UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – As the new semester begins, the Penn State community is reminded that its members may receive PSUAlerts related to weather, timely warnings or emergency situations.
PSUAlert is the University-wide emergency messaging system used to notify our campus communities of emergency or critical situations. Alerts may be related to winter weather, crimes, suspicious activity, wildlife on campus, incoming storms, crises and more.
All students, faculty and staff receive alerts at their Penn State email address. Individuals may also choose to receive PSUAlerts via telephone call or text (SMS) and can visit psualert.psu.edu to manage those alert preferences. Though the PSUAlert system is prioritized for students, faculty and staff of the University, members of the public are encouraged to follow campus-specific alerts via Twitter or Facebook. Importantly, students may enroll their parents, legal guardians or others in Penn State alerts via email and text.
Timely Warnings
Included as part of the PSUAlert system are ‘timely warnings’ intended to alert the campus community to reportable crimes as defined by the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security and Campus Crime Statistics Act. Under the Clery Act, crimes within a certain geographic area that pose serious or continuing threats to a community should be disclosed to community members. Timely warnings, which apply to incidents that have already occurred, are created through the PSUAlert system via email and text for those enrolled in the service. Hard copies also may be posted in residence hall complexes and other buildings on campus, or published on Penn State News.
The Clery Act requires all U.S. higher education institutions to disclose certain information about campus crime and security policies. This includes issuing campus alerts, publishing annual security reports, maintaining a daily crime log, providing a daily fire log and publishing an annual fire report.
Crimes required by the Clery Act to be reported annually to the University community, include: criminal homicide; sex offenses; robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; motor vehicle theft; arson; hate crimes; dating violence; domestic violence; stalking; and arrests along with referrals for disciplinary action for any of the following: liquor law violations, drug law violations and carrying and possessing illegal weapons. Penn State’s Annual Security Report, which includes data on the aforementioned crimes, can be found here: https://www.police.psu.edu/annual-security-reports
Importantly, University Police and Public Safety issue timely warnings when a suspected crime is reported, regardless of when that crime may have occurred. The warning is based on a potential ongoing threat to or concern for the community's safety. For example, while some timely warnings may be sent days or months after an incident is alleged to have occurred, the warning is based on when the incident is reported to the police by a victim or a third-party.
If you see something, say something
Penn State encourages reporting of any misconduct. If you report misconduct, be assured that the University will protect you from retaliation. See AD67 or contact the Office of Ethics & Compliance for more information at http://www.universityethics.psu.edu/.
If at any point you are unsure of where to report a non-emergency, you should contact:
- The Office of Ethics and Compliance, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. ET: 814-867-5088.
- The Penn State Hotline, 24/7: 800-560-1637 or http://hotline.psu.edu.
A summary of types of misconduct and how to report is available at reporting.psu.edu. More information on reporting resources is available for faculty, staff, students and others via Penn State News.