§ 27 · People & institution

Communication

The communication module composes, queues and records every message the university sends. Before you use it for anything that matters, read the badge in the top right of its dashboard: it tells you whether sending is switched on.

What it is for

Sending official email and SMS, and proving what was delivered.

Who can do it

ICT Admin with email permissionsCommunication officersAdmissions and Registry for bulk sends

Needed first

SMTP configured and validated
Sender identities
Approved templates

Where it ends

Delivered messages with a log, or a failure you can see and retry.

First: is sending on?

The Communication Foundation Dashboard with a badge reading Transport controls live, Sending disabled; tiles for foundation tables, email permissions, templates, sender identities and email service; a development roadmap; and a Channel Readiness table showing Email SMTP Enabled, Portal Notification Enabled and SMS Twilio Disabled, with a note that email will remain disabled until validation succeeds. — **Communication Foundation Dashboard.** The badge top right and the Channel Readiness table are the two things to read before composing anything.

Read the badge before you send

At the time of writing the badge reads “Transport controls live · Sending disabled”, and the queue note says plainly: “SMTP credentials are not stored in these tables. Email will remain disabled until Batch 2 validation succeeds.”

You can compose, template and queue. Messages will not leave. Do not rely on this module to notify applicants or students of anything time-critical until that badge changes — and do not assume a queued message was delivered.

Channel	Driver	Status	Means
Email	SMTP	Enabled	The channel is configured; the service still awaits validation
Portal notification	PORTAL	Enabled	In-system notices work — the reliable channel today
SMS	TWILIO	Disabled	Not in service

What works today

Portal notifications are enabled. If you need to reach students or staff now, a notice that appears in their portal will arrive; an email may not. Plan around that rather than discovering it after an admission list is published.

Composing and sending

The Compose Email screen with recipient, template, subject and body fields. — **Compose Email** — one message, one recipient set. Permission `email.compose`.

The Bulk Email screen for selecting an audience and a template for a mass send. — **Bulk Email** — an audience and a template. Permission `email.send_bulk`, deliberately separate from composing a single message.

The Email Templates screen listing versioned templates with their approval status. — **Email Templates.** Versioned, with approved variables and controlled approval, so an official letter cannot be quietly reworded before a mass send.

Worked example

Chasing 11 applicants who have not finished their form

0. Check	The dashboard badge. If sending is disabled, use a portal notice instead — or accept that this is a queued draft, not a send
1. Audience	Admissions → the Incomplete Applications tile. That is your list, already filtered
2. Template	Use an approved template rather than free text. It carries the right sender identity and the approved variables
3. Preview	Templates support a safe preview. Read it once as an applicant would
4. Send	Bulk Email
5. Prove it	Delivery Logs — attempted, delivered, failed. This is the record, not your sent folder
6. Failures	Failures — retry the transient, investigate the rest. A bounced address is a data problem, not a mail problem
7. Suppressions	Anyone who has unsubscribed or hard-bounced is on the Suppression List and is skipped. That is correct, not a fault

Delivery, failures and health

The Delivery Logs screen listing every message attempt with its status. — **Delivery Logs.** Every attempt, with its outcome. This is what you quote when someone says they never received a letter.

The Health Checks screen showing the status of the communication service and its dependencies. — **Health Checks.** Run this before a large send, not after one has failed.

The Email Settings screen with sender identities, transport configuration and controls. — **Email Settings.** Sender identities and transport controls. Permission `email.manage_settings`.

Communication permissions are unusually granular

Fifteen separate email permissions exist, and they are not bundled. It is entirely normal to hold one and not another — an ICT administrator with wide system access may hold none of them at all, because sending on the university's behalf is a different responsibility from running the system.

A not-authorised page shown when a role without email permissions opens the communication dashboard. — **What that looks like.** An ICT Admin account opening Communication. Nothing is broken.

Permission	Lets you
`email.compose`	Write and send an individual message
`email.send_bulk`	Send to an audience
`email.schedule`	Queue a message for later
`email.manage_templates`	Create and version templates
`email.view_logs`	Read delivery logs
`email.retry_failures`	Retry failed sends
`email.manage_suppressions`	Manage the suppression list
`email.export_reports`	Export communication reports
`email.manage_settings`	Change transport and sender identities

If a message does not arrive

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Nothing at all is being delivered	Sending is disabled at the service level	The dashboard badge. Nothing you do in Compose will change it
SMS never sends	The SMS channel is disabled	Channel Readiness
One recipient never receives anything	They are on the suppression list	Suppression List — check before assuming a bug
The whole module refuses	You hold no email permission	Request the specific one you need
A template will not send	It is not approved	Templates — approval is a step
Sent but the student says nothing arrived	Check the log before believing either party	Delivery Logs