Purdue tests text messaging alert system

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University said its test of an emergency messaging system was a success.\nPurdue sent text messages to nearly 10,000 students, faculty and staff Monday morning. Officials also sent out e-mails to more than 50,000 people.\nSchool officials said it took less than seven minutes to send out the test messages. Within 10 minutes, 865 people responded to the e-mails and more than 2,000 responded to text messages.\nOfficials now hope to look for any kinks in the system so they can be worked out.\nThe messages are part of an effort by Purdue and other schools to more quickly notify students and others in an emergency. The new system was prompted by the April shootings at Virginia Tech.\nIU President Michael McRobbie announced in a board of trustees meeting Friday that all eight IU campuses will have an emergency alert system in place by the end of the year. McRobbie said the University will be able to send emergency alerts by text message, phone and e-mail. The emergency system will alert IU students, faculty and staff about anything from weather to administrative news, he said.