Texting

The text messaging feature in Jayhawk GPS works on a case by case basis to communicate with students and/or across the board for appointment reminders. Please see below for implementation details.

Best Practices

  • Text messages are limited to 160 characters.
  • The text message will be sent from a randomly generated 10-digit number, not the advisor’s personal cell or office phone number.
  • Students can reply for up to 90 days. (If there’s any response activity in the text chain, the 90 day clock resets.)
  • Student replies go to staff persons’ Conversations tab in Jayhawk GPS, and a notification email is sent to the advisor’s KU email account.
  • If staff are logged on and using Jayhawk GPS, a yellow banner will appear informing you when a student has responded to a text. The yellow banner is only visible for a few moments. If you miss seeing the name of the student, check your Outlook inbox.
  • Staff should only reply to a student response through Jayhawk GPS so that full texting conversation chain is captured. NOTE: If the advisor responds via email, the full conversation will be only in Outlook and unavailable to others.
  • Important Note: Students CANNOT opt-out from one-on-one text messaging (10-digit number text messages) by responding with "Stop". If a student informs you they do not wish to receive text messages, it is your responsibility to email the jayhawkgps@ku.edu account so that texting can be disabled for the student. Students, however, CAN reply by sending “STOP” for 915-52 text messages.
  • Students without a cell phone in Jayhawk GPS (or who have chosen to opt-out of receiving text messages) will receive the message as an email in their KU email account.
  • Other advisors can see the conversation but not respond.
  • Staff should avoid using personal cell phone numbers when texting students. Doing so limits the ability to accurately track texting engagement when reporting on use and effectiveness, while also reducing full visibility for student support and outreach.
  • EAB generally recommends limiting texting a student 1 to 3 times per semester; please be mindful of the frequency in which you use text messaging.
  • By turning on the new text feature for advisors, there is no expectation to respond to the work-related text on a staff member’s personal time. Be clear and up front with your boundaries.
  • Text messaging should not be the sole method of communicating essential or urgent information/announcements to students.
  • Always begin your text message with something like  “Jayhawk GPS:”, "Jayhawk Academic Advising", or "KU Advising:" so they know where the text message is coming from. If not included, the student may be unsure who is texting them and may be more likely to disregard the text. This also provides context and consistency in KU advising messaging and communication.
  • 10-digit phone numbers may not be immediately recognizable to students. Thus, it's important for staff to identify themselves in the SMS.
  • If a student does not respond after a reasonable amount of time, reach out a second time to offer additional resources or assistance. The amount of time you wait between messages is up to you.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE - Adding the above information may require multiple texts to be sent. That is OK. Simply send the initial text by using 'Send a Message' link from student profile. Then go to the student's Conversations area to continue the same texting chain. NOTE: If second text is sent by using 'Send a Message', a new text chain is generated and the full conversation is not incorporated into one chain.  
  • Text messages are limited to 160 characters.
  • The text message will be sent from a randomly generated 10-digit number, not the advisor’s personal cell or office phone number.
  • Students can reply for up to 90 days. (If there’s any response activity in the text chain, the 90 day clock resets.)
  • Student replies go to staff persons’ Conversations tab in Jayhawk GPS, and a notification email is sent to the advisor’s KU email account.
  • If staff are logged on and using Jayhawk GPS, a yellow banner will appear informing you when a student has responded to a text. The yellow banner is only visible for a few moments. If you miss seeing the name of the student, check your Outlook inbox.
  • Staff should only reply to a student response through Jayhawk GPS so that full texting conversation chain is captured. NOTE: If the advisor responds via email, the full conversation will be only in Outlook and unavailable to others.
  • Important Note: Students CANNOT opt-out from one-on-one text messaging (10-digit number text messages) by responding with "Stop". If a student informs you they do not wish to receive text messages, it is your responsibility to email the jayhawkgps@ku.edu account so that texting can be disabled for the student. Students, however, CAN reply by sending “STOP” for 915-52 text messages.
  • Students without a cell phone in Jayhawk GPS (or who have chosen to opt-out of receiving text messages) will receive the message as an email in their KU email account.
  • Other advisors can see the conversation but not respond.
  • Staff should avoid using personal cell phone numbers when texting students. Doing so limits the ability to accurately track texting engagement when reporting on use and effectiveness, while also reducing full visibility for student support and outreach.
  • EAB generally recommends limiting texting a student 1 to 3 times per semester; please be mindful of the frequency in which you use text messaging.
  • By turning on the new text feature for advisors, there is no expectation to respond to the work-related text on a staff member’s personal time. Be clear and up front with your boundaries.
  • Text messaging should not be the sole method of communicating essential or urgent information/announcements to students.
  • Always begin your text message with something like  “Jayhawk GPS:”, "Jayhawk Academic Advising", or "KU Advising:" so they know where the text message is coming from. If not included, the student may be unsure who is texting them and may be more likely to disregard the text. This also provides context and consistency in KU advising messaging and communication.
  • 10-digit phone numbers may not be immediately recognizable to students. Thus, it's important for staff to identify themselves in the SMS.
  • If a student does not respond after a reasonable amount of time, reach out a second time to offer additional resources or assistance. The amount of time you wait between messages is up to you.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE - Adding the above information may require multiple texts to be sent. That is OK. Simply send the initial text by using 'Send a Message' link from student profile. Then go to the student's Conversations area to continue the same texting chain. NOTE: If second text is sent by using 'Send a Message', a new text chain is generated and the full conversation is not incorporated into one chain.  

