Cal Poly Pomona will test its Safety Alert System on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m. Students, faculty and staff should expect a brief test message on their cell, home and office phones, as well as an email. The test will also include the Alertus Desktop notification system, which sends safety messages to university-owned computers equipped with Alertus software.

Also at 10:17 a.m. Thursday, the campus will participate in the Great California ShakeOut. During the annual earthquake drill, people students, faculty and staff across campus should drop, cover and hold on for one minute, as well as assess their quake readiness.

During an emergency situation involving campus safety, the Safety Alert System simultaneously sends out messages to phones, email, text/SMS and TTY/TDD devices. To receive the messages, faculty, staff and students need to provide up-to-date contact information in BroncoDirect. The Alertus Desktop Alert can reach a large audience virtually instantaneously - often faster than calls to campus phones or email.

The university tests the Safety Alert System once during the fall, winter and spring quarters to familiarize the campus community with this important communication vehicle, as well as to train staff in using the system. Alerts are sent only during emergencies and scheduled tests, and never for routine messages. The contact information you provide in BroncoDirect will remain confidential and will not be released outside of the university.