Penn State to Conduct University-wide Test of PSUTXT System
Penn State Behrend is participating in March 31 test
Just as the Emergency Broadcast System periodically runs tests on radio and television stations, Penn State plans to test the PSUTXT text-messaging system to help ensure its functionality in a true emergency.
“Testing of the system also raises awareness of the system, increases the confidence of responders and provides insight into the weaknesses and strengths of a plan. Testing will help to proactively identify and resolve any issues,” said Annemarie Mountz, assistant director of Public Information, Penn State University Park.
At 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 31, PSUTXT administrators from each campus will log into the system and send a message that will clearly be marked as a test. “Having 26 people log into the system at once to send messages to each of the alert categories will test the company’s server, to make sure it can handle that sort of demand,” Mountz said. She said that e2Campus, the company that hosts the PSUTXT service for Penn State, is aware of the upcoming test.
Penn State’s PSUTXT was launched in August 2006 and currently has more than 38,000 valid subscribers. However, not everyone who thinks they’re subscribed actually is.
“There are a number of subscriptions in the system that remain unvalidated,” said Mountz. “These people have not yet successfully completed the validation process, so they are not set up to receive PSUTXT messages although they may think they are. This test also will help to make those people aware that their PSUTXT accounts are not active and they need to complete their subscription validations.”
Those who receive the test message on March 31 do not need to take any action.
Anyone who does not receive the test message on March 31, but believes they should have, should log into the PSUTXT system by going to http://newswires.psu.edu/ and clicking on the “PSUTXT LOGIN” button at the bottom of the page.
“Once logged in, subscribers should update their cell phone information, and then click on ‘Services’ to have a new validation code sent,” said Ara Bagdasarian, president of e2Campus. “Once they receive the validation code, they need to enter it on the registration page on the Web site to complete the process and validate their accounts.”
Validating the cell phone at the time of opt-in serves three purposes. It verifies that users have an active text messaging service on their accounts; ensures that only the person who owns the mobile phone is signing up for the service; and ensures that the user has correctly keyed in their cell phone number.
Subscribers who have had difficulty receiving text alerts to date can also check their accounts by going through this process prior to the March 31 test text. Subscribers who continue to have difficulty validating their account should visit http://omnilertsupport.com/e2campus/ online.
Anyone who has not yet subscribed to PSUTXT should go to http://newswires.psu.edu/ and click on the “PSUTXT REGISTER” button at the bottom of the page to sign up.
- Select the “Erie Alerts” box to receive alerts related to Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.
- If you do not wish to receive alerts from the University Park campus, be sure to uncheck the “University Park alerts” box; University Park alerts are selected for everyone by default.
- Subscribers can select as many alerts as they like.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a comprehensive residential college offering 32 baccalaureate, six associate, four pre-professional and two graduate degree programs with 22 minors to more than 4,400 students. Focused on providing a student-centered environment, Penn State Behrend is the link that connects its students to a major research and land-grant institution on a campus enriched by more than 110 clubs and organizations, 21 NCAA varsity teams, 19 intramural sports and modern facilities. Penn State Behrend is named as such due to a donation by Mary Behrend, widow of Ernst Behrend, who founded the Hammermill Paper Co. in Erie in 1898. The Behrend family lived on the 400-acre Glenhill Farm, which is the core of the Penn State Behrend campus today. For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.