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Falcon Alert

Announcing Falcon Alert - The UTPB Emergency Alert System

* What Is Falcon Alert?

Falcon Alert is an emergency notification service that gives UTPB administration the ability to communicate health, safety, or other emergency information quickly- by text messaging to your cell phone. If you enroll in Falcon Alert, university officials can quickly pass on safety-related information to you regardless of your location.

* What Type Of Information Will Be Sent Using Falcon Alert?

The Falcon Alert system will be used ONLY to send emergency information and information related to abnormal situations. For example, subscribers will be notified by the Falcon Alert system if a decision is made to close the university due to weather or some other event. Subscribers will be notified by the Falcon Alert system if an emergency situation on campus requires students to shelter in place. The Falcon Alert system will NOT be used for routine communications about university events or for any form of advertising. Falcon Alert is a NO SPAM zone.

* Will Falcon Alert Cost Me Anything?

It depends. While there are no charges for subscribing to Falcon Alert, the most effective component of the Falcon Alert system will utilize standard text messaging to your cell phone. Depending on your cell phone plan the text message might cost you a small amount per message. However, due to the restricted nature of the system, the number of messages should be small. A test of the system will be conducted about once every three months.

* What Do Students Need To Sign Up for Falcon Alert?

In order to sign up for Falcon Alert you will need to know your UTPB University Identification Number (UID) and your PIN. These are the same credentials that you use to access CampusConnect.

* How Do I Sign Up For Falcon Alert

1. To sign up for Falcon Alert, log in to your CampusConnect account and click on the link that says "Click Here To Signup Or Access Falcon Alert" or choose the Falcon Alert option from the Student Information pull-down menu within CampusConnect. This will take you to the Falcon Alert signup screen.
2. Note that your UTPB username has already been filled in for you. It is important that you use your official UTPB-assigned username to sign up for Falcon Alert. Remember this username. You can use it later to log in to your Falcon Alert account.
3. Enter a password of your choosing that you can remember. This password will only be used for Falcon Alert. Remember this password. You can use it later with your UTPB username to access your Falcon Alert account.
4. If you live in UTPB Student Housing check the "Student Housing Resident" box. This will allow you receive information that may be important and limited to UTPB student housing residents.
5. Select an opt-out date. This is the date when you will be automatically removed from the Falcon Alert system. You will probably want to end Falcon Alerts when you graduate or otherwise leave the university. Falcon Alert is voluntary. You can always "opt out" whenever you want by logging in to your Falcon alert account.
6. Enter your cell phone area code and phone number and then select your cell phone carrier. This is an important step and selecting your cell phone carrier can be confusing. If the validation process doesn't work, you might have selected the wrong cell phone carrier.
7. Click the "Create Account" button.
8. The Falcon Alert system should text message a validation code to your cell phone. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you complete the validation process. Otherwise, you are not signed up for Falcon Alert.
9. When you receive your validation code, enter the code in the "Validation code" box and click the "Validate" box.
10. Next you should see a "You have successfully signed up!" message. At this point you are ready to receive Falcon Alert text messages.

* How Do I Access My Falcon Alert Account?

To access your Falcon Alert account, log in to your CampusConnect account and click on the link that says "Click Here To Signup Or Access Falcon Alert", or choose the Falcon Alert option from the Student Information pull-down menu within CampusConnect. Your UTPB username will already be filled in under the "Already have an account? Sign in here" section on the lower half of the screen. Fill in the password that you established when you signed up for Falcon Alert and click the "Login" button.

* Troubleshooting

-- What do I do if I never received a validation code?

If you never receive the validation number on your cell phone make sure that you have specified the correct area code, phone number and carrier. Also make sure that your cell phone plan includes text messaging to your cell phone. Depending on exactly where your registration failed, you may have created an unvalidated account. See below for information on how to deal with an unvalidated Falcon Alert account.

-- What do I do if I receive a message that says my username is already in use?

If you receive a message indicating that the requested username is already in use this probably means that you have attempted to sing up for Falcon Alert but have not successfully validated your account. You have an unvalidated account. You can log on to a unvalidated account to reissue the validation code. After logging in, click the "Services" tab and verify that the cell phone area code, number and carrier for your cell phone are correct. Either click the "Change Status" link to correct erroneous information or click "Validate Now" to reissue the validation code. Once you receive the validation code as a text message on your cell phone, don't forget to enter the code and press the "Validate" button.

-- What do I do if my cell phone number and/or carrier change?

If your cell phone number and/or carrier changes you can log in to your Falcon Alert account and update your information. Click on the "Services" tab, then click "Change Status" in the Text Messaging section.

-- Can I list more than one cell phone number in Falcon Alert?

Yes. Just log in to your Falcon Alert account and provide an additional number and carrier.