Answer:
All faculty, staff and students may opt-in by providing a text-enabled phone number via the self-service web portal at my.southwestern.edu.

Question:
What happens after I sign up (opt-in) for text messaging via the web portal?

Answer:
After you sign up online, the Connect-ED service will automatically send a text message to your mobile phone to confirm your request. This confirmation occurs during business hours between 10am – 6pm PST (8a-4p CST).

Question:
What will the confirmation message say?

Answer:
The confirmation message will be similar to the following:

SU ALERT: You are now confirmed to receive alerts from us. More info text reply "HELP" or "STOP SU" to opt-out.

Question:
What is the "sender" number of text messages?

Answer:
You will see "23177" as the number sending you the confirmation message and all subsequent messages.  Please save this number in your cell phone's directory and program it as "SU ENS" so that you can quickly recognize it as the official source of Southwestern University's messages.

Question:
If I sign up at night, when will I receive the confirmation request?

Answer:
The confirmation requests are sent during business hours (10am to 6pm PST).  Since we upload data into the Connect-ED service only on the following days, Monday - Friday, you should expect the confirmation request to arrive the following workday.

Question:
I did not receive a confirmation message.  What happened?

Answer:
Have someone send you a text message to ensure that text messaging is working. You might alsocheck with your mobile phone provider to find out if your device accepts text messages.  You may need to subscribe to a text messaging plan in order to receive or reply to text messages. If your phone is text-enabled and you did not receive the confirmation message, please contact the ITS Help Desk at (512) 819-7333 or helpdesk@southwestern.edu.

Question:
I did not receive a confirmation message because my phone wasn’t text enabled.  I have since contacted my mobile phone provider to enable it. Do I need another confirmation message sent?

Answer:
No. If your SMS phone was already submitted to our database, you should be confirmed to receive SMS alerts from us. However, you may verify your subscription by texting the word “SUBSCRIBE” to "23177." You will receive a reply with the following:

SU ALERT: This phone number has already been opted in. More info text reply "HELP" or "STOP SU" to opt-out

Question:
How do I opt-out?

Answer:
You may opt-out at any time by texting "STOP SU " or "QUIT SU" to "23177."

Question:
What if I opted-out but later decide I would like to opt-in again?

Answer:
You may opt-in (subscribe) by texting “SUBSCRIBE SU" to "23177. "

Question:
If I change mobile phone providers but keep the same number, do I need to opt-in again?

Answer:
No.  Once your phone number has been opted-in, it stays registered within the system.