Overview

The Communications component of the Student Experience product is configurable and optional for a school to use. The Communications component configuration screen is located within Institution Setup, as a subtab to Portal Setup, and is accessible to users with permission to change these settings.  See Student Experience Portal Data Elements for details on the various Communication configuration settings.

• Outbound Text Messaging

Access from Menu or Dashboard

When the Communications component is configured to display on the Student Experience Portal, the user can access it from either the Menu bar on the left or directly from the Dashboard.  Selecting the Communications component from either of these locations will open the Communications component main page.  

The "Badge" Icon

Both the menu and the dashboard provide a red "badge" icon that will display the total number of unread communications and messages.  The total number of unread communications includes unread messages (portal messages) by default and unread notifications (emails, texts or letters) if the communication is configured to be included. 

What is contained on the Dashboard?

Students can navigate to the Communications component from the Dashboard by clicking on one of the Communication tiles displayed or clicking on the 'View all' link in the upper right corner of this section. The red "badge" icon that indicates unread communications will display next to the Communications title for this section.  

Notifications and Messages

The red "badge" icon will display next to the Communications section on the dashboard.  This section displays the three most recent communications, including notifications (emails, texts, or letters) and both incoming and outgoing messages (portal messages). Each communication tile will display a subject line and an approximate time sent in the lower right corner of when the communication was sent or received.  Unread communications will display the subject line in blue with a blue bar on the left side of the tile.

Communications Main Page

The Communications Main Page will display several elements when the page is accessed.  This section will cover those elements in detail.

Notifications 

The Notifications tab displays emails, texts and letters that are configured to display when communications are generated.  Notifications are limited to the most recent 50 emails, texts, and letters and will display in a list on the left with a preview of the communication body to the right when clicked on. Email attachments will be downloadable.  All Notifications are read-only and cannot be replied to within the Student Experience portal. Note:  If a letter is configured for multiple bodies, only the first body will display.

Messages

The Messages tab displays portal messages, if configured.  Messages will display in a list on the left with a preview of the message to the right when clicked on. Messages may be read-only or may display a 'reply' in the upper right-hand corner of the message preview, depending on the configuration setting.  All messages sent or receive will generate an Activity Log Entry with the Activity Type of 'Message Related'.  

Title Bar

The Communications component will display with a title bar at the top of the screen that contains a Sort By, Sort Order, and Filter By dropdown selection for each.  The title bar is "sticky" meaning that, in both the desktop and mobile view, it will remain in place at the top of the screen even when the user scrolls down the page.

Sort By Dropdown

The Sort By dropdown is available for students to sort notifications and messages for each respective tab. The dropdown options allow sorting by Date, From, and Subject.  The dropdown will be set to the 'Date' option by default.

Sort Order Dropdown

The Sort Order dropdown is also available for students to sort notifications and messages for each respective tab. The dropdown options allow sorting by Ascending or Descending.  The dropdown will be set to the 'Ascending' option by default.

Filter By Dropdown

The Filter By dropdown is available for students to filter notifications and messages for each respective tab. The Notification tab dropdown allows filtering by All and Unread options.  The Messages tab dropdown allows filtering for All, Unread, and Sent options.  The dropdown will be set to the 'All' option by default for the Notifications tab and to the 'Received' option for the Messages tab.

Instructional Text

Schools may configure Instructional Text to appear at the top of the Communication component.  The instructional message can be set up with a header, formatting, and even hyperlinks on the Financial Aid subtab of Portal setup.  If the message is large, only the first three lines will appear on the screen, accompanied by a "Show Full Info" link that will allow the message box to expand to show the full text provided.

Schools are encouraged to update the Instructional Message to include information on how to unsubscribe and resubscribe if using Text Messaging functionality (see Outbound Text Messaging for additional information).

The text configured in the Office Name, Office Phone and Office Email fields can be inserted into the text configured here.