Contact details

  • Lead name: Nina Richards, Receptionist/Information Assistant, n.richards@bath.ac.uk
  • Dept/Service: Learning Support
  • Project Duration: until 1st June, 2009

Background

What are you planning on doing and why will SMS texting help?

The Learning Support Services are planning on using the Edutxt software to contact their students with important information; this can be broken down into the different kinds of information to all LS Students, a particular group of students or individual students, at various relevant times of the year:

  • Deadlines for alternative exam arrangements: All LS Students, sent twice yearly
  • Reminders of Advisor appointments: Individual students, sent continuous
  • Reminders of Study Skills appointments: Individual students, sent continuous
  • Notifying students to pick up their notes: Individual students, sent continuous
  • Notifying Support Workers and Note Takers to complete pay claims: Group SMS, sent monthly
  • Notifying a student that we have received important documentation and that they need to arrange an appointment: Individual students, sent continuous
  • Reminders to update personal details at the start of a new academic year: All LS Students, sent once a year

The new SMS system would be beneficial to the Learning Support Services and their registered students as it will enhance the conventional methods of telephone and emailing. In addition, some of our registered students have hearing difficulties and an SMS would be beneficial. It will also reach those students who do not log into their email account, very often. For instance, if an advisor has sent an important document via email to a student this can then be followed up with a text to state that an important email has been sent to them.

In the past students have forgotten when their Study Skills Appointments are and have not shown up to the sessions. This has been a waste of the Tutors time and funding. However, the SMS pilot will hopefully reduce the amount of missed Study Skills appointments, which is beneficial in many areas of efficiency and funding implications.

How will this be managed?

The Learning Support Services staff will have basic training about what the system entails but will not be using it themselves. The Receptionist/Information Assistant will primarily use the SMS system to contact Learning Support Students at the request of members of staff and independently The Senior Administrator will also have access and undertake the training to operate the system. This will ensure a sound and efficient procedure is in place. If the team members wish to send an SMS they would communicate this to the relevant users to request an individual, group or an ‘all’ student SMS.

What questions are you trying to answer?

These pilots will focus on some very basic questions. The LS team have not previously engaged with SMS, therefore, we are just interested in evaluating how it works and if students find it useful.