What is the Hawk Alert System?

The Hawk Alert System notifies the campus community of threats to physical safety in emergency situations: tornado, violence, hazardous material incident, etc.

Notification is by mobile phone (including text messaging), landline phone, TTY phone (for the hearing-impaired), and/or e-mail.

How does Hawk Alert work?

Hawk Alert allows UI administrators to send recorded emergency messages ("Hawk Alerts") to UI students, faculty, and staff by mobile phone, landline phone, and e-mail within minutes.

When a threat to the campus community is identified, Hawk Alert uses contact information from the University's Enterprise Directory (updated via ISIS or Employee Self Service) to send tens of thousands of messages directly to students, faculty, and staff.The entire campus community can be notified in about 15 minutes.

Members of the campus community are notified by whatever contact information they've provided in ISIS or Employee Self Service. For example, a staff member might be notified simultaneously by e-mail, office phone, and mobile phone.

Hawk Alert is built upon the Connect-ED System, developed specifically for schools, colleges, and universities by Blackboard Connect.

How do I sign up to receive Hawk Alerts?

You don't. The system automatically includes all current students, faculty, and staff located on campus, based on their presence in the Enterprise Directory.

However, you should make sure that the Enterprise Directory has up-to-date information for you. And if you want to be notified by mobile phone, you'll need to make sure your mobile number is included in the Enterprise Directory database. If you're a student, you can update the directory through ISIS; staff and faculty can update their information using Employee Self Service.

How do I utilize the system if I am visually impaired or hearing-impaired?

The visually impaired will be able to rely upon the recorded emergency messages by phone.

The hearing-impaired will be able to rely upon text messaging and/or their TTY Phone.

Is there a fee for the Hawk Alert System?

No. All UI students have already paid for the service as part of their student computing fee (the annual fee paid to the notification vendor was $1 per student). Costs for faculty and staff were paid by ITS.

Students, faculty, and staff will pay fees to their mobile phone provider for incoming messages, based on their service contract.

What phone number will I see on my Caller ID when I receive a Hawk Alert? I want to program that number into my phone.

Hawk Alert calls will come from 319-335-5911. We recommend that you program a unique and audible ring tone for calls coming from that number, especially if you normally have your mobile phone on vibrate mode (for instance, when you're in class or meetings). Your mobile carrier should be able to provide you with instructions on how to do this on your particular phone model.

How does a member of the University community enter contact information so that it can be available for use in emergencies?

Login to ISIS or Employee Self Service and make sure all of your Hawk Alert contact information is up to date. The UI is encouraging all of its students and employees to add/update their mobile and other phone numbers in the campus directory as soon as possible. (See http://hawkalert.uiowa.edu for additional information.)

For what types of emergencies will I be notified via this system?

Hawk Alerts will be utilized in situations that present threats to physical safety: tornadoes, violence, hazardous material incidents, etc.

Hawk Alerts are capable of targeting specific groups of people (e.g., occupants of specific buildings potentially affected by a hazardous material incident or violence).

When entering data for use by the Hawk Alert System, may I include contact information for a spouse or significant other, or parent(s), so that they'll be alerted during emergencies?

No. Phone numbers for parents and other emergency contacts (such as a spouse or significant other) are being considered for utilization in a later phase of implementation.(The University must weigh the importance of such notifications with the possibility of them affecting our ability to notify the local University community in as timely a manner as possible.)

What types of Hawk Alerts (in terms of media) are available?

Notification is by mobile phone (including text messaging), landline phone, TTY phone (for the hearing-impaired), and/or e-mail. Additionally, we are continuously exploring other communication/notification interfaces, such as social networking tools and instant messaging.

In conjunction with the Hawk Alert System, the UI Department of Public Safety has installed a series of notification towers equipped with sirens and voice alert systems that also will help ensure that those on campus hear certain types of alerts (such as tornado warnings).

What is the time frame in which I should expect to receive a Hawk Alert?

Circumstances will vary, including the size of the notification audience, the time of day, etc. However, most Hawk Alerts by phone should arrive minutes after being initiated.

E-mail Hawk Alerts serve largely as a backup/supplemental mechanism and typically take longer to be delivered.

How can the Hawk Alert System reach thousands of people in just minutes?

The notification vendor's mass notification engine supports the Hawk Alert System. This vendor maintains access to tens of thousands of phone lines originating from multiple locations throughout the United States to ensure that its clients' communications are delivered quickly and efficiently. Moreover, the notification vendor employs sophisticated call throttling logic to identify the proper schematics needed to deliver calls based upon whatever congestion local telecommunications providers are experiencing at the moment calls are being attempted.

Who is responsible for declaring an emergency and sending out a Hawk Alert?

The UI Department of Public Safety usually will initiate emergency notifications, although the Office of the President and the Office of University Relations have the authority and ability to issue Hawk Alerts as well.

If you have an emergency, or encounter an emergency situation on campus, you should immediately call 911.

Will this site (http://hawkalert.uiowa.edu/) contain information about the emergency?

No, this site will remain as a help and "how to" site about the system.

Most people will instinctually look to the main UI site for information in the event of an emergency, so it makes the most sense to put any emergency information we have there. The Hawk Alert site features a link to the main UI site.

If I input my mobile phone number, will it be published (i.e., viewable when someone searches for me in the directory, the Herd Book or the University white pages)?

No. If you input your mobile phone number in the Mobile Phone field, it will not be viewable by others.

However, if you input your mobile phone number in a different field, it may be viewable by others, unless you set the appropriate publication restrictions in the system. (See next question for further information.)

