The my.monash Bulk messaging tool user guide Contents 1 What is my.monash?... 1 1.1 Purpose of this guide... 2 1.2 About the Bulk messaging tool... 2 2 Creating a bulk message... 2 2.1 Selecting a group of recipients... 3 2.1.1 Sending to a student group at Monash University... 3 2.1.2 Sending to a list of student or staff usernames (UIDs) or student ID numbers 3 2.1.3 Sending to students enrolled in a unit... 3 2.1.4 Sending to students by campus, faculty or course... 4 2.2 Creating a message... 4 2.2.1 The From box... 5 2.2.2 The Reply to box... 5 2.2.3 The Notify box... 5 2.2.4 The Subject box... 5 2.2.5 The message box... 5 2.2.6 Previewing your message... 5 2.2.7 Formatting your message using HTML... 7 2.2.8 Changing content or message details after formatting your HTML... 8 2.2.9 Changing the subject line... 9 2.3 Sending your message... 9 3 Approving or cancelling your message... 9 4 Help... 10 1 What is my.monash? The my.monash portal enables easy access to online academic, administrative, social and support resources of use to Monash University community members. It is accessible at: http://my.monash.edu/ my.monash is available over any Internet connection. All users need is their Monash University Authcate username and password. If you are unsure of your Authcate username or password, please contact the ITS Service Desk. Contact details are available at: https://servicedeskonline.monash.edu Your my.monash portal brings together: Online unit resources for students and academic staff (Teaching and research tab) Email (Mail tab) Search engines and your own customisable set of personal links (all tabs) 1
Collections of topic-related items and resources (Home page and the Teaching and research, Staff resources, Library, Campus and community and News and events tabs) Links to staff support and employment related services (Staff resources tab) Access to online bookings systems, local news and weather, events and promotions, and much more 1.1 Purpose of this guide As a faculty-nominated Bulk messaging tool user, you will be required to moderate, create and send bulk messages requested by staff members within your faculty. This guide has been designed to help you through each step involved with creating, sending and approving a bulk email using the Bulk messaging tool in your my.monash portal. 1.2 About the Bulk messaging tool Email is an official communication mechanism used at Monash University to send information to students. The Bulk messaging tool was created in response to the UNITPOL Student Electronic Message Broadcast Policy 1, which established the manner and mechanism by which Monash staff may use electronic messaging systems to communicate with groups of students. The Bulk messaging tool allows you to create plain text and HTML messages. The HTML messages use a Monash template and can be formatted with headings, bulleted or numbered lists, bold, italics, etc and can contain hyperlinks. The tool also enables you to send messages specific cohorts of students using: attributes like course, home campus, home faculty, or a combination of these import your own customised list of student ID numbers select all students within an individual unit offering. 2 Creating a bulk message To access the Bulk messaging tool: 1. log onto your my.monash portal at http://my.monash.edu.au 2. locate the Bulk messaging link in the Online systems section of the left hand column of your home page or 3. click the Mail tab 4. click Bulk messaging in the left hand menu 5. click Prepare a bulk email message in the menu on the Bulk messaging main page. 1 http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/management/its/student-electronic-message-broadcast-policy.html 2
2.1 Selecting a group of recipients There are four options to choose from in this section: 1. Send to a student group at Monash University. The options available are all students, all HDR students, all students except HDR, all postgraduate students, all postgraduate students except HDR and all undergraduate students. 2. Send to a customised group 3. Send to all students enrolled in a unit, or 4. Send to any combination of campus, faculty or course. You can select one from the categories: a student group, Person ID Group or Unit Offerings, or you can select one or more Campus/Faculty/Course. 2.1.1 Sending to a student group at Monash University 1. Select the radio button marked next to the drop down list, select an option from the drop down menu and click Continue. 2. Enter your message (see section 2.2). If you are unsure about any of the options in the drop down menu, we suggest you seek clarification before proceeding. 2.1.2 Sending to a list of student or staff usernames (UIDs) or student ID numbers 1. Select the radio button marked Person ID Group and click Continue. 2. In the box marked Person ID Group, type or copy and paste the usernames (UIDs) or student ID numbers for all the intended recipients. There must be a space or a new line (enter) between each UID or student ID number do not separate entries with a comma. 3. Enter your message (see section 2.2). Note: you can use this option to send to staff as well as student groups. 2.1.3 Sending to students enrolled in a unit 1. Select the radio button marked Unit Offerings and click OK. 2. Type the unit code for the unit you wish to send to into the Unit Offerings search box and click Search or press enter. A partial unit code will bring up a list of all units beginning with that code. (For example, typing PSY2 will bring up all second-year Psychology subjects.) 3. Click the checkbox next to the unit/units you wish to send a message to. 4. Enter your message (see section 2.2). To search for more than one unit, separate each unit code or partial unit code with a comma and click Search or press enter. 3
2.1.4 Sending to students by campus, faculty or course 1. Click the checkbox, or boxes, for the groups of students you wish to send a message to and click the Continue button. 2. If you have selected Course, enter the course code or any part of the course title into the search box and click Search or press enter. 3. Click the checkbox, or boxes, next to the campuses, courses and/or faculties you wish to send a message to. You must make at least one selection under each heading you have chosen. 4. Enter your message (see section 2.2) Note that the target audience will need to fulfil all criteria that you select. For example, choosing campus Berwick and course code 0002 will result in an email only being sent to students undertaking course 0002 at Berwick campus. The target audience is narrowed by each additional filter you add. 2.2 Creating a message All of fields on the plain text message creation screen are mandatory. After you click the Continue button you will be able to view the plain text and HTML previews of your message. (Note: if you selected to send to a person ID group, the create message will include an input box for usernames.) 4
