UNC-Chapel Hill officials responsible for the university’s emergency alert system haven’t received annual training on threat-notification requirements under federal law, according to an internal audit obtained by The Assembly.
The audit, completed in December, found that UNC-CH was not in compliance with part of the UNC System’s regulation on “campus emergency communication and alert systems.” That policy, enacted last February, requires designated emergency officials at each system university to receive yearly training on the portion of the Clery Act that says colleges must notify their communities of certain crimes on campus or nearby.
UNC-CH’s designated officials have not received that particular training since November 2022, the audit found. Darrell Jeter, director of emergency management and planning, told The Assembly that a “wide range of trainings did occur” on campus crime alerts during that time, but they did not align with the system’s requirements.
The audit came more than two years after a fatal shooting on the UNC-CH campus exposed what some faculty and students said were shortcomings in the school’s emergency response.
In a survey conducted by the university in the weeks after the August 28, 2023, shooting, the campus community identified several ways they felt the Alert Carolina notification system could be improved, including by making the language in emergency alerts more precise. The system came under more scrutiny about 10 months after the shooting, when the school sent a notification in error that said there was an armed and dangerous person on campus.
The university has made several updates to the Alert Carolina system since the 2023 shooting, including changing the language it uses for emergency notifications.
UNC System policy states that each university’s chancellor must designate “a campus law enforcement or other campus public safety official” as the primary emergency alert authority for their campus, and at least two others must serve as “principal backups.” Those officials must receive annual training on the Clery Act notification requirements, per the policy. Jeter did not identify UNC-Chapel Hill’s designated authorities but said they are part of the campus safety department.
There are two types of notifications that schools might send under the federal law: a timely warning, which provides notification of a “serious or ongoing threat” to campus, or an emergency notification, which provides confirmation “of an immediate threat to the health and safety of the campus community.”
“The university has not yet deployed the mandated annual training prescribed by the UNC System for campus emergency alert authorities,” the audit reads. “The lack of training may lead to untrained personnel and outdated training materials.”
The audit states that Jeter plans to hold a training session on the Clery Act requirements by June 30.
“The finding from the audit identified an opportunity for us to enhance our training and exercise program specific to campus alert authorities,” Jeter said in an email to The Assembly. “Plans for this training, including a routine schedule, are still in development.”
UNC System spokesperson Andy Wallace said in an email that campuses are still working to implement the system’s new policy, undertaking the “normal process of aligning training language, documentation, and schedules with the updated framework.”
“The UNC System supports UNC-Chapel Hill’s efforts and sees the campus as engaged, responsive, and where it needs to be as this work moves forward,” Wallace said. “More broadly, this is part of a positive, systemwide commitment to strengthen emergency preparedness and ensure campuses are prepared to communicate effectively during emergencies.”