Email notifications in LearnUpon: worked examples

Summary

See examples of setting up email notifications for learners, managers and instructors.

This feature is available to all customers.

Walk through a worked example, where customers use notifications to keep email recipients up to date on course requirements.

Access permissions

Only admins with full portal permissions can turn on and set up email templates.

These templates are available for both top level and sub portals.

See Portal setup: create admin accounts. 

Prerequisites for all email notifications

To use email templates you must make sure all users can receive them.

At portal level, confirm the default state of messaging as enabled. Specifically, users are not allowed to opt out of email and messages. See:

• Messages and email: set options for the portal
• Email opt-out

Settings that apply to notifications

LearnUpon lets you send automated notifications to keep portal users informed about their enrollments and courses. The application provides:

• settings at course level - see Course notifications: set automated messages for course events
• default text in email templates which you can use as-is, or enable to customize - see Manage custom email templates
• add images to custom templates to support your brand - Add images from the library to your custom email templates
• notifications for individual courses - see Add course specific text to notification emails
• Live Learning notifications that you turn on at portal level, then tailor for each training - see
  • Live Learning and Instructor Led Training (ILT): overview and initial setup
  • Live Learning: notifications overview
  • Live Learning: create and edit an ILT module

Tip: LearnUpon recommends testing all custom template notifications, before turning them on for a course or portal.

For all the templates: from Actions select Send to Self to test the message, and make sure the variables and formatting appear correctly.

The following screenshot shows a template in progress with Send to Self highlighted.

Example 1: send an Live Learning session registration for learners

Let learners know they’re registered for an Live Learning session. This example includes a calendar invite to add sessions straight to learners' own Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo calendars.

This example requires confirming notification settings, training settings, then customizing a notification template.

It doesn't address creating a new course or Live Learning training from scratch: you can apply settings to any existing course with Live Learning training to try it out.

1. Confirm ILT email notifications are turned on, and you’ve selected Email with calendar invite. See Instructor Led Training (ILT): overview.
2. In Live Learning, confirm that the training includes session registration notifications to learners. See the how-to: Live Learning: create and edit an ILT module.

The following screenshot shows the learner notification in sample training in Live Learning. 

3. From main navigation go to Settings > Email > Custom Email Templates.
4. In email templates:
   • select ILT session registration
   • edit the email Subject as required
   • add any custom text required to the Message. For example, the default text refers to iCal attachments. Rewrite this text to mention the calendar invite
5. Save changes to the template.
6. Test the template result: from Actions, select Send to Self. Check your inbox to see the message you’ll send to recipients.
7. When the template is ready, from Settings, select Enabled?
8. Save to finish.

Example 2: notify a manager when a direct report is overdue on compliance training 

This example requires checking portal and course settings, plus a customizing a notification template.  

It doesn't address creating a new course from scratch: you can apply settings to any existing course to try it out.

1. At course level, make sure that:
   • course has a due date set in course Due Dates/Valid Periods, either a calendar date or days after enrollment
   • course has an overdue date notification set in course Notifications, with number of days entered to send after the date passes
2. In email templates:
   • select Course overdue email template
   • select CC Managers
   • edit the email Subject, and add any custom text required to the Message
3. Test the message: from the Action menu select Send to Self to test the message, and make sure it appears correctly formatted
4. When the template is ready, from Settings, select Enabled?
5. Save to finish.

Note: Using CC Managers will send courtesy copies to all the user's managers, even if certain managers aren't associated with a course. 

For example: a user belongs to 2 groups, Company-wide and Engineering, with 2 different managers. The Company-wide group is enrolled on a required health and safety course. Engineering has other enrollments. The courses are set up with the notifications from this example.

If a user doesn't complete the health and safety course within the due date, LearnUpon sends an overdue course notification to the user, and cc's both group managers. 

Example 3: bcc managers on completion email messages

Let managers know when users in their groups complete their courses, with a blind courtesy copy (bcc) of the completion email.

If you set up completion email notifications and add a certificate to the course, LearnUpon attaches the certificate to the completion notification automatically.

If you bcc managers, then managers get a copy of that certificate.

This example requires checking portal and course settings, and confirming you have a certificate attached to the completion message.  

It doesn't address creating a new course from scratch: you can apply settings to any existing course to try it out.

1. At course level: 
   • from Notifications, set Send email to learner on completion? to When completed and passed or When completed, passed or failed
   • from Certs & Credits, make sure you add a certificate for the course
2. In email templates:
   • select Course completions
   • select Bcc Managers
   • edit the email Subject, and add any custom text required to the Message 
   • optional: if you're attaching certificates to the completion message, you can use the variables {{Certificate Name}} and {{Certificate Detail}} to round out the message
3. Test the message: from the Action menu select Send to Self to test the message, and make sure it appears correctly formatted
4. When the template is ready, from Settings, select Enabled?
5. Save to finish.

Note: Using Bcc Managers will send blind courtesy copies to all the user's managers, even if certain managers aren't associated with a course. 

For example: a user belongs to 2 groups, Company-wide and Engineering, with 2 different managers. The Company-wide group is enrolled on a required health and safety course. Engineering has other enrollments. The courses are set up with the notifications from this example.

If a user doesn't complete the health and safety course within the due date, LearnUpon sends an overdue course notification to the user, and bcc's both group managers. The user won't see their managers' email addresses as recipients of the email notification.

See:

• Messages and email: set options for the portal
• Course notifications: set automated messages for course events
• Manage custom email templates