TU alerts: How they work
From text alerts to external sirens, plenty of ways to stay connected
By Cody Boteler on December 7, 2021
With harsh winter weather a possibility as the season continues, it’s as good a time as any for members of the Towson University community to familiarize, or re-familiarize, themselves with TU’s alert systems.
When weather or other conditions warrant a delaying opening or closing campus early/all day, an announcement will be made through multiple channels, including a campus-wide email, a text alert and updates on social media and the Towson University homepage.
While the entire campus community is automatically included in email communications, Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police Charles “Joe” Herring says Towson University’s text alert system is the best way to stay informed on campus.
Text Alerts
TU is moving to automatically enroll all members of the campus community in the text alert system in the near future, and you should confirm your mobile phone number in order to assure you get the alerts.
Provide Your Mobile Phone Number
Please review your record to confirm that the correct mobile phone number is listed. If not, please add it.
“These alerts share important safety information for our community,” says Herring. “The only way to be aware of what is happening is to opt in and allow us to send you that information.”
Types of Alerts
Here’s a brief look at the four types of alerts.
Traffic advisories
Any time there is a traffic accident or unplanned road work that could affect travel around campus, the OPS will send a traffic advisory. OPS sends updates when traffic incidents worsen or resolve.
Safety advisories
These messages can be sent for on- or off-campus activity that could affect a person’s safety. For example, if the Towson University Police Department is alerted to an off-campus armed robbery that takes place near campus, OPS would send out a safety advisory so anyone in the area or frequenting the area at a later time is informed of the incident.
Timely warnings
Timely warnings are similar to safety advisories and are required by law under the Clery Act. They are issued when there is a Clery Act reportable crime or incident reported on or adjacent to campus and the university determines the incident exhibits an ongoing or serious threat to the campus community.
Emergency notifications
Emergency notifications are for incidents that pose an imminent and ongoing threat to the campus community. They can be on- or off-campus and can include weather—like a tornado warning—criminal activity or other incidents (like a gas leak or building evacuation).
Emergency notifications come from multiple, redundant sources: email and text alerts; internal and external speaker systems; InformaCast broadcasts, which transmit through university phones; messaging that pops up on computers logged onto the Towson University network; and digital signage around campus.