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SMS Use for Offer of Admission Guidelines

This is not a current document. It has been repealed and is no longer in force.

April 2022 – This document is rescinded. See the Communications and Marketing Policy and Admissions Policy for general information about student communications and admissions.

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This document informs the use of SMS within the Division of Student Administration for the distribution of an offer of admission, until such time that the Charles Sturt University (the University) enterprise guidelines/policy/solution for SMS use comes into effect.

(2) These Guidelines apply to the automated SMS procedure established to send SMS in support of the offer of admission.

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Section 2 - Glossary

(3) SMS - means Short Message Service.

(4) Authorised users - are Directors, Managers, Team Leaders, Admissions Officers and Client Services Officers within the Division of Student Administration.

(5) Approver - is the Executive Director, Students.

(6) CRM - is the University's centralised customer relationship management system through which SMS will be sent.

(7) Banner Admissions - is the University's student information system.

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Section 3 - Policy

(8) Nil.

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Section 4 - Procedures

(9) Nil.

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Section 5 - Guidelines

(10) SMS regarding the offer of admission should only be used in support of the primary communication channels; email and telephone.

(11) The following steps will be taken prior to initiating an SMS in support of the offer of admission within the Division of Student Administration:

  1. an applicant's record will be updated within Banner Admissions to eligible candidates for an offer of admission following a full review of the application in accordance with the eligibility requirements for the program; and
  2. the offer of admission will be distributed to the applicant's nominated email address at the time of updating Banner Admissions.

Part A - Use of SMS

(12) In accordance with the Guide to Writing Student Focused Communication, the offer of admission is deemed an important message. Three forms of communication should be used to distribute an offer of admission, with SMS being the third channel to support primary communications following the offer of admission email and congratulations phone call from the CSU Contact Centre.

(13) Only authorised users are to manage the creation and distribution of the offer of admission and supporting SMS within the Division of Student Administration.

(14) SMS will be distributed through the CRM.

(15) The sending of SMS in support of the offer of admission will incur a cost to the Division of Student Administration to cover the cost of phone credit.

(16) SMS notifications should always arrive after the initial communication from the University via formal channels stated in clause 10.

(17) SMS should not be sent on weekends and/or before the hours of 8am or after 9pm.

Part B - Governance

(18) Until such time as the enterprise solution for SMS takes effect, the Division of Marketing and Communication as the organisational unit responsible for student communications has overall responsibility for the effective operation of SMS use at the University.

(19) The Division of Information Technology will work closely with the Division of Marketing and Communication with regards to aligning SMS with organisational structure and existing architecture.

(20) The University Ombudsman will provide advice regarding student privacy concerns relating to SMS use at the University.

Part C - Data

(21) SMS will only be sent to applicant mobile numbers that include a +614 prefix (Australian mobile number).

(22) Mobile numbers will be collected and maintained through existing University student information set.

(23) Distribution of SMS and collection of data will comply with data protection and privacy legislation.

(24) SMS reports will be generated through Clickatel (telecom provider) to inform Authorised Users on whether the SMS has been delivered to determine success/fail rate for evaluation purposes and to increase the accuracy of mobile phone data.

Part D - Authorisation

(25) Only authorised users within the Division of Student Administration are permitted to create and manage the sending of an SMS offer of admission.

Part E - Related Legislation

(26) SMS should be used in accordance with the University's Privacy Management Plan.

Part F - Constructing an SMS Message

(27) The SMS offer of admission sent from the Division of Student Administration will:

  1. take the form of a non-personalised message within the body of the SMS;
  2. be no longer than 160 characters;
  3. show the caller ID of the outgoing SMS as 'CSU';
  4. avoid 'text speak' e.g. 'You' should be used instead of 'u';
  5. clearly state the intent of the message;
  6. comply with Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998;
  7. be reviewed by the appropriate Manager before sending; and
  8. only be sent by via the CRM system.

(28) SMS example:

Congratulations your application with CSU has been successful. An offer to study has been forwarded to your nominated email address. NO REPLY SMS.