What should I do if I use my mobile phone as my home phone (i.e., I don't have a landline at home)?

You can input your mobile phone number in both your Residing Phone and Mobile Phone fields. (In an emergency, duplicate phone numbers are automatically reduced to a single number to be called by the system, as described below.)

If you don't want your Residing Phone number to be published, you should ensure that your publishing "Restrictions" are set appropriately to "Exclude Phone" or "Exclude Address & Phone". (The "Phone" in these restrictions refers to the first "Phone" attribute and not the "Alternate Phone" attribute.) The restrictions field appears just below "Alternate Phone" in the viewing screen.

The bottom line is that your "Residing Phone" number is published (unless you set "Restrictions" to exclude it) as your home phone number, and your Mobile Phone number is not published.

Will the Hawk Alert vendor share UI's information with anyone?

No. The notification vendor does not sell, lease, share, or rent personally identifiable information (names, addresses, phone numbers, etc.) to any companies or persons outside of itself or its service providers.

What if I want to get text messages instead of, or in addition to, a voice call?

Opt In/Out functionality is available for all contact points. "Send Hawk Alert" checkbox attributes allow you to essentially "turn off" notifications to specific phone numbers and e-mail addresses by unchecking those checkboxes, or, in the case of mobile devices, you can select only text, only voice, both, or neither.

Bear in mind that your mobile carrier may charge you for text messages, depending on the specifics of your service plan.

Does the system support numeric pagers?

No, the system does not support numeric pagers at this time. However, the notification vendor is continuously exploring other communication/notification interfaces.

My contact information is up to date, per these instructions. Can I test my ability to be notified to make sure the system will work for me?

We do not have the means to provide an on-demand test notification for individuals at this time. We last tested the system campuswide on Feb. 11, 2009. We will test the system campuswide at least at the beginning of every new school year.

Additionally, we are working with the notification vendor to provide some form of on-demand test for individual contacts.

Other members of the University community received emergency (or test) Hawk Alert messages, but I did not. What should I do?

You should first check your voicemail/answering machine (mobile, work, and/or home) to ensure that you simply didn't miss the call(s).

If messages weren't left on these recording devices for all of the contact numbers you've provided, check your contact information to ensure that it is accurate and up to date.(See http://hawkalert.uiowa.edu for additional information.)

If your contact information appears to be correct, you should report that you did not receive the Hawk Alert to the ITS Help Desk at 319-384-HELP (4357) or its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu.

NOTE: At the request of UIHC administrators, landline phones on the UI Hospitals and Clinics phone system do not receive Hawk Alerts. However, affected UIHC students, faculty, and staff may receive Hawk Alerts via their mobile phone, home phone, and/or e-mail addresses if they have registered that information in ISIS or Employee Self Service.

I work at the hospital on campus and no one here received a recent Hawk Alert. What happened?

Landline phones on the UI Hospitals and Clinics phone system do not receive Hawk Alerts at the request of UIHC administrators. However, students, faculty, and staff located in a UIHC facility on campus may receive Hawk Alerts via their mobile phone, home phone, and/or e-mail addresses if they have registered that information in ISIS or Employee Self Service.

What action should I take if I do receive a Hawk Alert?

Detailed instructions on where to go for additional information will usually be included in the Hawk Alert.

Help spread the word by telling those around you what's happening ñ word of mouth is an important form of notification! Notifying others by word of mouth (vs. by phone) leaves more phone lines open for the system to utilize.

Should I attend classes if there is an extreme weather condition?

The University Operations Manual Section 22 covers this.

Individuals should use good judgment and avoid serious risks in traveling to campus or in attending classes.

Individuals also should tune in to major media outlets, including the main UI website, for information about class closings during bad weather.

I recently graduated or left the University, and/or no longer wish to receive Hawk Alerts. How can I ensure that I won’t be notified?

Your status in the Enterprise Directory dictates whether or not you are in the population set to receive Hawk Alerts in the event of an emergency, and this status (and thus your presence in the Hawk Alert System) is updated regularly.

Only active students, faculty, and staff, who are normally on campus, are in that population set, so you shouldn't need to take any action when leaving the University.

Also, for those active students, faculty, and staff who might wish to turn off the service (because of travel or other reasons), "opt out" functionality is available. "Exclude from Hawk Alert" checkbox attributes allow you to essentially "turn off" notifications to specific phone numbers and e-mail addresses, or, in the case of mobile devices, select only text, only voice, both, or neither.

Are University affiliates included in the Hawk Alert System?

As the bulk of affiliates are not physically located on campus, this population set is presently not included in the Hawk Alert System.The UI Foundation is the exception to this. Foundation employees will need to work with their HR representative to add/update their contact information.

Mobile phone information might be particularly important for Foundation employees, because the Foundation utilizes one main phone number and manual, individual extensions. (Hawk Alert does not support extensions beyond a 10-digit phone number).Thus, that main Foundation phone number will only receive one call in an emergency, because duplicate phone numbers are automatically reduced to a single number to be called by the system. (See next question for further information.)

How are duplicate phone numbers handled?

Some people may use their mobile phone as their home phone (i.e., they don't have a landline at home) and thus have the same phone number listed as their Residing Phone and Mobile Phone.

Similarly, some phone numbers may be shared by multiple people (e.g., a shared phone at work, or by roommates in an apartment).

To eliminate unnecessary/redundant phone calls during an emergency, the system will automatically reduce all occurrences of duplicate phone numbers to single, unique phone numbers, before initiating a mass notification.

Who can I contact with additional questions?

Contact the ITS Help Desk at 319-384-HELP (4357) or its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu.