Emergency Email Notification System

As a part of its continuing effort to strengthen its emergency preparedness procedure, UCLA has been working toward creating an campus-wide emergency email notification system capable of reaching the bulk of the campus community via email. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 crisis, AIS, working collaboratively with Mail, Document & Distribution Services, University Communications, Communications Technology Services, and departmental email administrators, developed an automated system for disseminating urgent messages in a timely, efficient, and secure manner to all valid email addresses registered on campus. This system is one of several communications tools available for use in the event of a major emergency affecting the campus or the surrounding community.

The EENS uses a "shotgun" approach to send its messages. Instead of targeting individual email addresses, EENS sends its messages to specific mailing lists set up on each campus email server and rely on those lists to forward the messages to recipients within their service domains. This method creates a less targeted, but much faster and broader delivery, well suited for an emergency situation where the timely delivery of the message to the broadest possible audience is critical.

Access to the EENS is highly restricted. The Chancellor's office authorizes each message sent via this system. At this point, only the Media Relations office, with explicit instruction from the Chancellor's office, can send a message via this system.