Beginning in April, the Hawk Alert system will no longer utilize office phone numbers as a primary form of communication, officials announced Monday in a press release.

Students, faculty, and staff have several different choices about how they will receive Hawk Alert messages, which provide warnings about community threats to physical safety in emergency situations such as hazardous materials, severe weather, or violence. These options include mobile phone (including voice and text messages), home phone, office phone, work e-mail and/or personal e-mail.

The option to receive messages via office phone will become automatically disabled for all UI phone numbers, but students and faculty or staff members who choose to keep the option may re-select the applicable box on the Hawk Alert preferences page. UI officials recommend those who do not carry a mobile phone or work in an area where a strong mobile signal is not available continue to utilize an office phone number as their default Hawk Alert setting.

The Hawk Alert System will undergo a test April 7. Students, faculty, and staff are being asked to add or verify Hawk Alert contact information before April 5.

— by Kellie Petersen