UF plans second test of emergency notification system Friday

October 29, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida will conduct another test of its emergency notification system on Friday in an effort to improve on the results from Wednesday’s test.

A test message will be sent to students, faculty and staff via only text messaging during normal business hours on Friday. There will be no e-mail or postings on the UF homepage, UF Facebook page or UF Twitter accounts.

Officials with Blackboard Connect, the company that manages the university’s text messaging service, said they have already enhanced the software to improve Wednesday’s less than optimal response time and are prepared to make Friday’s test a success.

“It is critical for the University of Florida to quickly reach students and staff,” said Ed Miller, president of Blackboard Connect. “We are committed to thoroughly test the service with University of Florida and optimize it to ensure the fastest performance possible. Yesterday’s test was a benchmark from which we expect to provide significant improvement.”

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to update their emergency contact information in MyUFL. Updates can be made at MyUFL, then by clicking on My Account and Update Emergency Contact. Everyone is encouraged to add the five-digit number “23177” to his or her cell phone contact list and name it “UFAlert.” This will assist in identifying future, authorized UF text messages on your mobile phone.

If you don’t receive a text message but have previously entered your information in MyUFL, text “SUBSCRIBE UFAlert” to 23177, and registered UF subscribers will receive a text message indicating their cell number is in the system.

The emergency text messaging system is used only in cases where a threat is confirmed and has the potential to affect the entire campus. In the event of an emergency or disaster affecting campus, the UF Homepage is the official source of UF emergency-related information.