Over the course of just 18 minutes on Wednesday, Feb. 23, administrators from 23 Penn State campuses sent more than 102,000 PSUTXT messages to 88,771 subscribers as part of a system-wide test of the PSUTXT network.
By all accounts, the test went smoothly. All administrators were able to log into the system to send the messages, which tested the server's capacity for number of simultaneous log-ins to the PSUTXT account.
The test also gave PSUTXT administrators at all campuses the opportunity to review the procedures for sending a message. In addition, the test has benefits for subscribers and those who believe they are subscribed but never validated their subscriptions.
Anyone who received the PSUTXT test message on Wednesday afternoon and does not want to make any changes does not need to take any action. Those who have left Penn State and no longer wish to receive the messages can log into their accounts to terminate them, or e-mail AMountz@psu.edu requesting to be unsubscribed. Those who e-mail should be sure to include their name and cell phone number in their message.
Those who were expecting to receive a PSUTXT message but didn't get the message likely have unvalidated accounts. Validation is necessary for subscriptions to become active to ensure that those receiving the messages actually want them and that nobody has subscribed them without their knowledge. It also confirms that the cell phone number and carrier information was entered correctly so messages can be delivered to the subscriber.
Anyone who initiated a subscription to PSUTXT but did not receive the test message on Feb. 23 should log into the PSUTXT system by going to http://live.psu.edu/psutxt online. Penn State students, faculty and staff should click on the WebAccess link near the top of that page to login or to create an account using their Penn State access account ID and password. Anyone without a Penn State access account should login or create an account at http://live.psu.edu/psutxt online.
Once logged in, they should update their cell phone information, and then click on "Services" to have a new validation code sent. Once they receive the validation code, they need to enter it on the registration page on the website to complete the process and validate their accounts.
Subscribers who continue to have difficulty validating their account should visit http://omnilertsupport.com/e2campus/ online.
For more information, send an e-mail to AMountz@psu.edu.