UC
Safety Notifications
The University of Cincinnati Department of Public Safety operates its Safety Notifications program over the university email system and the Rave Alert mass-notification platform, distinguishing "UC Aware" advisory messages for non-immediate risk from "UC Safety Alert" messages that provide timely information about an ongoing situation. The Clery framework requires a confirmed significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat before an emergency notification is issued, with the Chief of Police or designee determining whether an ongoing threat exists.
Read the official policyInstitution
University of Cincinnati
Public R1 · OH
~50,000 studentsRave Alert / UC Safety Notifications
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
UC Aware vs UC Safety Alertverbatim
UC Aware messages provide advisory information about a non-immediate risk situation, while UC Safety Alert messages provide timely information about an ongoing situation.
- — The core distinction in UC's two-tier model; the same definitions appear in UC's 2024 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report.
Platform / sign-upverbatim
The Department of Public Safety uses the university email system and Rave Alert, an emergency mass notification system, to keep members of the UC community apprised of campus safety related news and events.
- — Identifies Rave Alert plus university email as the delivery platforms for UC safety notifications.
UC Aware scope examplesverbatim
UC Aware may be distributed for crimes that do not rise to the level of causing a serious or continuing threat to the UC community or for Clery Act crimes that occur outside of UC's Clery Act geography, such as a pattern of larcenies or vandalism cases.
- — Clarifies that UC Aware covers lower-severity and out-of-geography Clery matters, keeping Safety Alerts reserved for serious/continuing threats.
Safety Alert timing / scopeverbatim
Safety Alerts are issued as soon as the pertinent information is available and are not necessarily limited to violent crimes or crimes against persons. A series of property crimes may also present a continuing threat to the campus community.
- — Establishes the timeliness standard ('as soon as the pertinent information is available') and confirms property-crime patterns can qualify as a continuing threat.
At a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- UC Aware: advisory information about a non-immediate risk (e.g., crimes not rising to a serious/continuing threat, Clery crimes outside UC's Clery geography, or other safety concerns like mulch or cooking fires). UC Safety Alert: timely information about an ongoing situation representing a serious or continuing threat, issued as soon as pertinent information is available. Clery emergency notification: requires a confirmed significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety on campus.
- Who decides
- The Chief of Police or his/her designee determines whether an incident poses an ongoing safety threat and warrants notification; the UC Department of Public Safety issues the messages via Rave Alert and university email.
- Timeliness standard
- Safety Alerts are issued as soon as the pertinent information is available; Clery emergency notifications follow confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation posing an immediate threat.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- Two-tier model: 'UC Aware' (non-immediate-risk advisory, including lower-level crimes and Clery crimes outside Clery geography) versus 'UC Safety Alert' (ongoing serious/continuing threat = the Clery timely-warning function), with separate Clery emergency-notification procedures for confirmed immediate threats on campus.
- Testing cadence
- A safety-notification test is held at the beginning of each semester to verify the systems work and that community members are receiving emergency messages.
- Scope & limits
- UC Aware is reserved for non-immediate risks and matters outside Clery geography; UC Safety Alerts cover ongoing serious/continuing threats (not limited to violent crime — property-crime patterns can qualify); full emergency notifications require a confirmed immediate threat as judged by the Chief of Police or designee.
ChannelsSmsEmailWebsite
Analysis
Reading the policy
The University of Cincinnati Department of Public Safety uses the university email system and Rave Alert, an emergency mass-notification system, to keep the campus community informed about safety-related news and events. Community members can sign up to receive text-message and email notifications with emergency information that may impact UC campuses and nearby areas depending on the nature of an emergency or event, and UC students, faculty and staff are auto-enrolled in Rave Alert via the Catalyst and UC Directory systems.
UC frames its messages along an urgency gradient. "UC Aware" messages provide advisory information about a non-immediate risk situation, while "UC Safety Alert" messages provide timely information about an ongoing situation. UC Aware may be distributed for crimes that do not rise to the level of a serious or continuing threat, for Clery Act crimes occurring outside UC's Clery geography (e.g., a pattern of larcenies or vandalism), or for other safety concerns such as mulch or cooking fires. Safety Alerts are issued as soon as the pertinent information is available and are not necessarily limited to violent crimes or crimes against persons — a series of property crimes may also present a continuing threat to the campus community.
The Clery Act framework governs the higher tier. The Clery Act requires UC to have and disclose emergency response and evacuation procedures in response to a confirmed significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of students or employees occurring on the campus, including both criminal and non-criminal issues. For an emergency notification to be issued, there must be a confirmed report of the emergency or dangerous situation. Decision authority for whether an incident poses an ongoing safety threat rests with the Chief of Police or his/her designee; UC provides email notifications to all students, faculty and staff when a Clery Crime occurs in the Clery Geography, primarily where the incident poses an ongoing safety threat.
UC tests the system on a regular cadence. Public Safety holds a safety-notification test at the beginning of each semester, which provides students, faculty and staff a chance to ensure they are receiving emergency messages and verifies that the systems are working correctly during a non-emergency situation. The 2024 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report corroborates the UC Aware / UC Safety Alert definitions and the Chief-of-Police decision authority. Scope is bounded: UC Aware handles lower-risk advisories and out-of-geography matters, UC Safety Alerts handle ongoing serious/continuing threats, and full Clery emergency notifications require a confirmed immediate threat.
Takeaways
Key findings
UC runs a two-tier model: 'UC Aware' for non-immediate-risk advisories and 'UC Safety Alert' for ongoing situations posing a serious/continuing threat.
Notifications are delivered via the Rave Alert mass-notification platform and the university email system; students, faculty and staff are auto-enrolled via Catalyst and UC Directory.
Clery emergency notifications require a confirmed significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat on campus.
The Chief of Police or designee determines whether an incident represents an ongoing threat warranting notification.
UC tests its safety-notification system at the beginning of each semester to verify functionality and delivery.
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
9 documented times UC’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
+ 1 more in the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- Official
- Official
- Official
- Clery ASR
- Official
Tags
policyemergency-notificationtimely-warningrave-alertuc-awareuc-safety-alertcleryohio
Added 2026-06-21Updated 2026-06-21Via ingestion