New Communications Guide

What's new in Communications

The Communications area of Admissions+ has been redesigned to do four things in one place: capture inbound enquiries, send and automate outbound messages, measure which activity actually drives admissions outcomes, and stay compliant with GDPR and consent rules along the way.

To deliver this, the update introduces or significantly enhances five distinct areas within Communications — covering inbound email management, outbound templating, campaign measurement, automation oversight, and compliance and settings. Each area is summarised below, and each has its own detailed KB guide for the full step-by-step.

Inbox (new)

A brand-new feature that wasn’t available before. Schools and colleges can now connect their email inboxes — for example, separate inboxes for Admissions, Sixth Form, and Parent Enquiries — directly into Admissions+. Inbound emails are automatically linked to the correct applicant where possible, conversation threads can be read and replied to without leaving Admissions+, and emails can be assigned to specific staff members with statuses like Open, Pending, and Done. Emails from unknown senders can be converted into an enquiry or linked to an existing applicant in one click.

Templates (significantly enhanced) 

The existing Templates feature has been rebuilt into a much more flexible and powerful version. There are now four template types — Basic, Enhanced, SMS, and (coming soon) Notifications — and template setup combines content, automation, and communication settings into a single three-step workflow (Setup → Advanced Settings → Content). New capabilities include a Communication Purpose field (Marketing vs Transactional) that powers GDPR-friendly unsubscribe behaviour, control over sender name as well as sender and reply-to email, trigger-based send methods, open/click tracking, a drag-and-drop content editor with mobile and desktop previews, and at-a-glance performance metrics in the main Templates table.

Campaigns (new)

 A brand-new area designed to help schools and colleges understand which marketing and engagement activities actually drive admissions outcomes. Rather than just seeing isolated communication activity, Campaigns let you group related messages, sequences, events. and meetings into one measurable journey, with conversion tracking, delivery tracking, and a clear link from engagement through to offers, acceptances, and enrolments. 

Automations (new central view)

A new dedicated area that brings every automated communication in Admissions+ into one place. Automations are grouped into three categories: Custom Automations (created by your school), System Automations (the default communications provided by Applicaa, such as Welcome and Offer emails), and Scheduled Messages (one-off communications timed for a future date). Opening an automation no longer just shows the underlying template — it shows a visual automation journey of the trigger and resulting action, paving the way for richer multi-step workflows as the workflow builder is rolled out.

Settings & Compliance (significantly expanded) 

The settings area has been expanded with a strong focus on GDPR compliance, consent, and audit visibility. It covers default sender and reply-to addresses, inbox connections, configurable marketing categories with per-category consent, behaviour when marketing consent is missing, customisable unsubscribe text and channels, opt-back-in requests for previously unsubscribed recipients, global template defaults (logos, headers, footers), role-based sending permissions, dedicated SMS settings including mandatory STOP messaging and Quiet Hours, and a full audit trail of settings changes.

Why we built this update

Schools and colleges told us that managing admissions communication had become fragmented. Staff were switching between Admissions+, Outlook or Gmail, separate marketing tools, and spreadsheets to keep track of who had been contacted, who had responded, and which activity actually moved an applicant closer to enrolment.

The updated Communications feature is built around four goals:

1. One place for every conversation

Inbound emails, outbound templates, automated journeys, SMS messages, and notifications can now all be managed inside Admissions+, with each message automatically linked to the relevant applicant or contact.

2. Better automation and personalisation

The new template engine and Automations area allow schools to build richer, trigger-driven communication journeys — for example, sending a tailored email with the sender name and reply-to address fully under the school’s control.

3. Real visibility into what works

Campaigns and the new in-table performance metrics on templates give staff a clear picture of delivery, open, and click rates — and link engagement activity through to outcomes like offers and enrolments.

4. GDPR-ready compliance by design

The new Settings & Compliance area introduces marketing vs transactional communication purposes, granular consent and unsubscribe management, opt-back-in requests, SMS quiet hours, and a settings audit trail.

At-a-glance summary

Key things to know before you start

Communication Purpose: Marketing vs Transactional

Every template now has a Communication Purpose. This determines how consent and unsubscribe rules apply:

• Marketing — recipients can unsubscribe from these. You can further categorise marketing communications (e.g. School news, Events & activities, Fundraising).
• Transactional — critical admissions-related communications such as offers and application updates. These are always delivered to ensure important messages are never missed.

Why this matters

Previously, when a recipient unsubscribed, they stopped receiving all emails sent from Admissions+ — including important admissions updates. The new Marketing / Transactional split solves this. 

Triggers and send methods

Templates and automations are driven by one of three send methods:

• Applicant Trigger — sends when an applicant does something (e.g. submits a form, declines an offer, completes a task).
• Staff Trigger — sends when a staff user does something (e.g. adds an applicant to a group, updates an application status).
• Scheduled Send — sends at a specific future date and time.

Basic (manual) templates are locked to a Manual send method, since they are intended for one-off communications.

Where to go next

Each of the five areas has its own detailed step-by-step KB guide. Use the guide that matches the area you’re working in:

• Inbox Guide — connecting inboxes, managing inbound emails, linking senders to applicants, and assigning messages to staff.
• Templates Guide — creating Basic, Enhanced, and SMS templates, configuring triggers, designing content, and reviewing performance.
• Campaigns Guide — creating a campaign, linking communications and events, and measuring conversions through to enrolment.
• Automations Guide — reviewing custom, system, and scheduled automations and understanding the visual automation journey.

• Settings & Compliance Guide — configuring sender details, consent rules, unsubscribe behaviour, SMS settings, permissions, and audit logs.

A note from us

We hope you find this overview useful as you get to grips with the Communications update. The five feature guides go into much more detail, so do dip into them whenever you need a step-by-step walkthrough.

If you have any questions, feedback, or ideas for how we can make Communications even more useful for your team, please get in touch with your Applicaa contact — we always love hearing from the schools and colleges we work with.