UW Alert Student Privacy Policy

The University of Washington is committed to ensuring the privacy and accuracy of your confidential information. UW Alert has been developed to disseminate official information during emergencies or crisis situations that may disrupt the normal operation of the UW or threaten the health or safety of members of the UW community.

UW Alert is offered on a voluntary self-subscription basis for current UW faculty, staff, and students at UW Bothell, UW Seattle, UW Tacoma, and UW Medicine.

UW Alert delivers messages to subscribers on a "best effort" basis to email and to Short Message Service (SMS) text-capable wireless devices, such as many cellular telephones. Additional delivery options are planned in future phases of the UW Alert system and the UW may contract with third parties to provide this service.

The personal telephone numbers and email addresses UW Alert collects will be maintained in your student record. The UW will maintain the confidentiality of such records to the extent permitted by law. UW Alert phone numbers will not be published in the UW Directory. However, the UW Directory may include the same UW Alert phone number if that is the number you choose to publish as part of your directory information. UW directory information is updated through MyUW Student Personal Services and may be changed at any time by selecting the Change Of Address link. See the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for more details regarding the release of student directory information.

If you have student privacy concerns or FERPA related questions, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registra@u.washington.edu.

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Emergency Contact vs. UW Alert - What's the difference?

Emergency contact information requested on the Change of Address web site is intended to provide the University with a contact person to notify in the event of an accident or other individual student related emergency.

UW Alert is intended to more broadly broadcast information during emergencies or crisis situations that may disrupt the normal operation of the UW or threaten the health or safety of members of the UW community.