Global announcements allow you to contact all or specific users within an account or sub-account using one message. For example, if there will be a time period of updating or downtime for the account, you may want to let the users know ahead of time so they can plan accordingly. You can create five different types of global announcements: warning, error, information, question, or calendar.
Global announcements are shown from all accounts associated with a user and display in the user's Dashboard. If you select the option to send a notification, users who have enabled the Global Announcement notification preference can also receive alerts for global announcements via their preferred notification type.
If a user has an account with multiple institutions, the user can view multiple announcements. The announcement indicates which account or sub-account sent the global announcement.
Global announcements can be shown during a specific date range. Once an announcement passes its start date, the announcement is immediately visible in each user's dashboard and can be dismissed by the user.
If necessary, you can also edit the text in a global announcement. You can also edit the announcement start and end dates until the saved start or end date.
Notes:
- Global announcements and notifications are only sent to users with active enrollments in the current term.
- When users are not enrolled in any courses, they can view announcements from the root account. They can only view sub-account announcements once they have been added to a course within the sub-account. Courses do not have to be published for users to view sub-account announcements.
- The Theme Editor primary color is associated with information, question, and calendar announcements. However, warning and error colors cannot be changed.
- Any edits made to an existing Global Announcement after its start date will not force the message to reappear for users who have already dismissed it. Any substantial changes to the global announcement should be created as a new Global Announcement so that it reappears for all users.
- Global announcements are not displayed to users with manually concluded and inactive enrollments.
- Global announcements display in chronological order, with the newest announcement shown at the top of the page.
Open Account
Click the Admin link [1], then click the name of the account [2].
Open Settings
In Account Settings, click the Settings link.
Note: To make an announcement in a sub-account, click the Sub-Accounts link, select a sub-account, then click the sub-account's Settings link.
Open Announcements Tab
Click the Announcements tab.
Add New Announcement
Click the Add New Announcement button.
Add Announcement Details
In the Title field [1], type the title of the announcement.
In the Announcement type field [2], set the Announcement type (warning, error, information, question, or calendar).
In the Message field [3], create the announcement using the Rich Content Editor.
In the Show to section [4], select the roles of users who should see the announcement. You can select both course and account roles. Selecting a role will send a notification to every user who has that role in any course. If no roles are selected, the announcement will display for everyone with a course in the originating account or sub-account.
Note: If your institution is associated with a trust account, you can choose to only show the announcement to users within the current domain.
Choose Start and End Dates
Choose the start and end dates for the announcement by typing in the fields or selecting the Calendar icons (required).
Send Announcement Notification
To send a notification directly to users when the announcement starts, click the Send notification directly to users when announcement starts checkbox. Users who have enabled the Global Announcement notification preference will receive a notification when the announcement starts.
Publish Announcement
Click the Publish Announcement button.
View Global Announcement
View the global announcement. Announcements include an icon [1], the name of your account or sub-account [2], and a border [3].
Announcement icons and border color depend on the announcement type:
- Warnings include an exclamation mark icon and an orange border.
- Errors include an exclamation mark icon and a red border.
- Information announcements include an information icon and a border in the primary color selected in your account's Theme Editor.
- Question announcements include a question mark icon and a border in the primary color selected in your account's Theme Editor.
- Calendar announcements include a calendar icon and a border in the primary color selected in your account's Theme Editor.
Manage Announcement
To copy a global announcement, click the Duplicate icon [1]. Edit the announcement details. Then publish the announcement.
To edit a global announcement, click the Edit icon [2]. Edit the announcement details. Then save the changes.
To delete a global announcement, click the Delete icon [3]. Then confirm that you want to delete the announcement.
