The app, dubbed Safe@UTC, features a panic button function, ride requests, remote monitoring for walking across campus and other resources, Brett Fuchs, director of emergency management, threat assessment and safety, said.
"The hope is that, you know, we'll get more good information early on," Fuchs said by phone. "One of the greatest features of the app is the ability to share that information with us."
The panic button contained in the app allows the user to instantaneously stream video to first responders, according to a press release.
Other features of the new app include a function called Safe Walk that shares the user's location with first responders who will remotely monitor the user to ensure safety, according to the press release. Users can also request a ride from campus police.
The university's new emergency management system includes replacing an old panic alarm system with wearable panic buttons that will be placed with faculty in offices and high traffic areas, as well as computer-based and wall-mounted buttons.
The computer-based panic alarm system will be implemented on university-owned computers. Wall-mounted panic buttons will likely be similar to fire alarms but blue, Fuchs said. The computer system has not been rolled out yet, and the university is still determining where the wall-mounted buttons will be located, Fuchs said.
Safe@UTC replaced a former iteration of a safety app, SafeMocs, that had similar features but not all — the former app had a way to call for emergency help, but no panic button built in. The new app is just one component of a larger system that the university swapped to, which includes the physical panic buttons as well as updates to the emergency notification process.
The system change comes after the university switched vendors. Though the switch happened a semester after the active shooter hoax on campus in August, Fuchs said that was not a factor. The university had prepared to switch during the summer of 2025 to roll out the new system during the fall 2025 semester.
"Everybody wants to correlate it to the 21st of August, but it actually wasn't," Fuchs said. "We were actually hoping to roll it out before that, but because of some internal pieces, making sure all those integrations work like we wanted them to, that got a little bit delayed."
A UTC email is required to register for the app. Fuchs said there is no way to prevent people from falsely activating the system, but the app administrators can track the panic button back to an email address if there is a false alarm. Fuchs said even if a situation seems like a false alarm, officials always want to make sure people are safe.
"If that means responding and checking things out, we're always going to do that," Fuchs said. "Safety's always going to be our No. 1 priority."
As of Tuesday afternoon, just under 400 people had registered for the app. Fuchs expects that number to increase significantly after the university starts posting about it on social media, he said.
"We want all of our students and employees to download the app as soon as possible," Fuchs said, "so when they need it, it's there and they're not rushing to find access to it at an emergency time."
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