Clark Alerts

Clark ALERTS is Clark University’s emergency notification system, which uses a variety of methods to contact students, faculty, and staff, including:

• Text messages (SMS) to mobile devices
• Voice calls to mobile phones and off-campus phone numbers
• Emails to Clark and non-Clark addresses

During an urgent emergency situation, the Clark ALERTS system will send you a message with information and/or instructions concerning the emergency situation.  This automated system will send you the message to your defined points of contact to deliver the alert.

Your contact information is maintained in the ClarkYOU portal. Look for the Clark ALERTS Updater channel (which may be located in the Resources tab), which will display your current contact information. To make changes or additions, click the “Update” button, add or edit the appropriate contact information and click the “Update” button again. You should then see a Successfully Updated message in red at the top of the screen.

No. International phone numbers are not supported, even for mobile phones and text messages.

No. Since the Clark ALERTS emergency notification system is located off campus, the University’s switchboard would be jammed if emergency notification phone calls were made to Clark phone extensions.

While we encourage all cell phone users to enter their phone number in in the “Cell Phone” field so they can receive both text and voice messages. If you only wish to receive voice messages on your cell phone, enter your phone number in the “Voice Only Phone” field.

Clark ALERTS may be activated under circumstances such as:

• Fire alarms, natural gas leaks, and hazardous spills affecting the entire campus
• Building evacuations and lock downs affecting the entire campus (such as a shooter on campus)
• Biological or pandemic emergencies
• Natural disasters or unexpected severe weather conditions
• Bomb threats or other imminent violent threats
• Power outages and utility failures resulting in an imminent threat
• Campus closure due to declared civil emergency
• You can optionally choose to receive messages in the event of any disruptions to the Safety Escort program.

If you receive an emergency message from Clark ALERTS, do the following:

• 1. Listen to or read the ENTIRE message. The message is of a serious nature.
• 2. Follow any instructions given in the message.

Yes.  We will always use all the contact methods you specify.

The message sender will appear as follows:

• For a phone call: 1-508-793-7771
• For an email: Clark_ALERTS@bc178.cc

No. Clark University does not charge for use of this system. However, depending on your agreement with your mobile phone provider for text messages or mobile phone calls, you may incur charges. Please check with your provider to understand your charges.

Messages will be sent by authorized University personnel only, such as University Communications and University Police.

Registration for the Clark ALERTS emergency notification service is only available to currently active students, faculty, and staff. Clark ALERTS messages are intended to inform individuals located on campus when immediate action is necessary. We may, however, use Clark ALERTS to to provide updates to parents or other family members in the event of an emergency situation. For example, in the event of a major storm, we might use Clark Alerts to send a message to the Parent/Family contact in advance of the storm to let them know about preparations being made and/or after the storm to update them on the storm’s impact on the campus. The”Parent/Family Cell Phone” or “Parent/Family Voice Only” fields are available to you for this purpose. Please note that Parent/Family contacts will not generally receive Clark ALERTS message that are sent while an emergency is taking place. If you provide additional contact information, we strongly suggest you notify that person that they are a contact for you in Clark ALERTS.