Skip to content

June 10, 2026

Improving Access to Student Emergency Contact Information

The UW collects emergency contact information to support student safety and facilitate timely communication during serious or unexpected situations. All active students are required to designate two emergency contacts, so the University may reach appropriate individuals if urgent circumstances arise, such as a significant illness, injury, or other critical event.

While the purpose of emergency contact information is clear, the process for keeping it current and making it available when needed has not always been simple. This article highlights the collaborative work across UW that helped improve that process for both students and authorized staff.

The Challenge

Until recently, maintaining and accessing emergency contact information was not always as straightforward as it needed to be. The Office of the Vice President for Student Life, the primary stakeholder for Student Emergency Contacts, found that family contact data in the Student Database was often outdated, missing, or incomplete.

Historically, students were prompted to provide this information during pre-registration, which was not always the ideal time for thoughtful review. Although updates could later be made in Student Personal Services (SPS), it was not easy for students to find where to do that. SPS also allowed only one emergency contact to be entered, and it was not explicit that this contact could be any person that the student chose.

At the same time, students did not always keep their central emergency contact information up to date, and the previous system had several limitations: it only allowed one contact, did not include email addresses, did not support international phone numbers, and did not let students indicate their relationship to the contact. Because the central system could not capture all the information units needed, some offices maintained additional contact details in separate systems. In urgent situations, that made it harder for staff to quickly find the most current information.

A Collaborative Solution

Addressing this issue called for coordinated work across multiple teams to improve the student experience, strengthen data flows, support secure access, and reinforce a clearer campuswide process for maintaining emergency contact information.

  • The Office of Student Life and the Office of the University Registrar: Served as co-project sponsors. The Academic Data Domain Lead led three stakeholder summits to help define requirements, and the Office of the University Registrar’s Academic Data Management team reviewed the solution and supported communication about the change.
  • Student & Educational Technology Services (UWIT): Created an app students can access from their MyUW profile page, making it easier for them to verify and update emergency contacts in a more visible and accessible location. The team also updated impacted UWIT applications to switch from the older Student Database (SDB) dataset to the new data source.
  • Data Integrations (UWIT): Integrated emergency contact data from the new student-facing application into the Enterprise Data Warehouse, replacing the SDB dataset, which held more limited information. The team also worked with the University Registrar to define and implement appropriate security roles.
  • Reporting & Analytics (UWIT): Developed the Student Emergency Contact report in the BI Portal, providing approved stakeholders with a secure way to retrieve the information they need.

Exploring the Solutions

Student Emergency Contact App

Students can review their emergency contact information at any time through their profile page in MyUW. To launch the app and edit their information, they just need to click Edit emergency contacts from this page.

A screenshot of the Student Profile screen in MyUW. The two Emergency Contacts fields are highlighted.

 

The Student Emergency Contacts app displays the student’s current emergency contacts and allows them to edit or remove them.

A screenshot of the Emergency Contacts App.

 

When the student clicks Edit, a popup prompts them to enter the required information in the appropriate format.

A screenshot of the popup window where users can update their emergency contacts.

 

Student Emergency Contact Report – BI Portal

Approved staff are able to retrieve student emergency contact information using the Student Emergency Contact Report in the BI Portal.

A screenshot of the Student Emergency Contact Report in the BI Portal.

Accessing This Report

Emergency contact information is used only when necessary to respond to emergency situations involving a student. Access to this information is restricted to authorized University personnel and handled in accordance with University privacy standards.

If you need access, follow the special permission process outlined on the Interpretation tab for the report.

Recent Examples of Impact

The emergency contact report has already proven essential in several student emergencies. As well, students have benefited from reviewing their emergency contacts each quarter and discovering that they can update their information without barriers. And finally, the process of updating and approving access to this report has allowed us all to review standard operating principles and clarify decision-making and documentation.