AlertUR, part of a comprehensive system to provide emergency notification to the University community, is an emergency notification system that uses e-mails, cell phones, and other electronic devices to warn people of imminent danger.
The University鈥檚 emergency notification system allows for the mass dissemination of critical information via voice, text, and email to undergraduate students during a major emergency. Students, staff, and faculty across all University schools and divisions can input or edit your contact information in the AlertUR system. Text messages are delivered more quickly than voice messages.
Notification System Initiators can login into the AlertUR system, select from a listing of predetermined message types, or create a unique message based upon circumstances.
More information on procedures for disseminating information to the larger community is available online at the University Emergency website.
The University of Rochester will, without delay, and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the UR Alert 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.
The following departments are able to initiate mass notification to the University of Rochester community:
- Department of Public Safety
- Environmental Health and Safety
- University Marketing and Communications
- University IT
What are timely warnings & emergency notifications: When a聽聽occurs within聽聽and is reported to a聽, campus officials are required to evaluate if there is a serious or ongoing threat to the campus community to determine if a timely warning needs to be issued to all staff and students.
In the event of an immediate, significant danger to the health or safety campus community (e.g. weather, disease outbreak), campus officials must issue an emergency notification. This notification can include the entire campus, or be limited to a specific area deemed to be at risk.
Confirming the Emergency: On duty supervisor or designee, in collaboration with Assistant Director of Public Safety will confirm the emergency.
- Determining the Appropriate Segment to Receive Notification: Advisories may be limited to a specific segment of the campus community. In some situations, the entire campus community may be at risk and a campus wide advisory will be issued.
Systems of delivery for issuing Campus Timely Warnings include the AlertUR system, postings on the DPS website, direct distribution of flyers, campus email, University website(s), social media, and the student newspaper.
Content of a Timely Warning: Determined by Chief of Public Safety with input from the University Office of the President and/or University Communications where appropriate.
System Testing: Two announced system tests of the AlertUR system occurred on January 24, 2023 and September 14, 2023.
Who will receive this service? All undergraduate, graduate students, faculty and staff at the University are automatically enrolled by the University鈥檚 IT division when their online accounts are created.
What telephone number will be displayed to identify AlertUR as the caller? An incoming call to the University community will display as the University鈥檚 telephone hotline number: 585-275-6111. Those receiving emergency alerts who want more information should go to the .
In what other ways does the University notify students, faculty, and staff of campus emergencies? In addition to the AlertUR system of rapid text messaging and voice notification, the University may use its telephone hotline (585-275- 6111), department and school telephone trees, blast and targeted email messages, the UR Mobile App, public address systems, voice mails, direct contact by runners and couriers, various web notices and security alerts, and other means to reach the University community.
Can all personal devices receive the messages? AlertUR can interface with most communication devices, but numeric only pagers should not be used with the system, as it will populate an error message. AlertUR is not able to contact international phone numbers at this time. AlertUR is a Web- based platform and all operating systems as long as they have internet connectivity can receive the messages, as well as TTY devices.
AlertUR frequently asked questions can be found on the .