PennAlert

PPSA supports Public Safety in this initiative and would like to provide the following information to those who have registered with Penn Alert:

What you can expect and how to respond to your UPenn Alert messages:

• UPennAlert test messages will be sent simultaneously via text to your cell phone and voice message to your office phone (if applicable)
  • You will be asked to respond to the text message with a unique 5 character alpha code listed in the original message.
  • You will be asked to respond to the voice message by listening to the message and pressing “1.”
    
• If you respond to each message, the test will be completed and you will not receive additional messages. If you respond to the voice message sent to your office phone but do not respond to the text message, the test will continue and you will receive alerts on your other registered devices.
  
• A UPennAlert test message will be sent via email if you don’t respond to the text message.
  • To respond, insert “1”into the body of the email response and send.
    
• A UPennAlert test message will be sent via voice message to your cell phone if you don’t respond to the email.
  • To respond, listen to the entire message and press “1.”
    
• The test message will cycle through text, email, and cell phone voice message in four minute intervals until a response is received, or for a maximum of two times.

For detailed test instructions and information about UPennAlert, visit the Division of Public Safety’s website – http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/

Faculty and staff can update their information at http://www.upenn.edu/directories/
Click on “Update Directory Listings” and log in using your PennKey.

On behalf of Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli and Provost Ron Daniels:

We are very pleased to announce the implementation of a new emergency notification system, called PennAlert, which will enable fast and efficient dissemination of critical information to members of the University community during a major emergency. The Virginia Tech tragedy and other events nationwide have demonstrated how vitally important it is for us to have an emergency notification system that can reach people wherever they are located.

PennAlert will allow the University to send simultaneous alerts in minutes through text messaging, voicemail and email to numerous devices, such as cell phones, landline phones, fax machines and PDAs, and permits two-way communication between each recipient and the University. It provides our students, staff and faculty with an additional layer of security and protection in emergency response, in conjunction with our already well-established emergency communication methods, such as University-wide broadcast emails, online updates via the Penn homepage, coordinated use of public media outlets, and public address systems within all College Houses.

The effectiveness of the system depends upon individuals providing accurate and up-to-date personal contact information. We urge you to be sure to register your cell phone numbers, home phones and personal email addresses so that University officials can communicate with you wherever you happen to be. Please take a few minutes now to register or update your contact information. All information is secure and confidential.

Students can register through Penn InTouch via the Penn Portal at http://www.upenn.edu/penn_portal/

Faculty and staff can register at http://www.upenn.edu/directories. Click on "Update Directory Listings" and log in using your PennKey.

For more information, including detailed instructions on how to register emergency contact information, as well as Frequently Asked Questions, visit the Division of Public Safety website at http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu. The PennAlert system will only be used to communicate information in the event of a major campus or local emergency.

The University will conduct a campus-wide test of this new system during the fall semester.