Princeton
TigerAlert Notification System
TigerAlert (formerly PTENS) is Princeton University's emergency notification system, allowing authorized Princeton officials to send instructions simultaneously via landline phones, cellular phones, text messaging, and e-mail; emergency messages cannot be opted out of, and the broader Clery framework adds Timely Warnings for crimes posing a serious or continuing threat.
Read the official policyInstitution
Princeton University
Private R1 · NJ
~8,500 studentsTigerAlert
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
TigerAlert definition and channelsverbatim
The Princeton TigerAlert notification system is an emergency notification system that allows authorized Princeton officials to send news and instructions simultaneously to University faculty, staff, and students through landline phones, cellular phones, text messaging, and e-mail.
- — Names the four core delivery channels and vests authorship in 'authorized Princeton officials.'
Mandatory emergency messagesverbatim
Individuals may not opt out of emergency messages, which will continue to be sent through all available TigerAlert methods of communication (telephone, text messaging and email).
- — Distinguishes mandatory emergency messages from user-configurable non-emergency messages managed via Rave.
Clery two-trigger frameworkreconstructed
Princeton University issues a timely warning for any Clery Act crime that represents a serious or continuing threat to students and employees, and also issues emergency notifications upon the confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on the campus.
- — Reproduced from the Department of Public Safety / Annual Security Report via search-result text; the .edu host 403-blocks direct fetching in this environment, so marked not-confirmed despite the standard Clery phrasing.
At a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- TigerAlert is used to communicate during weather-related closings, public health crises, public safety emergencies, and other unique emergency situations. Under the Clery Act, Princeton issues a Timely Warning for any Clery crime representing a serious or continuing threat, and issues emergency notifications upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety occurring on campus.
- Who decides
- Authorized Princeton officials send TigerAlert messages; Clery Timely Warnings and emergency notifications are handled through the Department of Public Safety.
- Timeliness standard
- Emergency notifications are issued upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety. With the exception of the annual system test, the University will only send text messages for urgent situations.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- Two-trigger Clery framework: Timely Warnings for Clery crimes representing a serious or continuing threat to students and employees, and emergency notifications upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation posing an immediate threat to health or safety on campus.
- Testing cadence
- An annual system test is conducted, allowing new members of the campus community to confirm their contact information is accurate and that they can be reached in an emergency.
- Scope & limits
- Emergency messages are mandatory and cannot be opted out of (sent via telephone, text messaging, and e-mail). Non-emergency message preferences are user-managed via the Rave platform through the Central Authentication System portal. Outside the annual test, text messages are reserved for urgent situations.
ChannelsPhone CallSmsEmailPush NotificationWebsiteSiren
Analysis
Reading the policy
The TigerAlert notification system — renamed from the Princeton Telephone and E-mail Notification System (PTENS) in 2018 — is Princeton University's emergency notification backbone. The University describes it as a system that "allows authorized Princeton officials to send news and instructions simultaneously to University faculty, staff, and students through landline phones, cellular phones, text messaging, and e-mail." The University uses it to communicate during events such as weather-related closings, public health crises, public safety emergencies, and other unique emergency situations. In an actual emergency, Princeton draws on a wider toolkit beyond TigerAlert alone — the TigerSafe app, web announcements, e-mail, and blue light towers.
A central policy feature is that emergency messages are mandatory: individuals may not opt out of emergency messages, which will continue to be sent through all available TigerAlert methods of communication (telephone, text messaging, and e-mail). Members of the community can, however, manage how they receive non-emergency messages via the Rave platform, which delivers Princeton University alerts; through a web portal accessible via the Central Authentication System, individuals select which non-emergency messages they receive and how. Rave Mobile Safety is therefore the underlying alert platform/vendor for the Princeton system.
On the Clery side, Princeton's Department of Public Safety issues a Timely Warning for any Clery Act crime that represents a serious or continuing threat to students and employees, and issues emergency notifications upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on campus — the standard two-trigger Clery structure documented in the University's Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Princeton conducts an annual system test; the University notes that, with the exception of the annual system test, it will only send text messages for urgent situations, and the annual test lets new members of the community confirm their contact information is accurate so they can be reached in an emergency.
Takeaways
Key findings
TigerAlert (formerly PTENS, renamed 2018) lets authorized Princeton officials push alerts via landline, cell, text, and e-mail.
Emergency messages are mandatory — individuals cannot opt out of them across telephone, text, and e-mail.
Non-emergency message preferences are user-managed through the Rave platform via the Central Authentication System portal (Rave Mobile Safety is the vendor).
In a real emergency Princeton also uses the TigerSafe app, web announcements, e-mail, and blue light towers.
Princeton follows the Clery two-trigger model (Timely Warnings for serious/continuing threats; emergency notifications for immediate threats) and runs an annual system test.
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
10 documented times Princeton’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
+ 2 more in the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- Official
- Official
- Clery ASR
- Official
Tags
policyemergency-notificationtimely-warningcleryravetigeralertnew-jerseyprivate-r1
Added 2026-06-21Updated 2026-06-21Via ingestion