Send a text message

If your program has texting turned on, you can send a student an SMS right from their profile and read their replies in the same thread. It is a quick way to nudge a student about a deadline or a document you are still waiting on.

Before you can text

Four things have to be true:

• Your admin has enabled texting in Settings.
• Your program has a sending number, which TRIOPilot sets up for you.
• The student has a phone number on their profile.
• The student has not opted out.

Texting is limited to advisors and admins. If there is no Text Messages tab on the profile, either texting is off for your program or your role does not include it.

Send a text

1. Open the student's profile and choose the Text Messages tab. The whole conversation lives there: the thread, with the message box underneath it.
2. Read the consent banner at the top of the thread before you write anything.
3. Type your message and choose Send. Enter sends the message, and Shift plus Enter starts a new line.

What the consent banner is telling you:

• Green: the student has opted in. You are good to send.
• Amber: we have no consent on record. TRIOPilot will still let the message through, so get the student's okay first.
• Red: the student has opted out. The message box is locked and sending is refused.

Texts and replies appear in that one thread, oldest at the top (very long histories show the most recent messages), so the whole exchange stays with the student's record. Each message you send shows its delivery status underneath it, and a message that never made it is marked as failed.

When a student replies, the reply lands in the same thread and the student's assigned advisor gets a notification in the bell that opens the profile straight on the Text Messages tab. If no advisor is assigned to that student, no notification goes out and the reply simply waits in the thread.

Consent usually comes from the text-message question on your application form. It lives on the profile as the SMS Opt-In field, in the Contact Information card, and you can change it inline to Yes or No if a student tells you they have changed their mind.

Staying compliant

• Only text students who have opted in. It is the law (TCPA), and it is the right thing to do.
• If a student replies STOP (or CANCEL, END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE), TRIOPilot opts them out automatically and blocks any further texts. START or YES opts them back in.
• Do not set SMS Opt-In back to Yes yourself to get around an opt-out. That decision belongs to the student.
• Standard message and data rates may apply to the student. Keep messages relevant and infrequent.
• A text is not a logged contact. If the exchange counts as advising, record it with Log a contact.

For admins

To turn texting on, go to Settings, open the Features tab, find the Text Messaging card, and check Enable SMS texting. Your program's sending number and monthly text limit are set up by TRIOPilot, so email hello@triopilot.com if you need either changed.

Once texting is on, that same card shows this month's usage against your limit (500 texts a month unless TRIOPilot has set yours differently) plus a month by month history. Advisors get a heads-up in the message box once your program reaches 80 percent of the limit. At the limit, sending is blocked until the calendar month rolls over, and anyone who tries sees a message telling them the program has reached its monthly text limit and to contact their administrator.

For the rest of Settings, see Program settings.