The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has made changes to its Alert Carolina emergency notification system with the fall semester underway.
The changes come after last year’s deadly, on-campus shooting that left a professor dead.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Emergency Management and Planning Director Darrell Jeter said Tuesday the school is focusing on the initial messaging in its emergency notifications.
“We want to make sure that the information that we convey with that initial message is as clear and concise as possible to inform the campus community of what is happening and what actions they need to take in the event that, that does occur,” Jeter said.
Jeter said university leadership took feedback from students, faculty and staff.
“Based on feedback that we’ve received over the past year, we’ve identified an opportunity to provide more clarity in that initial notification that we send out,” Jeter said.
Jeter said the university also got feedback about a desire to receive more routine updates during an emergency. Clearer messaging from the university through its Alert Carolina system was among the safety recommendations in an after-action report after the on-campus shooting in 2023.
The university tested the updates to the Carolina Alert system over the summer, Jeter said.
Jeter said the university would test the system again in the next few days.
Jeter said 83% of the university’s faculty have completed safety training as of Aug. 16, 2024.
“When the provost announced that training to our faculty, it was strongly encouraged that they complete that training and the expectation is that they will complete that before the start of class because students look to them as leaders in the classroom to provide guidance in the event of an emergency,” Jeter said.
UNC Chair of the Faculty Beth Moracco said faculty members have been supportive of the new training module, recognizing the "unfortunate need for it."
"I think we all have a shared goal of increased safety on campus, while also balancing the need for us to be open campus, as a public institution," Moracco said.
Also, Jeter said 90% of the university's classrooms have door locks as of the spring.
In the event of an on-campus emergency, Jeter said the university will suspend any normal activity and to put people in positions to keep themselves safe from a threat while law enforcement responds.
The university’s changes come after a man walked into an on-campus on Aug. 28, 2023, raised a gun and shot associate professor Zijie Yan.
Authorities arrested Tailei Qi, one of Yan's graduate students. Qi, 34, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon on educational property.
Ph. D candidate Alicia Bryan was inside Caudill Labs on Aug. 28, 2023, when Yan was shot and killed.
"It was stressful, certainly," Bryan said. "I'm just really grateful for the response from emergency workers and the department to keep us safe."
Bryan says she’s seen how the university has listened to student and staff concerns, and responded.
"Doors locking to buildings, adding security cameras outside the buildings and the response has always been very prompt with safety alerts," Bryan said. "I"ve been satisfied and felt safe with what they're doing."
On Tuesday, a reporter asked Jeter about what the university is doing to help address mental health and on-campus safety.
“Everyone wants to feel safe and it is our priority as a campus community to be responsive to that desire by making sure the campus community knows there are resources available to you,” Jeter said. “You are not alone in this desire to feel safe when you’re on our campus, and we want our parents to know that as well that we take it very seriously.”
**If you're having suicidal thoughts or a mental health crisis, call or text 988 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Veterans can press “1” after dialing 988 to connect directly to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline. For texts, veterans should continue to text the Veterans Crisis Lifeline short code: 838255.