Email Notifications

Shapeshift can automatically send emails in response to events such as a learner registering, being enrolled onto learning content, or approaching a due date.

Notifications are configured for each platform, so the emails a learner receives depend on the features and notification rules enabled for that implementation.

Notification types

Shapeshift includes notification types for common events including:

A user registering for an account
A user account being created
Enrollment onto a Course
Enrollment onto a Learning Path
Joining an Organization
Becoming an Organization Owner
A Course approaching its due date
A Course becoming overdue
A module becoming due or overdue
Completion of manual Quiz grading

Not every platform uses every notification type.

Some notifications are sent immediately when an event occurs, while others are scheduled and sent when particular conditions are met.

Configuring notifications

Notifications are managed through the CMS.

Each notification can be enabled or disabled and has its own email subject and body. Notification content can include dynamic information relevant to the event, such as the learner's name, Course information, due dates or links back to the learning platform.

The information available to use in an email depends on the notification type.

Although notification copy can be edited through the CMS, Plume will typically help configure and maintain notifications to ensure that the appropriate triggers, filters and dynamic information are being used.

Notification rules

More than one notification can be configured for the same type of event.

Filters can then determine which notification should be sent. For example, Course enrollment emails can differ depending on whether the learner enrolled themselves, was enrolled by an Organization Owner, or was enrolled by an administrator.

Course enrollment notifications can also be configured not to send when the enrollment was created as part of a Learning Path.

This allows platforms to avoid sending unnecessary or duplicate emails when different enrollment processes are being used.

Account and Organization notifications

Different ways of creating or adding a learner can trigger different notifications.

For example, a learner registering themselves is a different event from an administrator creating their account. Similarly, adding somebody to an Organization and appointing somebody as an Organization Owner are separate events.

The notifications configured for a platform should therefore reflect the different ways its users are created and managed.

Scheduled notifications

Some notification types are evaluated on a schedule rather than being triggered immediately by an action.

These can be used for events such as approaching Course due dates, overdue Courses, incomplete Courses, and modules that have become due or overdue.

The exact reminder rules and timing depend on how the notification has been configured.

Email sender

All Shapeshift notification emails for a platform are sent from the email address configured for that platform.

Plume configures this using a sender address agreed with the client. The notification itself controls its subject and body, including any sign-off or footer content required for that email.

Checking sent emails

Shapeshift maintains internal notification logs recording emails processed by the platform. These logs are normally hidden from CMS users and are primarily useful for technical support.

Email delivery is handled through Postmark.

Postmark provides more detailed delivery information, including delivery status, bounces, spam complaints and other email delivery issues.

Where required, clients can be given access to their Postmark server to review this information directly.