Additional Texting Resources

100+ Student Texting Functionality

  • Mass or batch text messages are sent out using a 5-digit code (915-52)
  • Occurs when a staff person texts more than 100 students at time. (If an advisor texts a batch of students 2-99, the text will be sent out using the 10-digit number)
  • Just as advisors can mass email a group of students the same message, advisors can mass text students. This is not best practice but it is available functionality. Select students using Advanced Search, Student Lists, etc. to identify students you wish to text.
  • Mass texting students can be thought of as a way to nudge students to take pro-active measures where individual text messaging is more to offer reactive support.
  • NOTE: Students can opt-out of receiving messages sent from 5-digit codes.
  • When students reply "HELP" or "INFO" Explains what the texts are and why they are receiving them.
  • When students reply “STOP”, “QUIT”, “UNSUBSCRIBE”, or “END” to a text message/SMS sent from Jayhawk GPS, they will be added to an opt-out list. This will prevent them from receiving future text messages from Jayhawk GPS.
    • Once a student is on the opt-out list, text messages will not come from Jayhawk GPS. If you attempt to text a student on the opt-out list, Jayhawk GPS will automatically convert the message to an email and send it to the student email address on file.
  • If students want to receive SMS/text messages from Jayhawk GPS after opting out, they will need to text “START” to the same number they sent the unsubscribe command to.
  • Mass or batch text messages are sent out using a 5-digit code (915-52)
  • Occurs when a staff person texts more than 100 students at time. (If an advisor texts a batch of students 2-99, the text will be sent out using the 10-digit number)
  • Just as advisors can mass email a group of students the same message, advisors can mass text students. This is not best practice but it is available functionality. Select students using Advanced Search, Student Lists, etc. to identify students you wish to text.
  • Mass texting students can be thought of as a way to nudge students to take pro-active measures where individual text messaging is more to offer reactive support.
  • NOTE: Students can opt-out of receiving messages sent from 5-digit codes.
  • When students reply "HELP" or "INFO" Explains what the texts are and why they are receiving them.
  • When students reply “STOP”, “QUIT”, “UNSUBSCRIBE”, or “END” to a text message/SMS sent from Jayhawk GPS, they will be added to an opt-out list. This will prevent them from receiving future text messages from Jayhawk GPS.
    • Once a student is on the opt-out list, text messages will not come from Jayhawk GPS. If you attempt to text a student on the opt-out list, Jayhawk GPS will automatically convert the message to an email and send it to the student email address on file.
  • If students want to receive SMS/text messages from Jayhawk GPS after opting out, they will need to text “START” to the same number they sent the unsubscribe command to.

Frequently Asked Questions

The text message will be sent as an email to the student’s KU email address instead. Students also have the opportunity to input or change their cell phone number when scheduling an appointment or via an appointment campaign request.

We never send an auto-reply (canned message) except if a student responds to a text from a 5-digit code. These messages are do not reply messages, but if a student does respond to one the system will send an automated message that it was not delivered.

Yes, but only for messages from a short code. They can reply STOP to any text received from a short code to no longer receive text messages from the short code. Text messages sent to this student will be routed to their KU email instead. They cannot opt-out of messages sent from a 10-digit phone number.

They will need to text “START” to the same number (915-22) they sent the unsubscribe command to.

The staff member will receive a message through Jayhawk GPS and to their KU email. The Jayhawk GPS message will appear under Conversations. If the advisor is logged in to Jayhawk GPS, a yellow banner announcing the incoming text will appear.

No, they will not.

No, the message will appear as an individual text, not a group text.

There are several reasons as to why a text response would not be accurately documented in Jayhawk GPS:

  • SMS, cell networks, and cell phones may drop/lose the message.
  • If the sender is no longer active in the system when someone replies to a message.
  • If the “To” address is a cell number (i.e. not a short code), but the recipient’s number was either not found, or not assigned to the student who is responding

Messages sent to pooled (aka 10-digit) numbers will always be stored in a student's history along with who sent the message. Replies to messages from a short-code will not be recorded as these messages are a “no-reply” message.

The student will receive an automated message from the number that says "It looks like you're texting from a number we don't recognize. Please contact someone at your institution for more information."

If the message comes from the same user, the messages will send, but they will be throttled to respect anti-spam text regulation. It is not recommended to send messages like this because it can result in a large number of replies that may overload an advisors email.