The Davis campus will conduct a test of UC Davis WarnMe at noon Thursday, Oct. 1, as it transitions to a new vendor for the emergency alerting system and incorporates a mobile application for sending push notifications to users.
UC Davis Health will issue a concurrent test for its faculty, staff and students.
BEFORE THE TEST
- Update your WarnMe contact information, and, if you’re an employee, review your directory listing.
- Download and set up the Everbridge Mobile App from the App Store or Google Play.
- If you don’t have a ucdavis.edu email account, subscribe for Davis campus alerts.
- Subscribe for group-specific text alerts if you’re affiliated with Bodega Marine Lab, Tahoe Environmental Research Center, or Continuing and Professional Education.
- Adjust your email junk filter and add the text shortcodes as mobile phone contacts.
- Download a brochure about emergency communications at UC Davis.
Before the test, members of the campus community and others are urged to add or update contact information, subscribe for specific services and download the mobile app.
With the move to Everbridge, UC Davis becomes one of the global company’s more than 5,300 customers in business, government, health care and public safety that employ its software platform to provide emergency alerts and help manage their response to critical events.
As part of the university’s comprehensive emergency management program, the campus uses WarnMe and Aggie Alert messages to help meet the need for urgent communications.
In addition to introducing broadcast notifications through the mobile app, the campus will continue to send WarnMe and Aggie Alert messages by email, text message and social media.
Clement Stokes, director of Emergency Management and Mission Continuity, encouraged people to update WarnMe contact information with personal contact information in addition to desk phones, work mobiles and official email addresses.
“The contact information you provide now and keep up to date becomes the vital link to reach you in an emergency with timely information and instructions,” Stokes said.
Text messages for parents, vendors and others
Parents, vendors and others without a ucdavis.edu email account can subscribe to receive WarnMe and Aggie Alert text messages only that are sent by the Davis campus and some other UC Davis locations. Select the group and text the associated code that follows to 888777.
- Davis campus — UCDAlerts
- Bodega Marine Laboratory — BMLAlerts
- Tahoe Environmental Research Center — TERCAlerts
- Continuing and Professional Education — CPEAlerts
Current subscribers for any of the alerts above will be sent a text message with this information prior to the test.
Test details
On Oct. 1, the dispatch center on the Davis campus will distribute the test messages by email, text and social media to those affiliated with the Davis campus and the self-subscribing groups.
The messages will indicate that they are a part of a test. While the longer email message will invite recipients to become familiar with the emergency alerting system and update or add contact information, no response will be required.
To prevent your email software from handling the test and future messages as spam, adjust the junk mail filter to accept messages from UC Davis WarnMe and Aggie Alert.
Text messages are sent using the short codes 87844 and 89361. Enter these codes as contacts in your phone to ensure it recognizes WarnMe messages.
Safety features on the mobile app
The Everbridge Mobile App is customized to UC Davis and is available to those with a ucdavis.edu email account. With its push notifications, the app is an important option for those whose mobile number is international, Stokes said. WarnMe does not send text messages to international numbers.
In addition to receiving push notifications for WarnMe and Aggie Alert messages, users will be able to access features customized to UC Davis including buttons to:
- Make a direct call to the emergency phone line for the UC Davis Police Department
- Dial the nonemergency phone line for the UC Davis Police Department
- Access the emergency status phone line for a recorded message about the status of the campus
- Link to the UC Davis News and Information webpage
The Everbridge Mobile App can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play. After installing the app:
- Find and select UC Davis as the organization
- You will be prompted to log in with UC Davis Kerberos credentials at the Central Authentication Service (CAS)
- After that, you may need to authenticate through DUO
The campus schedules regular tests of WarnMe each academic quarter. The fall test is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Implementation
Stokes said his emergency management unit, part of Safety Services, has led a monthslong implementation. It has involved the UC Davis Police Department; staff in emergency management, information technology and communications on the Davis and Sacramento campuses; and representatives of the Bodega Marine Laboratory and the Tahoe Environmental Research Center.
A UC Davis database of records for more than 83,000 campus affiliates has been prepared to operate with the Everbridge platform, and more than 50 people have trained to support the system and send messages.
Until Oct. 1, the campus will continue to use its current vendor, Rave Mobile Safety, to distribute any emergency messages and the Aggie Guardian mobile app for personal safety that it supports. A few days after the test, the campus will discontinue using Rave and its mobile app.