Emergency message system test successful

A test of the newly created Emergency/Event Notification System, EEN, which is intended to warn faculty, staff and students of emergency situations on campus, was executed according to plan Tuesday afternoon.

"They (text messages and e-mails) all went out without a hitch," said Robin Kaler, University spokeswoman.

A combined total of 29,193 text messages and e-mails were sent out in 26 minutes and 41 seconds when the test began at 1 p.m.

Not everyone who signed up for the EEN system was included in Tuesday's test.

"It was a random test," Kaler said. "This group included all faculty and staff who were registered and a sampling of students."

Participants in Tuesday afternoon's test will have a chance to comment on the system by participating in a survey that accompanied all e-mails sent out as part of the test.

The survey should be filled out by Wednesday evening. It will not be available afterward.

The University is already planning to have further tests of the system in the future and will begin sifting through the comments from users Wednesday evening, Kaler said.

Students, faculty and staff have been urged to sign up to receive the notifications by logging on to emergency.illinois.edu and entering their contact information. Authorized campus officials will be able to send thousands of emergency messages to registered users at the first sign of an occurrence that may jeopardize the safety of the campus. Registered users can receive notifications via text message and e-mail.

The EEN is part of the University's efforts to upgrade its practices and guidelines for dealing with potential threats on campus following the April shooting at Virginia Tech. In addition to the messaging system, a pop-up window for University Web sites is being developed to further alert students, faculty and staff who may not be signed up for the notification service.

Angelina Cole contributed to this report