Download WVM Alert FAQs
WVM Alert Frequently
Asked Questions 7/19/17
1. What is WVM Alert?
WVM Alert is the Campus emergency messaging system used by
West Valley and Mission colleges to ALERT students, faculty, staff, contractors
and visitors of emergencies and other situations affecting our campuses.
As a part of this service you
will periodically receive text, voice and email messages. The system is tested
twice per semester and used for actual emergencies as necessary.
Messages are sent by West
Valley Mission Community College District Police, Emergency Management
personnel, the Public Information Officer or other trained staff.
This service is compatible
with the products and services provided by AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless,
T-Mobile, and most other mobile phone carriers. A complete list of supported
carriers is displayed during phone registration.
2. How are the
messages sent to me?
Due to the mobile nature of many campus affiliates, cell
phones are often the best way to reach the campus population during an
emergency. Campus safety officials will use voice calls and text messages to
cell phones to ensure delivery and comprehension of the message. Email messages
and office phones may also be used.
CREATE A CONTACT ON
YOUR PHONE for WVM Alert. The phone
number will always be the same 408-855-5544.
That way you will know it is WVM Alert calling.
WVM Alert is not the only way we notify you of emergencies.
If you hear the fire alarm – evacuate the
building
If you hear instructions via the public address
system – follow the instructions given. The
PA system is not available in every campus building at this time.
If a classroom phone rings – answer it and
follow instructions
If you are asked to take action by a Campus Emergency
Response Team member wearing a reflective vest – follow their directions
If you see instructions on the campus electronic
signs or campus website – take appropriate action
If
you receive a message on Social Media (campus Facebook or Twitter) - be sure
the message is from an Official source (campus police, campus President, etc)
before taking action.
3. What situations
prompt a WVM Alert?
Situations could include
Lockdown – Active Shooter - Run or
Hide or Fight based on situation
Building Evacuation
Campus Closure
Shelter in Place - Event requiring
everyone to stay indoors (different from a Lockdown)
Semester System Test
4. What should I do
when I receive a WVM Alert?
Each situation requires a different set of actions.
Watch the Campus Safety Video on the District website at www.wvm.edu/emergency and click on “Safety Training”.
You’ll find detailed Emergency Guidelines and other emergency information under
“Emergency Guidelines”. There are also posters positioned around campus and in
classrooms that provide instructions.
If you are driving and receive a WVM Alert pull over, when
convenient, and read or listen to the message before you enter the campus.
5. How will you send out emergency updates?
Updates about the event will
be posted on Facebook and Twitter. If
you don’t have accounts, you can still access the information via links posted
on the www.wvm.edu/emergency site
under “Emergency Info Updates”
Facebook:
• Mission
College Facebook https://m.facebook.com/pages/Mission-College/359222180118
• West
Valley College Facebook https://www.facebook.com/westvalleycollege?ref=br_tf&rf=110883848936359
• You do
not have to have a Facebook account to view the Facebook page. Just type
the link on the URL line on your web browser or save the link in your contacts.
Twitter:
• Mission
College Twitter @missioncolleges (yes, there is an “s” at the end)
• West
Valley College Twitter @WestValleyCC
• You do
not have to have a Twitter account to get updates on Twitter. Just type
the @name on the URL line on your web browser. Save it in your contacts
for reference.
Note: There is
an old twitter account called @missioncollege1, no longer in use
6. Is there a fee for this service?
The service does not charge any fees; however, your
standard mobile device charges do apply.
7. Can anyone sign up
for WVM Alert campus emergency notifications?
Anyone may sign up
for campus emergency messages sent to West Valley and/or Mission College. Click the Other Affiliates page to begin.
If you are a student, full-time staff or faculty
working the current semester, you are automatically registered. See
Question #10 for log-in information.
8. Will you
test the system?
WVM Alert is tested every
semester. You will receive an email
notice at least 24 hours before the test so you can update your College Web
Services Portal information if necessary.
All test messages clearly say “THIS IS A TEST”.
9. How will I know if I
have an account?
All students, faculty and full time staff should have an
account.
If you are a student, full-time staff or faculty working the
current semester, you are automatically registered. See Question #10 for
log-in information.
10. How do I log in for
the first time if I was automatically registered as Student/Staff/Faculty?
Click on the WVM Alert link at the top of the home page of
www.wvm.edu. The User Name is the email you use for College Web Services
Portal. Click “Forgot My
Password”. Your temporary
password will be sent to the email address. If no account exists, you
will need to Self-Register.
11. I’m trying to register but the system says I
already have an account.
If you are student, faculty or full time staff, you were
automatically loaded into the system.
Use your College Web Services Portal email address as the User Name and
Click “Forgot My Password”. Your temporary password will be sent to
your email address.
If you share an
email address with another person, only one set of contact information can
be included. You can self-register with
another email address or change your email address in College Web Services.
12. How do I add myself
to a group or change groups?
For Self-Registered users
You must ADD YOURSELF TO A GROUP. The groups are the
places where you spend your time. It's how WVM Alert knows where you are.
