Stay Informed

The George Washington University uses a number of tools to notify students, staff, faculty, and community members of emergency situations and safety-related information. Environmental Health & Safety partners with internal and external units, including External Relations and the Division of IT to communicate emergency information.


GW Campus Advisories: Campus Advisories is the university's primary website used for communicating emergency preparedness and incident-related information to the GW community. You can visit this site for updates and changes in university status, adverse weather conditions, important issues concerning safety, and anything else that may disrupt normal operations.


GW Alert: The university notification system sends emergency alerts to e-mail addresses, cell phones (text messages), institutional IP desk and residence hall phones, social media and university web pages. Students, faculty, and staff should keep their contact information up to date by logging into the GW Alert Portal using your GW NetID and password.

GW Alert Instructions & FAQ

In addition to GW Alert, you can sign up to receive alerts from your local jurisdiction.

  • CAPITALERT.gov is a clearinghouse for emergency alert systems in the National Capital Region including the District of Columbia's AlertDC.
  • Wireless Emergency Alerts may be issued by the National Weather Service (for severe weather alerts in your current location) or by the President of the United States. These alerts will be received on any WEA-capable devices.

InfoMail: Infomail is used to communicate non-emergency safety and security-related information.


Guardian App:  GW Guardian is a smart phone app that provides an additional layer of safety to the university's emergency mass notification services. The app enables users on an off campus to: receive targeted advisories and alerts from GW Division of Safety and Facilities; connect directly with GW Police and EMeRG; access a directory of key phone numbers and websites; set a Safety Timer and assign a virtual Guardian to monitor the user's safety late at night or while traveling; and other features.


Twitter/Facebook:  The social media platforms Twitter / Facebook are used to communicate non-emergency safety and security-related information.

Information is posted to the main university Twitter account (@GWTweets). This information is sometimes also posted to the main university Facebook page.


GW Information Line: You can call the GW Information Line for updates and changes in university status, adverse weather conditions, important issues concerning safety, and anything else that may disrupt normal operations. A recorded information line, the 202-994-5050 line provides a message regarding the university's status and any pertinent information. The Information Line number for Virginia Science and Technology Campus is (571-553-8333) and the Information Line number for the Biostatistics Center is (301-881-9260). 


Media Outlets: GW may contact local media outlets with updates and changes to the university's operating status. Follow your local news outlet.