Sending Messages

You can send emails or texts to one or more students from "Staff Home", the student profile, or "Advanced Search". Most "Action" menus throughout the platform also allow for sending emails or texts. See below for screenshots of each of these locations.

Send Message from the Staff Home Page

In your "Assigned Students" Box, click Action to open the drop down menu. Click Send Message to Student.

Message Student from the Student Profile

In the "Options" menu on the right side of the student profile, click Message Student.

Send Message from the Advanced Search Results Page

Once you have used the filters to search for your desired student, click Action to open the drop down menu. Click Send a Message to Student.

Composing Email or Text in Navigate

Whichever route you take from the options above, when you click Send Message a sidebar opens with radio buttons for sending email or text. It defaults to emailing the student, so make sure to click Text if desired. For either option you may have the option to enhance your message using the built-in AI feature for drafting an initial message or altering the tone/length of your writing. 

Texting Best Practices

• Always introduce yourself in your texts or at least say what office you are from so the student knows who they are talking to.
• There is a 160-character limit in your texts, so be concise and/or direct students to an email that contains more information.
• Ask a question or have a call to action in order to get the students to engage.
• Be careful not to over-text. Try to only send important reminders or outreach when it is needed.

Texts should only be sent for one of the following three reasons:

1. Enrollment/Advising Meeting
2. Navigate Alerts/Course Concerns
3. Important Dates and Deadlines

Sample Texts

Enrollment/Advising Meeting

• Hi Sarah! It's Kristen from UWS advising. It does not look like you are enrolled in fall 2021 classes yet. Can I help with anything to get you registered?
• Hi, this is Kristen from UWS advising. If you have not scheduled your fall advising meeting yet, please be sure to do so right away.
• Hi Britney, it's Kristen from UWS. Just following up to see if you need any help with enrollment. Be sure to sign up ASAP as classes are closing quickly!
• Hi Neesha, it's Kristen from UWS. I just sent you an email regarding your fall classes -let me know if you have any questions that I can help with!
• This is Kristen from UWS. You currently don't have an advising meeting set. Do you plan to continue at UWS? If so, we need to meet to have your hold removed.

Alerts/Course Concerns

• Hi David, this is Kristen from UWS advising. I recently sent a couple emails about your TED 200 class. Be sure to check your UWS email when you get a chance :)
• Hi Dalton, it's Kristen from UWS advising. I just sent you an email to check in about your ENGL class. How are things going for you?
• Hi, it’s Kristen again! I received notifications from your MATH 090 and WRIT 102 instructors about missing coursework. Do you plan to continue with your classes this spring?

Important Dates and Deadlines

• Hi, it's Kristen from UWS. Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day to drop classes without a fee or W grade. Let me know if I can help with anything!
• Hi, it's Kristen from UWS advising. The spring schedule has been released -be sure to take a look at it and start planning your classes for next term!
• Hi, it’s Kristen from UWS. Don't forget final exams begin on Monday. Be sure to check out your exam schedule in your E-Hive, and good luck! You've got this!
• Hi, it's Kristen from UWS advising. Fall registration begins for some students as early as Monday! Be sure to check your E-hive to find your enrollment date.

Viewing Conversations

The "Conversations" page allows you to track messages you have sent to students and staff via Navigate. It also allows you to open messages and take action/send replies on certain non-automated messages. To enter My Conversations, click on the envelope icon on the left-hand sidebar:

There are three main parts of the My Conversations page: the List of Messages, the Filter/Search Bar, and the Actions Menu.

List of Messages

The Conversations page is organized similarly to the arrangement of an email inbox with a list of messages arranged in order from most recently sent to oldest. Within each entry you are able to view high level information about the message, including the sender, the topic, and the date sent.

Many of the messages will be appointment reminders sent automatically by the Navigate platform.

However, you will also be able to see messages sent from other platform users, such as requests for appointments or other communications.

