UMass Amherst Emergency Alert
UMass Amherst strives to build a safe and resilient campus by providing resources and tools to ensure our community is informed, prepared and protected. We have many resources that can help prepare you for an emergency, regardless if it's on or off campus. The UMass Amherst Emergency Preparedness Training has been developed for UMass faculty, staff, and students to provide guidance and recommendations on how to manage incidents that may arise on campus, including active aggressors, earthquakes, fires, power outages, and tornados. Our goal is to give you the information, skills, and resources to handle emergency situations. For more tips for to help your student prepare for emergencies, visit the Office of Emergency Management.
Emergency Alerts
To keep the campus community informed about emergency situations or conditions that could disrupt campus activities, the university employs a number of different emergency communication methods called UMass Amherst Alerts. Based on the emergency threat or incident on campus, the campus will utilize the appropriate method(s):
- UMass Amherst Emergency Alerts sends a text message notifying the community about an emergency situation on campus. Students, faculty, and staff can enroll via SPIRE.
- Families can also sign up by texting UMassAlert to phone number 78015. You can unsubscribe at anytime by texting STOP.
- Students, faculty, and staff will also receive an email to their UMass email addresses informing them of emergency situations and general safety messages.
- In the event of an ongoing campus emergency, New Student and Family Programs will email families updates in coordination with the University’s Emergency Management Team. Make sure to subscribe to our email list.
- Posts to UMass homepage and UMass Social Media Accounts (UMass Twitter and UMass Facebook) and may supplement UMass Alerts with more in-depth information and instructions.
- The campus also has outdoor warning sirens/loud-speakers located throughout campus that may be used to notify the campus of an existing or imminent threat to the campus community.
Adding Emergency Contacts in SPIRE
All students are encouraged to enter an emergency contact on their SPIRE account if they haven’t already done so. Your student can do this by logging into SPIRE, going to the Main Menu, selecting My Personal Information and then Emergency Contacts. Students who already entered an emergency contact should check back once a semester to make sure it is up to date. For more tips for to help your student prepare for emergencies, visit the Office of Emergency Management.
UMass Police Department
The UMass Police Department (UMPD) is a fully certified police department operating 24-hours a day, seven days a week, and works in conjunction with local and state police. In addition to marked cruiser patrol, officers also use mounted, bicycle, and motorcycle units in providing services to the entire campus. UMPD also works closely with other campus offices to prevent more common university-related crimes, including anti-theft campaigns in residence halls.
Safety Escorts
Trained student teams with radios are available to safely escort community members across campus every night, Sunday through Wednesday 8:00 p.m. – midnight and Thursday through Saturday 8:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m.