UOG
Emergency Notification and Timely Warning Procedures — Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report
The University of Guam issues campus-wide timely warnings and emergency notifications under its Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report, activated by the President or designee and delivered through the University's Incident Command Rapid Communication Procedures, supplemented by the Alertus desktop pop-up system.
Read the official policyInstitution
University of Guam
Territory · GU
~3,500 studentsIncident Command Rapid Communication Procedures / Alertus Desktop
In the policy’s own words
What the policy says
President/designee authorizes timely warningverbatim
When an incident that poses an ongoing or continuing threat is determined by the President of the University or their designee, a campus wide "timely warning" will be issued.
- — Decision authority is centralized in the University President or a designee — unusual among larger campuses where police command typically holds it.
Incident Command Rapid Communication Proceduresverbatim
The warning will be issued through the University's Incident Command Rapid Communication Procedures (i.e., text alerts, web page notification, mass e-mail, phone tree, KPRG radio, hand held radios, messenger) to students, faculty, staff and the Guam Police Department.
- — The channel list leans on resilient, low-bandwidth methods — phone tree, KPRG radio, and hand-held radios — appropriate for a typhoon- and earthquake-prone territory.
Warning-procedure limitationverbatim
Timely warning procedures will be implemented as long as it does not jeopardize or compromise efforts to assist victims or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency.
- — Mirrors the standard Clery carve-out: a warning may be withheld or shaped if issuing it would compromise victim assistance or emergency response.
Alertus desktop scopeverbatim
Alertus Desktop is a desktop notification app that allows University of Guam employees to receive emergency notifications affecting the UOG campus.
- — Alertus currently targets employees on UOG-issued computers; student coverage is a planned later rollout.
At a glance
How this policy works
- When it activates
- A campus-wide timely warning is issued when the President of the University or his/her designee determines an incident constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat. Alertus desktop alerts cover ongoing or sudden potential threats such as active shooter, fire, earthquake follow-up, storms, and hazardous-material risks.
- Who decides
- The President of the University or his/her designee determines whether an incident constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat warranting a timely warning.
- Timeliness standard
- Warnings are issued through the Incident Command Rapid Communication Procedures upon the President's/designee's determination of an ongoing or continuing threat; implemented unless doing so would compromise victim assistance or emergency mitigation.
- Emergency notification vs. timely warning
- Procedures are published in the Clery Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report; uses 'timely warning' language for ongoing/continuing threats and Alertus for immediate-threat emergency notifications.
- Testing cadence
- Not specified in the sources reviewed; the Incident Command Rapid Communication Procedures are posted on the University web page and distributed to each organization within the university.
- Scope & limits
- Timely warning procedures will be implemented as long as it does not jeopardize or compromise efforts to assist victims or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency. Alertus is installed on UOG-issued work computers only and currently covers employees, with student rollout planned.
ChannelsSmsEmailWebsiteSirenPhone CallDesktop Popup
Analysis
Reading the policy
The University of Guam — a public land-grant institution and the primary university in the U.S. territory of Guam — sets out its alerting procedures in its Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report (Clery ASR) rather than a single branded SMS brand. Note that UOG does not operate a 'Triton Alert' system; that name belongs to UC San Diego. UOG's emergency communication backbone is its Incident Command Rapid Communication Procedures, a defined list of channels activated during incidents.
Decision authority rests at the top: when the President of the University or his/her designee determines that an incident constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat, a campus-wide timely warning will be issued. That warning goes out through the Incident Command Rapid Communication Procedures — text alerts, web-page notification, mass e-mail, phone tree, KPRG radio, hand-held radios, and messenger — to students, faculty, staff, and the Guam Police Department. The procedures themselves are posted on the University's web page and distributed to each organization within the university. A standing limitation is built in: timely warning procedures will be implemented as long as it does not jeopardize or compromise efforts to assist victims or to contain, respond to, or otherwise mitigate the emergency. Community members with information warranting a warning are directed to the Campus Security Office at (671) 888-2456.
Layered on top of the phone-tree-and-radio core is Alertus Desktop, a software client that displays a full-screen pop-up alert on UOG-issued computers when the university issues an emergency alert, simultaneously notifying users about an ongoing or sudden potential threat and what actions to take. Alertus is installed on work computers only (Windows and Mac), works within UOG's wired/wireless network or over an active UOG VPN connection, and at present covers employees (faculty, staff, administrators), who can relay information to nearby students or visitors; subsequent rollouts are planned to extend coverage to students. Covered scenarios range from an active shooter to fire, earthquake follow-up, storm notifications, and hazardous-material risks.
Given Guam's hazard profile — typhoons, earthquakes/tsunami risk, and regional security concerns — the multi-modal mix of radio (KPRG), hand-held radios, phone tree, and desktop pop-ups is built for resilience when commercial cellular or power is degraded. The University distributes the ASR by posting it on its website and notifying all enrolled students and employees of its availability by e-Triton/GoTriton email, consistent with Clery distribution requirements.
Takeaways
Key findings
UOG has no 'Triton Alert' brand (that is UC San Diego); its alerting runs through the Incident Command Rapid Communication Procedures defined in the Clery Annual Security Report.
The President of the University or designee determines whether an incident is an ongoing/continuing threat warranting a campus-wide timely warning.
Channels emphasize resilience: text alerts, web notice, mass e-mail, phone tree, KPRG radio, hand-held radios, and messenger to campus plus the Guam Police Department.
Alertus Desktop pushes full-screen pop-ups to UOG-issued work computers; it currently covers employees, with a planned rollout to students.
A standing limitation lets the University shape or withhold a warning if issuing it would compromise victim assistance or emergency mitigation.
Policy, meet practice
When this system actually fired
7 documented times UOG’s alert system was used, from the case archive.
Provenance
Sources
- Clery ASR
- Official
- Official
- Clery ASR
Tags
policyemergency-notificationtimely-warningterritoryguamalertusclery-asr
Added 2026-06-21Updated 2026-06-21Via ingestion