2.2.1 The From box In this box, enter the desired From address. This address will be displayed to recipients as the sender of this email. This might be your address, a faculty address, or the address of the academic who requested the email. It will be populated by default with your email address but is editable. Note: this must be a Monash University email address. The From address will also be the address to which a confirmation email will be sent when the email has been distributed. 2.2.2 The Reply to box Use this box to enter an address to which students can reply. If you do not wish students to reply to the email, it is a good idea to advise them of this in the email text body. Your address appears by default but you can edit this to change it. Note: you must use a Monash University email address. 2.2.3 The Notify box Use this box to enter the addresses of the person/s who will receive notification that the bulk message has been sent. Your address appears by default but you can edit this to change or add multiple addresses. If adding more than one address, ensure that the addresses are split by commas, for example, John.Smith@monash.edu.au, Greg.Somebody@its.monash.edu. 2.2.4 The Subject box For the Bulk messaging system to work, a subject must be entered. If you do not enter a subject, an error message on the next page will prompt you to go back and enter one. 2.2.5 The message box Enter the text of your message in the large text box provided immediately below the message details input fields. 2.2.6 Previewing your message Click the Continue button to go to the preview screen, where you can review the content of your message. Please note: if you try testing a hyperlink in the preview window and you receive a security warning, it has to do with the preview being displayed within a frame within a secure page. To continue: click on Yes (ie to only load secure data). This will return an error screen click the browser s Back button to return to the preview page right click on the link and select Open in new window or Control + right click. This will avoid the security issue 5
Warning! If you click the Cancel button you will return to the main page and you will lose your message. 6
2.2.7 Formatting your message using HTML HTML formatting is currently only available for Student Communication Services messages. Messages sent by other organisations will be sent in plain text. Click on the Edit HTML formatting button below the HTML preview to open the HTML editor. This is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that enables you to format content using heading styles, bullets, bold, italic, etc, as well as to add hyperlinks. All formatting options conform to the Monash style guide for electronic publications. The HTML message is templated with Monash header and footer banners. You can t edit the banner title (which is the subject line you entered in the plain text editor) using the HTML editor. See section 2.2.9 below for more information on changing the banner title. 7
Important note! The recipient will only receive one version of the message depending on their settings, so you must ensure that both the plain text and HTML versions contain the same content before you send the message. If you change the content of the HTML version, you must use the Edit plain text and details button near the bottom of the preview screen to manually add the changes to the plain text version of your message. Once you have formatted your message, click on the Continue button to return to the preview screen and review your changes. Warning! If you click the Cancel button you will return to the main page and you will lose your message. If you want to return to the preview page without making any changes, click your browser s Back button. 2.2.8 Changing content or message details after formatting your HTML You can edit the subject line, plain text message or sender and recipient details any time by clicking on the Edit plain text and details button near the bottom of the preview page. When you make changes to the plain text or the message details you are provided with two options: Update the HTML version with my changes (you will lose any previous HTML formatting) Don t update the HTML version, I will manually update the HTML text The second option is the default. Important note! The recipient will only receive one version of the message depending on their settings, so you must ensure that both the plain text and HTML versions contain the same content before you send the message. If you change the content of the plain text version, you must either select the option to update the HTML version (in which case you will have manually replace all formatting) or use the Edit HTML formatting button 8
near the bottom of the preview screen to manually add the changes to the HTML version of your message. Warning! If you click the Cancel button you will return to the main page and you will lose your message. If you want to return to the preview page without making any changes, click your browser s Back button. 2.2.9 Changing the subject line You can change the subject line only within the plain text editor. Regardless of which update option you select (ie even if select not to update the HTML version), the banner title of the HTML version will be updated. 2.3 Sending your message Once you have reviewed your message on the preview page, and have ensured that both the plan text and HTML versions have the same content, click on the Send message button. This will take you to the main page, now displaying a confirmation message. Warning! If you click the Cancel button you will return to the main page and you will lose your message. 3 Approving or cancelling your message You should receive an email notification alerting you to approve your message before it is sent out. You have the option to approve your message or cancel the request in which case the message will not be sent. It is advisable that you review you message before you send it out because once you approve the message you cannot cancel your request. To approve or cancel your message: 1. Go to the Bulk messaging tool on your my.monash portal. 2. Select Approve or cancel my bulk messages from the bulk messaging menu. 3. Select the Approve option if you wish to send out your message or select Cancel if you want to cancel your message request. 4. Select Continue. 9
5. To proceed select Confirm or select Cancel to return to the bulk messaging menu without any changes. Select Approve to send out your message or you also have the option to cancel it here Figure 1: Approving or cancelling your message Review your message before you send it out. Once you have approved your message you cannot cancel your request. 4 Help If you and fellow authorised users in your organisational unit have questions about the Bulk messaging tool, please contact Abdi Noor at Abdi.Noor@monash.edu 10