How to Use Announcements

Relevant to: faculty and staff

This article contains information considered accurate at the time of publishing. Technology updates, changes in University security practices, policies and procedures may effect the information in this article - updates to articles are scheduled on a periodic basis and will address any required changes.

Introduction

The Announcements tool enables you to create news items that help communicate course updates, changes, and new information to students quickly and effectively. 

Creating an Announcement

1. Select Course Menu, then select Announcements.
2. Select the New Announcement button.
3. Enter a Headline and Content.
4. The Always show start date check box is checked by default. This is the best practice so students can quickly and easily identify any new announcements that are created, ensuring they stay up-to-date. An Announcement's start date and time appear below the headline when displayed in the Announcements widget.
5. In the Start Date and End Date fields, select the posting availability date. Announcements publish immediately unless you specify an alternate start date.
6. You can remove an Announcement on a specific date by selecting the Remove Announcements item based on end date check box. Instructors can still see the Announcement after its end date, but it does not appear for students.
7. In the Attachments section, add attachments, audio recordings, and video recordings as part of your Announcements item.
8. To include additional release conditions, select Attach Existing or Create and Attach.
9. To continue editing the Announcement, select Save as Draft. Students cannot see draft Announcements. To release the Announcement to students, select Publish.

Deleting Announcements

Announcements can be deleted by removing one at a time or deleting multiple announcements at once.

1. Select Course Menu and select Announcements​​​​​​.
2. To delete a single announcement:
   • Select the drop-down menu just to the right of the announcement's title and select the Delete option.
3. To delete multiple announcements:
   • Check the boxes to the left of the announcements' titles, then select the Delete button found just above the list of announcements.

Editing an Announcement

1. Select Course Menu and select Announcements from the menu.
2. On the Announcements page, select the Announcement Title that needs to be edited.
3. Edit the Announcements.
4. To inform students of major changes and updates to the announcement that they might have dismissed, ensuring that those headlines reappear with current information, select the Major edit - send a notification and restore it for those who dismissed it check box.
   • The edited Announcement can reappear at the top of the Announcements widget by changing the start date to the current date and time.
5. Select Publish.

Reording Announcements

1. Select Course Menu and select Announcements from the menu.
2. On the Announcements page, select the More Actions button, then select the Reorder option.
3. Use the drop-down lists in the Sort Order column to select an item's order. Other items automatically reposition themselves according to the new order.
4. Select the Save button.

Restoring Deleted Announcements

1. Select Course Menu and select Announcements from the menu.
2. On the Announcements page, select the More Actions button, then select the Restore option.
3. On the Restore Announcements page, select the check box of the Announcements item or items you want to restore.
4. Select the Restore button located above the list of announcements.

Notifications and Announcements

The default setting for Announcements is set to include notifications. Please note that students (and faculty) have the ability to turn this setting off. If you need to send information to all students, we recommenced using the bulk email function from the class roster to ensure they receive your information.