You also get notifications via the envelope icon at the top of the application when you receive new messages.

Filter/Search Bar

The Filter/Search Bar at the top of the message list allows you to change the messages you are viewing in your inbox. By checking a box, you can filter your messages to only view personal messages or only unread messages. You can also search for messages that have been sent by a specific user.

Please note that you can only search for users in the search bar, not specific keywords.

Actions Menu

The Actions menu is found on the left-hand side of the list of messages. By selecting a message or group of messages, you can use the actions in this drop-down to mark the messages as read

Frequently Asked Questions

When I send an email to text to multiple students at once, will they know that it was a mass message? Can they see the names, emails, or phone numbers of the other students?

No. The email and text look like they were only sent to that one student. The student does not see other student names or emails.

If the student responds to the email or text message, will it respond to all other students that were sent that same message?

No. Even though you sent the message to more than one student at once from the platform, the message that is delivered is only sent to that one student. That means that the student can respond, and the reply only goes to the sender, not any of the other students.

When I mass email two or more students, do all recipients see who is included in the email, like a CC: function?

When sending mass e-mails through Navigate, recipients are not able to see other students included on the message. It functions as a BCC (blind carbon copy) in Navigate, thereby preserving student confidentiality.

What email address does my email come from?

If your institution has configured email capture, then the platform sends and receive messages from a special subdomain. For example, an advisor sends an email to students through the Navigate platform. The email’s From field will display the subdomain (advisor@support.whitehurst.edu), not the advisor’s actual email (advisor@whitehurst.edu). If a student responds to the message, the message will display from the student’s subdomain (student@support.whitehurst.edu), not the student’s actual email (student@whitehurst.edu). All messages are still captured in both the Navigate platform and the institution’s email client. To learn more about configuring email capture, please read this article.

What phone number does the text come from?

Automated text messages (e.g. appointment reminders or cancellation notices) and texts sent to more than 99 students will be sent from the platform’s short code, 915-52. Text messages sent to less than 100 students come from a list of pooled numbers.

Where are the messages sent to the Navigate platform saved?

Messages will be saved in Navigate. You will receive an automated email if someone responds to your text or email.

Can students opt out of text messaging?

Yes, to some extent. They can reply STOP to any text received from a short code and it will change their setting in Navigate to no longer send them text messages from the short code. Text messages users attempt to send to this student will be routed to their email instead. They cannot opt-out of messages sent from a 10-digit phone number.

Does the STOP opt-out only apply to messages from short codes, or to all text messages?

It only applies to messages from the short code. Honoring the STOP command from 10-digit phone numbers per our SMS pooling technology is not something we support. While we do honor the STOP command for 5-digit short codes e.g. 915-22, that is due to the way carriers classify short codes differently from long codes and the existing restrictions they place on these numbers for marketing purposes.

When a student replies STOP to no longer get texts, how can a student reverse this in order to get texts again if they change their mind?

If students want to receive SMS/text messages from Navigate after opting out, they will need to text START to the same number (915-22) they sent the unsubscribe command to. Students cannot opt out of texts from pooled numbers.

What happens if the student texts a response to a staff member?

The staff member gets an email in the platform and in the institution’s email system.

What happens if the student calls the dedicated phone number set up for a staff member in the platform?

In the process of setting up the dedicated phone number, we can set this up to ring through on the staff member’s office phone. Otherwise, the call does not complete.

Does staff receive any texts or emails on their personal cell phone?

No.

What email address do notifications come from for Navigate?

For students who have opted in to email notifications from Navigate Student, the address is sscnavigate@eab.com.

Can I use mail merge features to personalize student communication with their name?

This is not available.

What information is retained in Navigate if I delete an email for, e.g. having PHI or other protected data? Do I need to contact my Strategic Leader about backups?

When a conversation is deleted in Navigate, the content of the message itself is removed from our database. While some metadata is retained by our third-party email provider, none of this metadata will identify the student.