Update Nov. 7, 2011: UC Davis emergency officials announced that the WarnMe test has been postponed to Tuesday, Nov. 29, to allow more time for advance preparation, given recent changes made to computer servers and storage devices that process the WarnMe messages.

UC Davis plans a test next week of the university's WarnMe emergency alerting service. The test is scheduled to begin shortly before noon on Wednesday (Nov. 9), with electronic messages going out to students and employees on the Davis and Sacramento campuses and at other facilities.

Between now and the test, campus emergency officials urge faculty, staff and students to check to make sure that their e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers are registered with WarnMe and up to date. Some people may need to configure their computers' junk mail filters, to ensure that WarnMe messages get through to inboxes.

Introduced in 2008, UC Davis WarnMe is part of the university's comprehensive emergency management program and among the ways that the university can alert students and employees to an emergency and provide important information.

Nick Crossley, manager of the emergency management and mission continuity program for the Davis campus, said the annual test checks the performance of the service, raises awareness about the service, and reminds students and employees to update their contact information.

Officials said a public safety dispatcher will direct the WarnMe service to send test messages to more than 88,000 work and personal e-mail addresses, some 28,000 SMS text devices and more than 900 pagers. Voice messages will not be sent to phones for this test.

The test messages will indicate that it they are just that — test messages. E-mail messages will request a response and provide instructions; the messages also will invite recipients to complete a seven-question online survey.

The "from" line will indicate that the messages are from "UC Davis POLICE." Delivery to all e-mail addresses is expected to be complete within 10 minutes, and to SMS text devices within six minutes, Crossley said.

In a real emergency, WarnMe will tell recipients the nature of the emergency, provide instructions and refer the recipients to a source for more information.

Make sure you get WarnMe messages

To make sure you get WarnMe messages, you should add or update your contact information to the system.

WarnMe uses employees' work contact information from the university's online directory, students' e-mail addresses, and personal contact information that students and employees provide voluntarily.

Although campus e-mail servers are set up so that WarnMe messages will not be tagged as spam and blocked, the e-mail software on individual computers may still label the messages as spam. To prevent WarnMe messages from being deleted or sent to a junk mail folder, computer users should adjust the junk mail filter in their e-mail software.

For help configuring your computer’s spam filters, contact your departmental tech support or follow instructions specific to your e-mail software. Also, the IT Express Computing Services Help Desk is available to provide assistance at (530) 754-HELP (4357).

More information about WarnMe is available online or by e-mailing warnme@ucdavis.edu. Other resources include a brochure (available for download) about preparing to play your part in emergency communications at UC Davis.

National test the same day

The WarnMe test is planned the same day as the first nationwide test of the national Emergency Alert System.

At 11 a.m. local time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission plan to broadcast a test message on the Emergengy Alert System, established for the purpose of carrying presidential addresses, and local alerts from the National Weather Service, and state and local authorities.

Similar to local EAS tests that are already conducted frequently, the nationwide test will involve broadcast radio and television stations, cable television, satellite radio and television services, and wire-line video service providers across all states and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa.

Read more about the national test.