A record 5,000-plus freshmen will converge on the West Virginia University campus this weekend, and WVU officials want to make sure they have an enjoyable, but safe experience here.

With that in mind, University Police are encouraging first-year and returning students to sign up for WVU Alert , a Web-based emergency notification system implemented last year.

The system employs text messagingthe most popular means of communication among todays studentsto warn faculty, staff and students about any act that puts the WVU community in imminent danger. This includes major crimes, emergencies and weather delays.

To sign up, students can go to Mountaineer Information Xpress and click on the emergency alert system icon. Faculty and staff should go to http://emergency.wvu.edu/alert .

Its critical to sign up for this system because this gives students and employees the ability to receive emergency information faster than they can get it from any other source,Capt. Rick Jackson said.

Furthermore, the students can register a secondary device with the system so their parents can also be notified of any emergency on campus, he added.

Some 9,840 people are signed up for WVU Alert, Jackson said. The service is provided by e2Campus , with technical support from WVU Web Services .

University Police and Web Services will staff an information table as part of University Welcome Sunday, Aug. 17, to explain the system to freshmen and help them register. Sign-ups will be from 1-2 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. in the Coliseum concourse area.

WVU regularly tests the system by sending out a mock alert. The next test is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2. More information will be forthcoming.

In addition to signing up for WVU Alert, University Police also suggest students adopt some common-sense safety habits to prevent being victims of a crime.

These safety measures include locking residences and vehicles, walking in groups, avoiding dimly lit areas, being responsible when it comes to drinking alcohol and refraining from sharing credit/debit cards or personal identification numbers.

A complete list of safety tips is available at http://police.wvu.edu/safety_on_campus ””:http://police.wvu.edu/StayingSafe.cfm .