PAR - Generate/Send SMS Messages
Generate/Send SMS Messages Overview
In conjunction with an SMS Gateway provider, this program allows you to generate and send general text messages to parent mobile phones.
SMS messages generated are recorded in a Communication Log.
The following student based communications are recorded in a Communication Log:
- SMS generated in TASS.web and Staff Kiosk.
- SMTP Emails generated in Staff Kiosk and the Enrolments module in TASS.web.
- Notifications generated in Staff Kiosk.
- Notes entered in TASS.web and Staff Kiosk (where the Note Category has been flagged for display in the Communication Log.
Internal teacher/non-teacher communications generated in Staff Kiosk are also recorded in a Communication Log.
The Communication Log allows you to track and monitor the details of communications including who it has been sent to and whether the communication has been viewed by the recipients.
The Communication Log for a student can be viewed using Staff Kiosk program Student Profile > Communication Log.
The Communication Log for an enrolled student can be viewed using TASS.web program Student Admin > Enrolments > Enrolment Information > Enrolments on the ‘Communication Log’ tab.
Important! This program will not work until the TASS.web and Gateway provider's setups have been completed. For more information, refer to TASS.web program System Admin > Utilities > API Gateway Maintenance.
History Button
Select the 'History' icon to produce a report listing 'SMS Notifications' that have already been generated.
The program will default to the current date; however, you can use the date picker to search based on a different date range.
Generating SMS When Your School Is Using 'Communication Rules'
If your school is using 'Communication Rules' then by default this program will use the 'TASS Corr' (TASS.web Correspondence) rules that are set up for each student, to determine which parent will receive an SMS.
Only mobile phone numbers where the 'SMS' flag has been checked will be included.
'Communication Rules' provide a 'student-centric' way of defining precisely how different areas of your school communicate with parents. They are especially useful for communication with split families and for families with students who have multiple parenting arrangements.
For more information, refer to 'How to Handle Split Family Arrangements'.
For more information on how to enable the 'Communication Rules' functionality, refer to 'Setting up Communication Rules'.
Generating SMS When Your School Is Not Using 'Communication Rules'
Where 'Communication Rules' have not been enabled, the program will use any mobile phone number that has been entered in TASS.web program Student Admin > Parent Records > Parent Information > Parent on the 'Address' tab.
Only mobile phone numbers where the 'SMS' flag has been checked will be included.
Step 1
Four possible search modes are available to determine the 'filters' that will become available when searching for the parents who will be included on the SMS message:
Parent/Student mode search.
Subject mode search.
Extra-curricular mode search.
Events & Payments mode search.
If you select 'Parent/Student mode search' you can also nominate to include a Student 'Extended User Defined Area' in your selection criteria. The 'Extended UD Area' that you choose will appear on the next selection screen as the last tab. You will be able to use any of the fields on this tab as part of your selection criteria.
Select the method that you wish to use for this SMS message and click 'Go'.
Step 2
Parent/Student mode search
Using this mode of searching you can use any combination of fields on the 'Parent', 'Account Details', 'Parent User Defined', 'Student' and 'Student User Defined' tabs to select the parents to include on your SMS.
The 'Date of Entry Cut-off' field on the 'Student' tab can be used to exclude students who have been transferred in from enrolments with a future date of entry, e.g. Students who are starting next year.
It would be unusual to change the 'Status' field and the 'Status Options' on the 'Parent' tab when generating SMS Messages. By default, the program will default to 'All Current Parents'.
Subject mode search
You would use this mode of searching to create SMS for parents with students studying a particular subject, e.g All year 11 English students.
Current student subject choices need to be correctly entered into the system for this to work.
The 'Date of Entry Cut-off' field on the 'Student' tab can be used to exclude students who have been transferred in from enrolments with a future date of entry, e.g. Students who are starting next year.
Extra-Curricular mode search
You would use this mode of searching to create SMS for Parents with students who are involved in a particular extra-curricular activity, e.g. All year 11 students involved in the Choir.
Current student extra-curricular choices need to be correctly entered into the system for this to work.
Events & Payments mode search
You would use this searching mode to create SMS for parents with students involved in an event or those required to make a payment. You can filter based on the following student statuses for a particular event or payment:
All invited.
Accepted.
Not accepted.
Declined.
Events & Payments are created and managed using program Staff Kiosk program Events.
After you have made your selections on these tabs go to the last tab and click the 'Next' button.
Step 3
This step is used to determine the parent addresses (must have SMS enabled mobile numbers) that will be used for this SMS Message.
If your school has 'Communication Rules' enabled, the default will be 'On parents used in each student's Communication Rules' and to the 'TASS.web Correspondence Communication Type' that was set up by your school.
This can also be setup quickly for the majority of students (those without Multi Parent Arrangements) using TASS.web program Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Communication Rules Grid.
Important!
If your selection includes parents with students who do not have a 'TASS Corr' rule defined, the program will not generate SMS messages and will provide an exception report. The best practice is to fix these student records and rerun the program, however, if the SMS is urgent you can revert to the 'On the parent that each student is attached to' option. This will bypass 'Communication Rules' and therefore is not recommended.
If your school has 'Communication Rules' disabled, the only option will be 'On the parent that each student is attached to'.
Click the 'Next' button.
Step 4
Parents who have mobile numbers recorded in TASS.web program Student Admin > Parent Records > Parent Information > Parents on the 'Address' tab and who match the filters entered above will be displayed.
Only mobile phone numbers where the 'SMS' flag has been checked will be included.
You can use the checkboxes to further filter the list of parents to include in this SMS.
Use the 'Select All' or 'Deselect All' buttons to quickly remove or reinstate all parents to the SMS list.
When you are satisfied that the parent list is correct, click the 'Next' button.
Step 5
Enter the text that will appear as an SMS on the parent's mobile phones. The character limit is *160 characters.
*The text limit can be increased to 800 characters by enabling 'Multi-Part Messaging'. The payload of each multi-part message is 153 characters (rather than 160). Where messages are more than 153 characters in length, the message is split into multiple parts (i.e. 2 or more parts of 153 characters) allowing for the swift delivery of long messages. The caveat is the additional message parts will incur additional costs.
If you are interested in utilising SMS 'Multi-Part Messaging' for your school, please contact TASS Support for guidance.
For more information, refer to 'SMS Gateway APIs'.
Use the 'Spell Check' button to verify spelling.
When you are satisfied that the message text is correct, click the 'Next' button.
Step 6
This final screen provides an opportunity for you to review the message and the intended recipient list before generating the SMS messages. If there are errors, click the 'Previous' button to return to the previous screens to rectify the mistakes.
When you are satisfied with the message text and recipient list, click the 'Next' button to generate the SMS messages.
If the messages are sent successfully, you will receive a confirmation message. Any messages that are not sent will be displayed with an appropriate error message.
SMS messages may be delayed when there is telephone network congestion, such as during natural disasters or events. For critical and urgent communications, please consider using multiple communication methods, such as app push notifications, Parent Lounge alerts, emails, calendar entries, or posting information on your school’s website.