Emergency & Crisis Communications

Your safety matters. Hennepin Tech has established a two-part Emergency Notification system as part of our All Hazards planning.

AlertAware vs. StarAlert

What's the Difference?

Hennepin Tech uses two alert systems, and each serves a different purpose.

AlertAware delivers emergency response alerts related to immediate life safety (lockdowns, evacualtions, active threats, all-clear messages). These are time-sensitive and require quick action.

StarAlert delivers operational updates about campus status (weather closures, severe storms, power outages, or class cancellations).

Both systems are essential. Having both ensures you are informed and prepared for any situation that affects our campus community.

If I sign up for both StarAlert and AlertAware, will I get all my messages from Hennepin Tech sent to my phone?

StarAlert and AlertAware are not the same as opting-in to receive text messages about important student-related information from Hennepin Tech.

It is important to check your student email and D2L portal regularly to stay up-to-date with messages about your classes. If you are a student who prefers getting some of your important student-related messages by test, you should sign up in your eServices portal.

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How it works

Star Alert Emergency Notification system sends messages to you through cell phone text messaging and/or email during emergencies that threaten life, safety, or severely impact normal campus operations. These messages may be weather related warnings involving severe thunderstorms, winter storms, tornadoes, or other situations that cause the campus to be closed. There is also a test message that is periodically sent out.

Stay Safe, Stay Informed

Everyone who regularly comes to Hennepin Tech is urged to register for this valuable service. In addition to sharing emergency information prior to you arriving on the campus, it also supports wireless notification in a timely manner in the event that the campus computer and telephone systems are compromised for any reason.

Notification is brief in size, specifies it is a StarAlert message, specifies to which campus it impacts, what action to take, and where to find additional information.

This system has been implemented across the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system so you can enroll at each institution that you are affiliated with to receive StarAlert messages from each of them.