UNC Asheville
Timely Warning Policy
UNC Asheville's Timely Warning Policy (Policy 918) implements the Clery Act's timely-warning requirement for crimes posing a serious or continuing threat within the university's Clery geography, distributing warnings through the multi-channel Bulldog Alert system.
Read the official policyInstitution
University of North Carolina at Asheville
Public Bachelors · NC
~3,000 studentsBulldog Alert
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
Clery basis and serious/continuing threatverbatim
In accordance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, UNC Asheville must issue "Timely Warnings" to the campus community for Clery Act crimes that occur on or near campus and are considered to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees.
- — Establishes the Clery-Act basis and the serious-or-continuing-threat standard.
Three-step response procedureverbatim
In the event of a serious or continuing threat, UNC Asheville will 1) confirm that the reported Clery crime meets the requirements of a Timely Warning, including confirming the existence of a serious or continuing threat to student and employees within the university's Clery Act Geography; 2) determine the content of the Timely Warning; and 3) distribute the Timely Warning through the university's notification system as soon as the above criteria have been determined.
- — Defines the confirm/determine-content/distribute sequence and ties scope to Clery Act Geography. Preserves the source's 'student and employees' phrasing.
Repeat-pattern triggerverbatim
The crime represents a pattern that has occurred two or more times within a specific area or shortened/condensed period of time.
- — Provides an alternate trigger based on repetition rather than a single serious threat.
At a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- Issued case-by-case when pertinent information is available and a Clery crime reported in good faith to UNC Asheville Police or a CSA either presents a serious or ongoing threat to the physical safety of students and employees, or represents a pattern occurring two or more times within a specific area or condensed period.
- Who decides
- UNC Asheville (via University Police / responsible officials) confirms the warning criteria are met, determines content, and distributes through the notification system once criteria are determined.
- Timeliness standard
- Distributed through the university's notification system as soon as the confirmation and content criteria have been determined; not issued for reports filed more than five calendar days after the alleged incident absent a continuing threat.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- Standalone Clery timely-warning policy tied to the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act for serious/continuing-threat Clery crimes in the university's Clery Act Geography; the same Bulldog Alert system also handles general emergency notifications.
- Testing cadence
- Bulldog Alert is periodically tested with announced tests (e.g., a system test on January 6, 2022); affiliates and family may register annually.
- Scope & limits
- Limited to Clery crimes in the university's Clery Act Geography meeting the serious-or-continuing-threat or repeat-pattern standard; excludes crimes reported to confidential resources or privileged information protected by state law, and generally excludes reports filed more than five calendar days after the incident absent a continuing threat.
ChannelsEmailSmsPhone CallSirenDesktop PopupDigital Signage
Analysis
Reading the policy
UNC Asheville's Timely Warning Policy (Policy 918) states that, in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, the university must issue Timely Warnings to the campus community for Clery Act crimes that occur on or near campus and are considered to represent a serious or continuing threat to students and employees. The policy supports the university's efforts to inform and advise community members about crimes that may pose such a threat.
Timely Warnings are issued on a case-by-case basis. The university issues a Timely Warning when pertinent information is available, the crime has been reported in good faith to UNC Asheville Police or a Campus Security Authority and is one of the Clery Act crimes, and either the crime is considered to present a serious or ongoing threat to the physical safety of students and employees, or the crime represents a pattern that has occurred two or more times within a specific area or a shortened/condensed period of time. The policy also sets outer limits: although each case is evaluated individually, Timely Warnings will not be issued when a report is filed more than five (5) calendar days after the date of the alleged incident unless it is determined that there is a continuing threat to the community, among other specified circumstances. Crimes reported to confidential resources, such as professional counselors, or privileged information protected by state law, are exempt from Timely Warning consideration.
The response process is a defined three-step sequence: in the event of a serious or continuing threat, UNC Asheville will (1) confirm that the reported Clery crime meets the requirements of a Timely Warning, including confirming the existence of a serious or continuing threat within the university's Clery Act Geography; (2) determine the content of the Timely Warning; and (3) distribute the Timely Warning through the university's notification system as soon as the above criteria have been determined.
Distribution runs through Bulldog Alert, UNC Asheville's emergency-alert messaging system, which is also used to send Timely Warnings when an incident poses a serious or continuing threat. The university describes Bulldog Alert as a multi-channel notification system designed to send messages quickly and reach as much of the community as possible, including university email (auto-enrolled for students, faculty, and staff), text/SMS and voice to registered phones, outdoor sirens, desktop alerts to university-owned computers, and digital signage in campus buildings. The same Bulldog Alert system serves the broader emergency-notification function for immediate threats; this Timely Warning Policy specifically governs the Clery timely-warning subset. UNC Asheville tests Bulldog Alert (for example, an announced system test on January 6, 2022), and registered primary contact numbers are auto-enrolled while affiliates and family may register annually.
Takeaways
Key findings
UNC Asheville's Timely Warning Policy (Policy 918) is a standalone Clery-based policy covering serious/continuing-threat crimes in the university's Clery Act Geography.
Warnings are issued case-by-case and can be triggered either by a single serious/ongoing threat or by a repeat pattern occurring two or more times.
The response is a defined three-step process: confirm criteria, determine content, then distribute through the notification system.
Reports filed more than five calendar days after the incident generally do not trigger a warning absent a continuing threat, and confidential/privileged reports are exempt.
Distribution is via the multi-channel Bulldog Alert system (email, text/voice, sirens, desktop alerts, digital signage), which also handles general emergency notifications.
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
1 documented time UNC Asheville’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- Official
- Official
- Official
- Official
- Official
Tags
policyemergency-notificationtimely-warningclerynorth-carolinapublic-bachelors
Added 2026-06-21Updated 2026-06-21Via ingestion