November 13, 2014

The University is introducing a mass messaging system to communicate with students, faculty and staff in emergencies.

Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity and Jill Matus, Vice-Provost, Students announced today that the University has contracted with Blackboard Connect to provide the service for students, faculty and staff on the three campuses of the University of Toronto.

The service will allow U of T administrators to send time-sensitive messages via telephone, e-mail and text message within minutes.

“The safety of our community members is paramount,” said Hildyard. “Emergencies are rare at U of T, but the new system will help get people the information they need. It’s an important part of overall campus safety measures.”

Geography and travel patterns make emergency messaging at universities particularly complex.

“Over a hundred thousand people study or work at U of T – and most students and faculty move among different classrooms, labs, libraries and offices throughout the day,” said Matus. “This system will allow the University to reach people quickly, wherever they are.”

Starting November 19th, recipients will be able to log in to the system at http://alert.utoronto.ca/  to manage their message settings and update their contact information.