Maintaining a safe and secure campus at which to learn, work, live, and play is of the highest priority for the University of Vermont. The numbers of people, the size of the campus, and the variety of activities that occur within its facilities and on its grounds cause UVM to function much like a small municipality. As such, the University has adopted and continually refines with constituent input the following measures to complement personal preparedness and good common sense:
The University of Vermont Safety and Security Philosophy
Police Department
The University maintains a high-quality, nationally accredited, service-oriented, and institutionally supervised law enforcement presence on the campus in the form of UVM Police Services. Police dispatchers serve as the state-certified 911 answering point for the campus and also dispatch UVM Rescue. The department offers a wide variety of crime prevention training initiatives to the campus.
LiveSafe App
The LiveSafe app is a versatile mobile two-way safety communications platform and safety tool. It provides campus community members the ability to share information with campus safety partners, including calling or messaging Police for emergency help from anywhere. It's like having a Blue Light in your pocket! The SafeWalk feature provides a 24/7 virtual escort tool for walking, biking, or riding.
LiveSafe also allows anonymous reporting and sharing of photos or videos, and one place to connect with departments other than Police, including Campus Victim's Advocate, mental health resources, bias and harrassment reporting, and reporting concern for another student. Download today!
Blue Light Units
Scattered throughout the campus are fixed Blue Light call boxes intended to provide two-way communications with the Police dispatcher. The campus blue light system was originally installed about 20 years ago, prior to widespread use of cell phones and current messaging and communication technologies. As we look at comprehensive, contemporary campus safety and security strategies there are several tools and technologies that are central to the effort. The blue light system, which is difficult to maintain due to age, availability of parts, and susceptibility to environmental impacts and damage, is no longer central to our strategy.
Mass Notification
The University has licensed a multi-modal alerting system (e-mail, text messaging, phone calls, fax, etc.) to be used to notify the campus community of pending or current emergency situations, and to provide directions (ie. evacuate or shelter-in-place). Campus constituents may sign-up at no cost to be alerted to an emergency via various means.
CATcard Access System
The non-public spaces (sleeping floors) of the residence halls are kept locked on a 24-hour basis and are accessible only via the CATcard Access System (i.e., by using the UVM ID card). All major academic and administrative buildings, the public areas of the residence halls, and some student laboratories are only accessible after hours via the same system.
Campus Area Transportation System (CATS)
CATS provides safe and convenient shuttle service to students, staff, faculty, and visitors. Routes accommodate the needs of riders on-campus whenever the University is open and off-campus during the fall and spring semesters. UVM affiliates are also provided fare-free access to all CCTA buses with their University ID card.
Safety and Security Initiatives
A variety of safety and security initiatives have been employed by the Dean of Students office, the Women’s Center, the Mosaic Center for Students of Color, the Greek organizations, and various student clubs and organizations to complement police initiatives and security technologies.