September 1, 2010 — The University of Virginia's emergency notification system, which was tested Tuesday, showed that text messaging, mass email, LCD and LED screens around Grounds and virginia.edu notification all worked as expected, said Marge Sidebottom, director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

"Redundancy is important and we are fortunate to have so many avenues of communication," she said. "Those systems worked well."
 
The siren system, which alerts people outdoors, didn't function as expected, she said. "The manufacturer and installer of the system are on site for the test and are reviewing the system performance information," Sidebottom said. "They will create an action plan to address the issues identified for our review."

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to sign up for U.Va. Alerts, which, Sidebottom said, "provides the most layers of notification." To sign up, visit the U.Va. Alerts website.