UVM

CATAlert — Campus Alerting System

VTSystem overviewCatAlerthigh confidence

The University of Vermont's CATAlert system is its rapid emergency-notification platform, implemented on the Rave Alert Mass Notification System and maintained by the UVM Office of Emergency Management, capable of sending email, text, voice, social-media, and campus electronic-display notifications. Under UVM's Clery Act policy, the university issues an emergency notification upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety on campus, and a timely warning when a Clery crime represents a serious or ongoing threat to campus safety.

Read the official policy

Institution

University of Vermont

Public R1 · VT

~14,476 studentsCatAlert

In the policy’s own words

What the policy says

CATAlert system and platformverbatim

CatAlert is UVM's rapid emergency notification system implemented using the Rave Alert Mass Notification System (MNS).

— Names the platform/vendor: CatAlert runs on the Rave Alert Mass Notification System (Rave Mobile Safety / Motorola Solutions).

UVM Department of Emergency Management — CATAlert

Emergency notification triggerverbatim

The University issues an Emergency Notification 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.

— States the emergency-notification trigger in the Clery 'significant emergency or dangerous situation / immediate threat' language.

UVM Policies — Campus Safety and Security: Clery Act

Timely warning triggerverbatim

The University of Vermont issues a timely warning to the University community when there is information that a Clery crime has occurred that represents a serious or ongoing threat to campus safety.

— Defines the timely-warning trigger for a Clery crime representing a serious or ongoing threat to campus safety.

UVM Police Services — Clery Act

After-the-fact channel limitverbatim

If a crime report is made after the fact, CATAlerts may only be sent via email.

— Limits after-the-fact crime reports (timely warnings) to email, reserving the full multimodal chain for live emergencies.

UVM Department of Emergency Management — CATAlert

At a glance

How this policy works

When it activates: UVM issues an emergency notification '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.' It issues a timely warning when there is information that a Clery crime has occurred that represents a serious or ongoing threat to campus safety.
Who decides: The CATAlert system is maintained by the UVM Office of Emergency Management (UVMOEM) and can be activated by UVM Dispatch or by UVM's Emergency Operations Group, from both on and off campus.
Timeliness standard: CATAlert is UVM's 'rapid emergency notification system'; an emergency notification is issued upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to health or safety on campus.
Emergency notification vs. timely warning: Two-tier Clery model: emergency notification upon confirmation of a significant emergency or dangerous situation posing an immediate threat to health or safety on campus, and timely warning when a Clery crime represents a serious or ongoing threat to campus safety (plus additional Clery warnings/advisories about certain crimes on or adjacent to campus).
Testing cadence: UVM tests the emergency notification procedure bi-annually (twice a year). Every semester the Emergency Management Director (faculty/staff) and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs (students) email the community describing CATAlert and giving notice that a test will occur.
Scope & limits: CATAlert is used for emergencies occurring on or directly proximal to campus. If a crime report is made after the fact, CATAlerts may only be sent via email — reserving the full multimodal chain (text, voice, social media, electronic displays) for live, immediate emergencies.

ChannelsEmailSmsPhone CallTwitter XFacebookDigital Signage

Analysis

Reading the policy

The University of Vermont structures its alerting around the two Clery categories, operationalized through one platform. The CATAlert system 'is used to notify the UVM community of emergency situations occurring on or directly proximal to our campus' and 'is UVM's rapid emergency notification system implemented using the Rave Alert Mass Notification System (MNS).' It is maintained by the UVM Office of Emergency Management (UVMOEM) and 'can be activated by UVM Dispatch or by UVM's Emergency Operations Group from both on and off campus,' giving the university redundant activation paths. The system 'is capable of sending e-mail, text, and/or voice, social media, and campus electronic display notifications.' On **Clery framing**, UVM's policy distinguishes the two messages cleanly. Per the Campus Safety and Security: Clery Act policy, 'The University issues an Emergency Notification 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.' Separately, the UVM Police Services Clery page states that 'the University of Vermont issues a timely warning to the University community when there is information that a Clery crime has occurred that represents a serious or ongoing threat to campus safety,' adding that UVM also issues warnings and advisories about certain crimes on or adjacent to campus pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Act. A notable **scope limit** ties the channel to the threat type: 'If a crime report is made after the fact, CATAlerts may only be sent via email.' In practice, an after-the-fact crime report (a timely warning rather than a live emergency) is delivered by email only, while a live emergency can fire the full multimodal chain — text, voice, social media, and electronic displays — appropriate to an immediate threat. On **decision authority and testing**, activation authority sits with UVM Dispatch and the Emergency Operations Group, with the Office of Emergency Management maintaining the system. UVM 'tests the emergency notification procedure bi-annually': every semester the Emergency Management Director (for faculty and staff) and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs (for students) send an email describing the CATAlert system, how it works, and giving notice that a test of the system will occur twice a year — pairing the test with a public-education message so recipients can distinguish a real alert from a drill.

Takeaways

Key findings

UVM operates a two-tier Clery model: emergency notification (significant emergency/dangerous situation posing an immediate threat to health or safety on campus) and timely warning (Clery crime representing a serious or ongoing threat).

CATAlert is UVM's rapid emergency-notification system, implemented on the Rave Alert Mass Notification System and maintained by the UVM Office of Emergency Management.

Activation authority rests with UVM Dispatch or the Emergency Operations Group, from both on and off campus.

Channels include email, text, voice, social media, and campus electronic displays; after-the-fact crime reports may be sent via email only.

UVM tests the emergency notification procedure bi-annually (twice a year), paired each semester with a public-education email from the Emergency Management Director and the Vice Provost for Student Affairs.

Policy, meet practice

When this system actually fired

5 documented times UVM’s alert system was used, from the case archive.

Provenance

Sources

Official
CATAlert — Campus Alerting System | Department of Emergency Management — The University of Vermont
uvm.edu
archived copy
Official
Campus Safety and Security: Clery Act | UVM Policies
uvm.edu
archived copy
Clery ASR
Clery Act | Police Services — The University of Vermont
uvm.edu
archived copy
Official
Emergency Alerts | IT Service Catalog — The University of Vermont
uvm.edu
archived copy
Source
Informing a Community of Impending Weather Emergencies — Rave Mobile Safety (UVM customer story)
ravemobilesafety.com
archived copy