Emails/Mailings
Overview
The Alumni Subscription Alumni Emails/Mailings function allows Alumni to subscribe/unsubscribe to an assortment of school-related publications delivered by email and mail. This allows Alumni to decide which publications they wish to receive, if any, rather than being inundated with what they consider "junk mail."
Enter Publications Using Table Maintenance - Lists
First, the titles of the school's publications must be entered in SONIS by a staff member using the Systems/Table Maintenance-List utility, as shown in the image below.
Publications are either emailed or mailed via the country's postal service. The first column below indicates which type each publication is.
Activate Using the Portal Utility
Next, use Portal Menu Utility to add Subscriptions to the Alumni menu. The standard settings are shown below.
The next step is to scroll up and locate the Menu Group "General" and it's Portal Page ,"Update Bio". At the end of the row, locate the Edit button and click it.
This list of elements on the Alumni "General/Update Bio" page includes the element "Exclude from Mailing". Check the "Display Element" checkbox. This setting displays the "Exclude from Mailing" checkbox on the "Update Bio" page. Then check the "Allow Edit" checkbox. This setting allows the Alumnus to check and uncheck the "Exclude from Mailing" checkbox.
Below is how "Exclude from Mailing" will display on the Alumni "Update Bio" page when both of the above checkboxes are checked.
Subscribe/Unsubscribe to Publications
The image below shows "Subscriptions" from the Alumni's perspective the first time they go to the function. "Subscriptions" and "Emails/Mailings" have been set up on the LEFT menu, and all of the "Emails/Mailings" available for subscription are listed. Simply check the desired publications and click "Subscribe."
The next time the Alumnus enters the functions, their subscribed publications are listed at the top, and the unsubscribed publications are listed at the bottom.
The INACTIVE after "2016, Spring Dean's List" indicates that this publication was disabled after this alumnus subscribed to it. This often occurs when a publication is determined to have a "shelf life." For example, once "2017, Fall Dean's List" is published, a school may decide that students will no longer need to subscribe to the previous list.
In the Administrative module, Records/Lists for the example alumnus looks like the image below. From this page, an administrator can click on the "List Name" and edit the item or click on the "ADD" button and assign the selected individual additional list items from a list/drop (not shown).
If an attempt is made to add a list item that already exists (i.e., one with the exact name), that addition will be prevented with the alert shown below.
