By Selina Iglesias
On a rainy, dreary Monday, Pensacola State student Joshua Sanderson pulled into the parking spaces by Building 21, witnessing a frustrating sight around the campus from his windshield. Rain poured from the sky, flooding the sidewalks and grass, leaving very little opportunity to make it to the library dry. “Is class cancelled?” Sanderson thought. If he had checked his Piratemail, he would have known whether or not his classes were cancelled and ultimately save both gas and time. However, like Sanderson, between homework, jobs, extracurricular activities, and personal life, not many of us have time to keep up with Piratemail. Isn’t there an easier way?! The answer is yes…and it comes in the form of Pensacola State’s new text message alert system, PSC Alerts.
No longer do students have to moan and groan or reload and refresh their e-mails constantly to find out information instantly. Thanks to PSC Alerts, if a class or event is cancelled, students will know in a split-second through a text message.
“We had text messaging service here at PSC before, but it wasn’t very good,” said Tom Gillam, vice president of student affairs. “This [new] system lets us send tens of thousands of messages all over campus in about a minute in a half.” The system, thanks to a website called Regroup, is equipped with voice messaging, emails, and social media updates from PSC Alert’s Facebook and Twitter.
One of the best features about PSC Alerts is its ability to alert multiple phone numbers or emails. Not only can students receive them, but their spouses, parents, or other family members can, too. Text message or voice message alerts will be sent to any cell phone number, home phone number, or email address set by the user in order to announce events, campus closures due to inclement weather, emergency alerts like hurricanes or floods, lock-downs, or other notifications that require immediate action. Following these warnings will also be additional information or “all-clear” notices.
These alerts are not automatic, so in order to receive them, students have to sign up on Regroup’s website.
“To get messages, you need to sign up,” said Gillam. “We’ve used our student record systems and downloaded every email and name of each student enrolled in the fall semester.”
In order to sign up, students need to log in to Regroup with their student e-mail and create a set password by clicking “I forgot my password”. Once there, a link to reset the password will be sent to Piratemail, and students will be able to set a password and access PSC Alert’s settings to set their cell phone and email address preferences, preferred method of messaging, view their account, and establish group notifications.
Whether it is because of Pensacola’s unpredictable weather or emergencies, Pensacola State’s new alert system is here to save you time, gas, and even a little bit of sanity. Don’t stress over your neglect of Piratemail any longer! Sign up for PSC Alerts today at https://www.regroup.com/signup.