A campuswide test is scheduled for the day after Labor Day at West Virginia University , but its not the kind usually associated with an institution of higher learning.
WVU officials will test the schools Web-based emergency notification system at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2.
WVU Alert employs text messaginga 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.
Our ultimate goal is that in the event of a real emergency, all text messages will be received within 10 minutes,said Rick Jackson, assistant director of University Police .
With the day of the test approaching, WVU officials are encouraging faculty, staff and students not signed up for WVU Alert to do so to allow time for their names to be verified. 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 .
The way the test will work is that at 9 a.m. Jackson will send a message labeledTEST TEST TEST .He will then observe from his computer how much time passes before service provider e2Campus submits his message to all users registered with WVU Alert.
Users who do not receive the message in a timely fashion or at all should call the WVU Help Desk at 304-293-4444.
We need to know if you do not get the message or fail to receive it in a timely manner,Jackson said.
After the text message has gone out, WVU communications units kick in gear to ensure the message reaches the entire University community. Information video screens scattered across campus automatically grab the feed within two seconds. Meanwhile, Web Services sends the message through the MIX , and News and Information Services sends an E-News to faculty and staff.
Web Services also has an emergency Web page that would replace the WVU home page in an actual emergency, said Cathy Orndorff, director of Web communications. The emergency page will be activated the day of the test for about 20 minutes, she said.
More than 10,000 people are signed up for WVU Alert, Jackson said.
Instructions for registering with the system are self-explanatory, although users should have their mobile phones handy to verify the access code once confirmation comes through. Besides the participant, the system also allows users to add one additional cell phone and e-mail address. The system is registered with every cell phone carrier in the country and takes only seconds to minutes to activate once the registration is complete.
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,Jackson said.