Alerts

The GW Drupal supports two distinct categories of alerts to ensure important information reaches the appropriate audiences effectively.

University-Wide Alerts

University-wide alerts are institution-level notifications that appear across all GW Drupal sites. These alerts are managed exclusively by the Web Strategy and Support team in partnership with GW Leadership and are reserved for information of broad institutional importance.

University-wide alerts are available in three severity levels, each distinguished by color coding:

Green (Awareness): Used for general announcements and informational updates that benefit the entire university community but do not require immediate action.

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Yellow (Advisory): Designated for important notifications that require attention from the university community, such as policy updates, service changes, or upcoming events that may impact normal operations. 

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Red (Alert): Reserved for urgent, time-sensitive information requiring immediate attention, such as emergency notifications, critical system outages, or safety-related announcements. 

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Note: Only the Web Strategy and Support team can create, modify, or remove university-wide alerts. Site administrators cannot manage these alerts at the individual site level.

Local Alerts

Local alerts are highly visible, site-specific notifications that can be created and managed by designated school or unit web leads. These alerts are designed to communicate important, time-sensitive information relevant to the specific audience of an individual site or department. 

Local alerts should be used for:

• School or department-specific announcements
• Program updates relevant to specific audiences
• Local service disruptions or changes
• Events or deadlines pertaining to particular schools or units
• Other notifications that impact a defined subset of the university community

Web leads with appropriate permissions can add, edit, and remove local alerts for their respective sites through the standard content management interface.

Example of a local alert 

Best Practices 

When implementing either type of alert, consider the following guidelines: 

• Use alerts sparingly to maintain their effectiveness and avoid alert fatigue. 
• Ensure alert content is concise and actionable 
• Remove or update alerts promptly when information becomes outdated 
• Choose the appropriate alert type and severity level based on the scope and urgency of the information. 

For questions about university-wide alerts, contact the Web Strategy and Support team. For assistance with local alerts, consult your designated web lead or refer to the content management training materials.