TSU
Emergency Notification System (Tiger Alert)
Tennessee State University — Nashville's public land-grant HBCU — runs its emergency notifications through **Tiger Alert**, the University's Emergency Notification System, which sends phone calls, emails, and text messages to all registered Tiger Alert accounts during an emergency. The TSU Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management share activation control, and emergency information is also posted on the TSU homepage and through the University's Facebook and Twitter channels.
Read the official policy~7,615 studentsTiger Alert
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
Tiger Alert delivery channelsnot yet verified against the source
The policy addresses this topic; its exact wording has not yet been verified against the source, so no text is quoted here. Open the official policy to read it.
Tennessee State University Emergency Notification System pageTiger Alert critical-information capabilitynot yet verified against the source
The policy addresses this topic; its exact wording has not yet been verified against the source, so no text is quoted here. Open the official policy to read it.
Tennessee State University Emergency Notifications pageConditions that necessitate an alertnot yet verified against the source
The policy addresses this topic; its exact wording has not yet been verified against the source, so no text is quoted here. Open the official policy to read it.
Tennessee State University Emergency Notification System / Emergency Management pagesAt a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- There are a number of conditions that may necessitate alerting the University community, which could include occurrences of certain crimes, tornado warnings, evacuations, acts of violence, and searches for wanted or missing people. Emergency notifications are issued upon a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of the campus community.
- Who decides
- The TSU Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management (TSU OEM) hold dual activation control over Tiger Alert; emergency notifications are issued by TSU's Department of Public Safety.
- Timeliness standard
- Notifications follow confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety (the federal Clery immediate-threat standard); a verbatim TSU 'without delay' timing clause was not reproduced on the reachable public pages.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- TSU distinguishes the two Clery categories: emergency notifications (broader; significant emergencies / immediate threats) versus timely warnings (certain Clery-reportable crimes that pose an ongoing threat), with Tiger Alert serving the emergency-notification function.
- Testing cadence
- Not reproduced verbatim on the reachable public pages; the University conducts emergency drills, but a specific Tiger Alert annual-test cadence was not surfaced (Clery requires at-least-annual testing of emergency-notification procedures).
- Scope & limits
- Tiger Alert is account-based and sends text, email, and phone-call notifications to registered accounts during emergencies; conditions include certain crimes, tornado warnings, evacuations, acts of violence, and searches for wanted or missing people. Backup/secondary channels include the TSU homepage and Facebook and Twitter subscriptions.
ChannelsSmsEmailPhone CallWebsiteFacebookTwitter X
Analysis
Reading the policy
Tennessee State University's emergency-alert program is branded **Tiger Alert** (the assignment's working name "TSU Alert" corresponds to this branded system). Per the University's Emergency Notification System and Emergency Notifications pages, "Phone calls, emails and text are sent to all Tennessee State University Tiger Alert accounts during an emergency," and "Tiger ALERTS can send a text message, email, and phone call delivering critical information during a campus emergency situation." Registration is account-based: community members sign up, keep their information accurate, and indicate how they want to be notified in case of a campus emergency. Parents are encouraged to follow the University's social media and sign up for Tiger Alerts as well.
**When alerts activate.** The University identifies the conditions that may trigger an alert: "There are a number of conditions that may necessitate alerting the University community, which could include occurrences of certain crimes, tornado warnings, evacuations, acts of violence, and searches for wanted or missing people." This list spans both the Clery emergency-notification category (immediate threats such as acts of violence and severe weather) and timely-warning territory (certain crimes), consistent with the federal framework that an emergency notification follows confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety.
**Decision authority.** Activation is shared: the TSU Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management (TSU OEM) have dual activation control over the notification system. The TSU OEM is empowered by the University and other local and state agencies to protect the campus community from disasters and emergencies, and coordinates and plans alongside other local, state, and federal emergency managers and responders. Emergency notifications are issued by TSU's Department of Public Safety to inform the campus community about significant emergencies or dangerous situations involving an immediate threat to health or safety.
**Channels and scope.** During an emergency the University disperses messages through multiple channels — Tiger Alert text, email, and phone call; the TSU homepage; and Facebook and Twitter subscriptions. The Clery framing distinguishes the broader emergency-notification category from timely warnings; specific verbatim timing language ("without delay") and a published Tiger Alert testing cadence were not reproduced on the public pages reachable in this environment, so those elements are paraphrased rather than quoted.
Takeaways
Key findings
Tiger Alert is Tennessee State University's branded emergency notification system (the assignment's 'TSU Alert'), sending phone calls, emails, and text messages to all registered accounts during an emergency.
Activation control is shared between the TSU Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management (TSU OEM); emergency notifications are issued by TSU's Department of Public Safety.
Documented alert conditions include certain crimes, tornado warnings, evacuations, acts of violence, and searches for wanted or missing people.
Secondary/backup channels include the TSU homepage and the University's Facebook and Twitter subscriptions.
TSU distinguishes emergency notifications (broader immediate-threat category) from Clery timely warnings, though a verbatim 'without delay' timing clause and a Tiger Alert annual-test cadence were not reproduced on the reachable public pages.
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
4 documented times TSU’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- Official
- Official
- Official
- Official
- Official
Tags
policyemergency-notificationtimely-warningcleryhbcutennessee
Added 2026-06-21Updated 2026-09-20Via ingestion