Members of the CU Boulder community, including students and their parents, are asking questions about the university’s notification process for significant incidents. Below are answers to some of the most common questions the university has received. 

Why didn’t the university send out a text alert during a shooting on University Hill on Oct. 2?

Text alerts (called CU Emergency Alerts) are sent out when there is a confirmed, immediate threat to the safety of those on campus, including active harmer incidents, severe weather that would prompt a campus closure or evacuation, etc. 

On Oct. 2, CU Boulder sent a CU Advisory, the newest tier of emergency notification. CU Advisories are for non-emergency events/incidents on campus or both emergency and non-emergency events off campus that could potentially impact campus, such as extended power failures, building evacuations, sudden road closures or other traffic/construction impacts on or near campus, as well as police activity near campus.

There is also the CU Safety Alert level, which was not part of our Oct. 2 communications. Learn more about the three levels of emergency notifications and view archived alerts.

Why did students and others see info about the Hill shooting on social media before CU Boulder released its advisory?

Public safety officials have an obligation to verify and confirm information before releasing it to the public. In this case, since the shooting occurred in the city of Boulder, CU Boulder amplified information from the Boulder Police Department as quickly as possible, both on the CUPD and CU Boulder Alerts Twitter accounts and on the CU Boulder alerts website. 

An update on CU Boulder and the University of Colorado Police Department’s evolving partnership with the Boulder Police Department, including exploring ways to better ensure the community is informed of significant off-campus incidents, can be found in this joint letter from the chiefs of CUPD and BPD, shared with the campus community on Oct. 7.  

How can I make sure I’m receiving notifications?

A complete outline of how to receive information about significant events from CU Boulder, as well as how to opt into the county-wide emergency notification system, Everbridge, can be found on the CU Boulder alerts website. Safety information can also be found on the CUPD website, including a series of videos explaining emergency notification levels and helpful notification opt-in information for non-students.