Harford
Emergency Notifications and Timely Warnings (Alert Me / Alertus) - Annual Security Report
Harford Community College documents Alert Me auto-enrollment emergency notifications and Clery timely warnings with text/email primary channels plus Alertus wall beacons for the most serious emergencies.
Read the official policyInstitution
Harford Community College
Community College · MD
~5,500 studentsAlert Me
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
DPS emergency notification without delayverbatim
The Department of Public Safety will issue an emergency notification without delay when there is a serious threat to the health or safety of students or employees.
- DPS owns without-delay EN for serious health/safety threats.
Alert Me automatic enrollmentverbatim
All students and employees are automatically enrolled in the College's emergency notification system also known as Alert Me.
- Named Alert Me system with auto-enrollment.
Alertus beacon serious EN channelverbatim
Alertus beacons are for the most serious emergency notifications and will emit a loud audible tone, flashing lights, and display a message when activated.
- Wall-mounted Alertus for highest-severity EN.
At a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- Emergency notification: serious threat to health or safety of students or employees. Timely warning: Clery crimes on campus reported to DPS or via local law enforcement representing serious and/or continuing threat.
- Who decides
- Department of Public Safety issues emergency notifications and timely warnings.
- Timeliness standard
- Emergency notifications without delay. Timely warnings for ongoing-threat crimes that have already occurred. System tested at minimum annually.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- ASR Emergency Notifications and Timely Warnings section with Clery Handbook distinction and named Alert Me / Alertus systems.
- Testing cadence
- Emergency notification system tested at a minimum annually; DPS officers routinely send internal test messages for proficiency.
- Scope & limits
- Alertus reserved for most serious emergency notifications. External parties opt in separately via short-code text. Auto-enrollment for students and employees only.
ChannelsSmsEmailDesktop PopupDigital SignageFacebook
Analysis
Reading the policy
Harford Community College (Bel Air, MD) publishes Emergency Notifications and Timely Warnings procedures in its 2025 Annual Security Report. The Department of Public Safety issues emergency notifications without delay for serious threats to student or employee health or safety. Timely warnings are distinguished as Clery-Handbook-triggered notices for crimes that have already occurred but represent an ongoing threat; Harford issues them for Clery crimes on campus reported to DPS or learned via local law enforcement that represent a serious and/or continuing threat.
EN and TW typically go by text and email. Additional channels based on threat nature include college computer screens, digital signage, Alertus beacons, and social media. Alertus beacons (new this year) are small yellow wall-mounted devices that emit a loud tone, flashing lights, and a displayed message for the most serious emergency notifications. All students and employees are automatically enrolled in Alert Me and must keep contact information current; contractors/others may opt in by texting "Join harfordalerts" to 66893. The emergency notification system is tested at least annually, with routine internal DPS proficiency tests. Complements Maryland community-college coverage and archive Harford case volume.
Takeaways
Key findings
Alert Me auto-enrollment for students/employees; short-code opt-in for others.
Alertus wall beacons for most serious emergency notifications.
DPS distinguishes EN (immediate threat) from TW (prior crime, ongoing threat).
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
8 documented times Harford’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- OfficialHarford Community College 2025 Annual Security Report PDFpa-hrsuite-production.s3.amazonaws.comarchived copy
- Official Policy
Tags
marylandcommunity-collegeclery-asralert-mealertuswider-reach
Added 2026-07-27Updated 2026-07-27Via ingestion