Emergency Notifications

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS

In the event of a serious crime, natural disaster, or a man-made emergency that poses an immediate threat to the health and safety of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) community or a segment of the UTA community, UTA has various systems in place for communicating information quickly and will immediately notify the community upon confirmation of an emergency. This system includes an Emergency Notification Network to alert students, faculty, staff, and visitors of any incidents if they occur and to provide instructions on what actions to take in an emergency. Some or all of these methods of communication may be activated in the event of an immediate threat to UTA campus. These methods of communication include:

  • UTA Home Page: UTA will post emergency messages online at www.uta.edu when a need arises.
  • Building Annunciation System: A majority of campus buildings are wired with the capability to activate announcements by UTAPD.
  • Emergency Information Hotline: Important information about campus closing and other critical situations is available at 1-866-258-4913.
  • External Media Advisories: Campus closing and emergency notifications are provided to external media, including television and radio stations and online news sites, to quickly spread essential information.
  • MavAlert Emergency Notification System: MavAlert messages may be sent in the event of a life-threatening emergency via text message, email, and telephone. Students and employees are expected to periodically update their online records to ensure timely delivery of emergency MavAlert messages.
  • Outdoor Public Address System: This system is activated by UTAPD in the event of a life-threatening emergency. The system consists of a combination of chimes and live or prerecorded announcements. Speakers are strategically placed throughout the campus to facilitate communication through the PA system.
  • Weather Sirens:  This system is activated by the City of Arlington in the event of severe weather threats, such as a tornado or large hail.
  • University Emails: Important items of information are communicated to the UTA community by Internal Communications using special MavWire Extra and Trailblazer Extra messages sent to campus email addresses.
  • Face to Face Communication:  If any of the above systems fail or UTA deems it appropriate, in person communication may be used to communicate an emergency.

This multi-tiered Emergency Communication System is described more fully in Annex B of the University’s Emergency Management Plan.

All members of the UTA community are encouraged to notify the University of Texas at Arlington Police Department (UTAPD) of any situation or incident on campus that involves a significant emergency or dangerous situation that may involve an immediate or ongoing threat to the health and safety of students and/or employees on campus.

UTAPD has the responsibility of responding to and summoning the necessary resources to mitigate, investigate, and document any situation that may cause a significant emergency or dangerous situation.

If UTAPD or EH&S confirms that there is an emergency or dangerous situation that poses an immediate threat to the health or safety of some or all members of the UTA community, the Office of University Communications will collaborate to determine the content of the message and will use some or all of the systems described previously to communicate the threat to the UTA community. 

Subsequent messages may include additional details, direction to the campus community, or information that the threat has passed. Follow-up messages to the UTA community will be sent using some or all of the above communication systems.