WSU conducting first systemwide emergency alert system test Oct. 1

Washington State University will conduct the first-ever systemwide test of its emergency alert system later this week.

Faculty, staff, and students based on each physical campus, as well as at satellite locations, will receive notification of the test via email as well as to any phone numbers registered in the university's alert system.

These alerts will be staggered throughout the day, with the following schedule:

• 8 a.m. - Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center
• 9 a.m. - WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research & Extension Center
• 10 a.m. - WSU Vancouver
• 11 a.m. - WSU Tri-Cities
• 12:05 p.m. - WSU Spokane
• 1 p.m. WSU Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center
• 1:30 p.m. - WSU Everett
• 2 p.m. - WSU Pullman
• 3 p.m. WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center

The systemwide test will help evaluate how effective the current system is at alerting members of the WSU community across the state. The goal is to make sure everyone based at a WSU location receives relevant alerts, which is pivotal in the event of a real emergency.

WSU recently moved from an opt-in emergency alerts system to an opt-out approach. This means individuals must log-in to Everbridge - the university's emergency alerts provider - to make changes to which phone numbers they receive alerts to. Emergency alerts go to all wsu.edu email addresses for the corresponding location, and cannot be opted out.

More information on Everbridge, including how to make changes to contact information, is available via an overview page contained on Confluence. Anyone with questions about the emergency alert system or who want to review their contact information is advised to reach out to emergency management staff via email.