Do you attend classes or work at West Valley
College? You should join the West Valley Campus OPT-IN group
Do you attend classes or work at Mission
College? You should join the Mission Campus OPT-IN group.
Do you spend time on BOTH campuses? You should
join BOTH groups.
Click
on the Groups tab at the top
of your Account page.
Pick
the "Actions"
button next to the college you want to select.
(It looks like a magnifying glass).
On
the next page scroll down to the ACTIONS section and click “Join”.
If you do not add yourself to a
group, you will not receive messages! Repeat this process if you want
to join both college’s groups.
Note: The
default group WVMCCD Broadcast Alerts DOES
NOT receive alerts. Ignore this option.
Automatically
registered users are already set up in groups. If you feel you should be receiving alerts
from both campuses and are not, log in to your account and follow steps
above. See #10 to log in to your
account.
13. The system is asking me to verify my cell phone
number. Do I need to do this?
For Self-Registered
users
YES! You must follow the prompts to
verify your cell phone number and enter the confirmation code - otherwise, you
will not receive messages.
For
Automatically Registered users
No.
Verification is not necessary.
14. What is a
confirmation code?
For Self-Registered users
The confirmation
code is generated by the WVM Alert system and sent to your cell phone. You must enter the confirmation code on your
account page to activate messages to your cell phone.
For Automatically registered users
No need to
confirm you cell phone.
15. I did not receive
the confirmation code text message.
If you do not receive the confirmation code within a
couple of minutes:
Click
the “Confirm” button on the My Account page
Use
the “Click here to resend now” link provided on the Enter
Confirmation Code page.
If you still fail to receive the confirmation text message
Click
the edit button on the My Account page that
is associated with [Mobile Contact (1)]
Confirm
your mobile number and carrier are correct.
Make
changes as necessary.
Please Note: Confirmation codes are only sent
to [Mobile Contact (1)].
If you do not receive a confirmation text message after
following the above steps, your
mobile carrier may be enforcing a text messaging block on
your account. Contact your carrier and ask that messages from shortcodes 67283
and 226787 to be delivered to your mobile device.
16. If you already have
my Registration email address, why do you need a Preferred email address?
Specifying a Preferred email address allows for the
delivery of WVM Alert generated email to addresses other than the one you used
when registering for this service. If you frequently use an email account
other than the one specified within the Registration email field, we recommend
you add these addresses as Preferred email addresses. Preferred email
addresses may be added at any time within the My Account tab
under Email.
17. What are Voice Only
Line Contacts used for?
Broadcast Alerts can include a recorded voice message sent
to your Voice Only Line contacts.
When you specify a voice only line, you are requesting to receive any voice
messages included as part of a campus emergency message.
18. If I did not enter
my phone number during registration, can I go back and enter it at a later
time?
For Self-Registered users
Yes. To enter your mobile phone, visit the My Account tab, and click
the “Add” button within the Mobile
Contacts section. If you wish to provide a landline, VoIP, or
other phone that cannot receive text messages, you can enter it within
the Voice Only Line contacts section.
For
Automatically Registered users
Your phone numbers are already entered. Update them in the College Web Services
Portal.
19. How do I edit my WVM
Alert account information?
Do you have access to the College Web Services
Portal?
If your College
Web Services Portal account has current contact information, your WVM Alert
contact information will be current as well. The College Web Services Portal information
will overwrite any WVM Alert system contact edits made inside WVM Alert system.
No College Web Services Portal Access
Log-in to
your WVM Alert account and click “Edit”.
20. How do I update my information in College Web Services Portal?
1. Login to
College Web Services from the campus or District website
a. https://ssb-prod.ec.wvm.edu/PROD/twbkwbis.P_WWWLogin
2. Select Personal
Information
a. Select
Update Addresses and Phones
b. Select
Update Email Addresses
21. I’m not receiving
voice messages on my cell phone.
For Self-Registered users only
Log-in to your
account and make sure that you Confirmed
your phone number. The system must send
you a text code that you enter on the website to confirm that the phone number
is correct. Until this is done, you will
not receive calls.
Also check to see that you
registered for a GROUP. (See #12 above.)
To receive voice messages on your mobile device, click
the “Enable Voice Message Delivery” checkbox to turn on
voice alert delivery for the selected phone.
For Auto-Registered users
Confirm that your phone number is current in College Web
Services Portal. If you are still having problems, email wvm.Alert@wvm.edu.
22. I’m not
receiving text messages on my cell phone.
If you are not receiving text messages, your mobile
carrier may be enforcing a text messaging block on your account. Contact your
carrier and ask that messages from shortcodes 67283 and 226787 be delivered to
your mobile device
For Self-Registered
users
Also check to see that
you registered for a GROUP. (See #12 above.)
If you have previously texted “Stop”, and now want to
receive texts, you must delete the phone number, re-add it, and
Confirm the number (see question #13).
23. How do I change my
email address?
For Self-Registered
users
Visit the My Account tab. Within
the Email section, click the “Edit” button
associated with the email address you wish to modify. Follow the instructions
for entering your new Preferred email address.
For Auto-Registered Users
Update your email
in the College Web Services Portal.
