The Feb. 8 test of UGAAlert, the university’s mass emergency notification system, demonstrated the system can effectively respond in the case of a campus-wide emergency.
The automated system placed more than 56,000 phone calls to on- and off-campus lines, sent 55,664 e-mails and 10,572 text messages between 9:14 and
9:20 a.m.
Steve Harris, interim director of the Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness, said the test showed that the system is capable of operating during a campus-wide emergency with a high success ratio.
“Our biggest problem is letting people know what UGAAlert will not be used for,” he said. “It’s only used in the case of emergencies that involve the entire campus, such as a tornado or campus shooting. It’s not going to alert you if campus is closed because of snow or if there’s a fire in a single building.”
The UGAAlert database acquired phone numbers and e-mail addresses on record for all UGA faculty, staff and students Dec. 6. However, users are encouraged to log in at www.ugaalert.uga.edu/ to ensure their information is correct or add alternate methods of contact.
