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3. Rely on uOttawa Alert

In the event of an emergency, it’s vital that we be ready to provide you with reliable information as early as possible. The University is therefore implementing the Emergency Notification System (ENS) to ensure we can reach you efficiently and effectively through a variety of methods.

The ENS will be activated only in a major emergency, such as a violent aggressor, a serious fire or severe weather. Notification could take place through some or all of the following tools:

Coming soon - Text messaging

Soon you will be able to opt in to receive notification of campus emergencies via text message. If you opt in for this service, you will only receive text messages for the following reasons:

a campus incident we believe may affect your immediate safety
a system test (once per session)

You will not receive text messages through this service related to promotions or academics, or from services or faculties. Your cell phone number will never be shared, and you will be able to opt out of the service at any time.

Please note the following:

The university will not charge you for this service. However your cell phone carrier may charge you a fee if you do not already have a text messaging option on your phone.
While all reasonable efforts will be made to ensure that you receive notifications, delivery cannot be guaranteed. Delivery is dependent on your cell phone carrier — when large volumes of messages are being delivered at once, there can be congestion and delays. Therefore, when you receive a message, please be sure to spread the word to those who may not be aware of what is happening.

Social media

Throughout an emergency, the University will tweet updates using the Twitter handle @uOttawaAlert. Other Twitter handles, such as @uOttawa, will also retweet (RT) emergency messages. As a follower, you’ll be asked to retweet all related posts to help spread the word.

We’ll also post updates on the University’s Facebook page.

Screen alerts

An alert will appear on University of Ottawa computers if connected to the uOttawa network at the time of an emergency. The following text will appear on your screen: MESSAGE D’URGENCE uOttawa EMERGENCY MESSAGE.

Look for your B! If the University computer that you are working on doesn’t have the alert software installed, you won’t receive a screen alert. Check your tray for the B icon and if it is not installed or if it is not connected, be sure to contact Computing and Communications Services (CCS) for assistance.

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Email

All uOttawa account holders will receive an email with the subject line: MESSAGE D’URGENCE uOttawa EMERGENCY MESSAGE. The message will contain important information about the emergency. To prevent it from going to your junk mail folder, please add Urgence-Emergency@uOttawa.noreply.ca to your “safe sender” list.

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Website banner

In emergencies, the uOttawa website will feature an emergency Web banner. It will appear at the top of every Web page and will be updated as often as possible so that you have easy access to the latest developments on the situation. The banner will also feature a link to the University’s dark site, uOttawa.ca/emergency, which will be activated only in emergencies.

A mobile version of the banner will appear on the University’s mobile site, m.uOttawa.ca.

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Dark site

In the event of a major emergency, a dark site will take over the uOttawa homepage and gateway pages. It will display the latest information about the emergency as it unfolds, as well as links to additional resources.

The University’s mobile site, m.uOttawa.ca, will feature a mobile version of the dark site. It will highlight the latest news about the emergency and provide a link to the complete dark site at uOttawa.ca/emergency.

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