706) 542-5845 | FAX (706) 542-4664 | Email
www.osep.uga.edu
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