24. How do I change my
mobile number?
For
Self-Registered Users
Visit the My Account tab, and
click the Edit button next to the mobile number you
would like to change. Enter the new mobile number you want to use in the fields
provided, and click “Continue”.
When changing Mobile Contact (1) [your primary mobile
number], you will receive a text message containing a 4-digit confirmation code.
You must enter this confirmation code within this website to complete the
primary mobile phone registration process.
For Auto-Registered Users
Updates to contact
information in WVM Alert will be overwritten by the College Web Services Portal. Update contact information in the College Web
Services Portal ONLY.
25. How do I change my
password?
Click on the My Account tab. Within
the User Profile section, click the “Edit”
link. Instructions for changing your password are provided.
26. How do I remove text
messaging?
You may remove text messages by texting STOP to 67283 or 226787 or 78015 or
81437 or 22911 from your registered mobile phone.
Note: Text messages are the fastest way to receive
emergency messages.
When you remove this notification method, you may put
yourself and others at risk because you are not aware of in progress campus
emergencies. The District is not responsible for any adverse consequences
resulting from your decision.
If you have questions, please email WVM.Alert@wvm.edu
27. How do I stop voice
messages to cell phones or landlines?
For Self-Registered
users and Auto-Registered users
Go to the My Account tab, and
click the Edit link associated with your Mobile
Contact.
UNCHECK the Enable Voice Message
Delivery checkbox.
Self-Registered users may delete the number.
28. How do I set up my account to ONLY receive voice
messages?
For Self-Registered
users
To receive ONLY voice messages on a particular mobile
device (no text), text STOP to 67283 or 226787 or 78015 or 81437 or 22911 from
your registered mobile phone.
Note: When
you remove any notification methods, you may put yourself and others at risk because
you are not aware of in progress campus emergencies.
The District is not responsible for any adverse consequences
resulting from your decision. If you
have questions, please email WVM.Alert@wvm.edu
29. How do I delete my
Account / Opt Out?
For Self-Registered users
Log-in to
your account and click “Delete”. You may create a new account at any time.
For Automatically Registered students, staff or
faculty
If you click the “Delete” button, your information
will NOT be deleted because the College Web Services Portal reloads all student,
staff and faculty names into WVM Alert every evening. The only way for it to “stick” is to do the
following:
You may Opt Out of text messages by texting STOP to 67283 or 226787 or 78015 or 81437 or 22911 from
your registered mobile phone. You may
also UNCHECK the Enable Voice Message Delivery checkbox, effectively removing
you from all methods except email.
Auto-Registered
users may not Opt Out of email messages. We encourage you to enable as many
messaging methods as possible to increase the likelihood and speed of receiving
a given emergency message.
Note: When
you remove any notification methods, you may put yourself and others at risk because
you are not aware of in progress campus emergencies. The District is not
responsible for any adverse consequences resulting from your decision. If you
have questions, please email WVM.Alert@wvm.edu
30. I deleted my account
but I’m still getting messages.
If you are part
of the automatically registered group, you cannot delete your account. Your information is being reloaded every
evening. You may STOP text messages and
uncheck the Enable Voice box in your account. (See FAQ #29). You will still receive landline phone calls
and email.
If you are no longer
a student/staff/faculty, our records may need to be updated. (See FAQ #32) for phone numbers to call. If all else fails, email wvm.Alert@wvm.edu
For Self-Registered users
Try the Delete
option again. (See FAQ #29)
31. What happens when I opt
out completely?
Opting Out will remove you from the WVM Alert notification
system.
You will no longer receive campus emergency notifications
to your phone or email.
Note: When
you remove any notification methods, you may put yourself and others at risk because
you are not aware of in progress campus emergencies. The District is not responsible for any adverse consequences
resulting from your decision.
For
Self-Registered users
Only self-registered users may completely opt
out.
For
Automatically Registered users
Students, staff and faculty must receive email messages (See
FAQ #29). If you have questions, please email WVM.Alert@wvm.edu
32. I am no longer a
student, staff, faculty but I'm still getting the messages.
If you were automatically registered in the
system, contact the following people to have your campus records updated.
Students – West
Valley Admissions and Records 408-741-2001
Students – Mission
Admissions and Records 408-855-5000
Faculty, Community Ed Instructors – Human Resources 408-741-2061
Classified Staff - Human
Resources 408-741-2161
Part time or Student Hourly – Human Resources 408-741-2171
The system records will not update unless the campus
records are up-to-date.
If you self-registered, you may log
into your WVM Alert account and delete it (See FAQ #29)
33. You have the wrong
number!
If you believe that you are receiving this
information in error, email
wvm.Alert@wvm.edu. If you
are a former student, staff or faculty member, see #32 above.
34. What is Rave Mobile
Safety?
On July 1, 2015, Rave Mobile Safety
was contracted by the District as the notification platform to support campus
emergency messages.
Rave does not charge
subscribers to send or receive SMS messages. Message and data rates may apply.
Please refer to your mobile phone contract for more information. You can opt
out of SMS messages at any time by texting STOP to 67283 or 226787 or 78015 or 81437 or 22911.