Email Templates and Best Practices

Email Templates and

Best Practices

Resources from Breaking Through the Student

Communications Barrier

Student Success Collaborative

+7.3%

+1.7%

-0.6%

+1.5%

Change in Open Rate

Catchy

Oops

—you missed your

registration deadline!

Direct

Concerned about your midterm

grades

Urgent

URGENT:

Your academic plan

Authoritative

Next steps to get you back on

track

Conversational

Let’s chat about Chemistry

Mysterious

You qualify for a new program!

Guiding

How to improve your GPA

at the Tutoring Center

Action

-oriented

Schedule some time with

this week

Questioning

Is there a reason you haven’t

registered yet?

Nine Effective Approaches

Adapted from Advisory Board’s Internal Guidelines

Write for Your Audience

Effective Messages Are Student-Centered and Student-Friendly

Student-Centered Copy

Tone Should Focus on Students and

Their Goals, Not Rules or Policies

Impersonal Copy

“Whitehouse University cares about your

success and offers a number of resources

for students in need of additional support.

Students have found the tutoring center to

be critical in improving their GPA for

admission into certain selective programs.”

50%

Increase in response rate

(Royall recruitment campaign)

“I care about your success and noticed

that your math midterm grade is not up to

standards for the Business School, which

you want to apply for next semester. You

should schedule an appointment with the

tutoring center.”

Tool: “Higher Ed Jargon

Reduction Exercise” on eab.com

Ensure readability

The Gunning Fog Index is an online tool

to assess the grade-level of a given text

Language Should Be Clear to

All Students (Including ESL)

Remove passive voice

“If you are contacted

by your advisor”

“If your advisor

contacts you”

Translate jargon

“Non-credit-bearing”

“Does not count

for credit”

Make Your Subject Line Do More Work

A Good First Impression Drives Higher Open Rates

Insights from Out-of-Industry

Mixpanel Analysis of 85,637 Subject Lines

13.5%

Benchmark open rate

for 1.7 billion emails

Reduce multisyllabic words

“Exempted”

“Do not need to”

Student Communications Best Practices

For more on effective student communications, view

Supporting Student Conversations with SSC

and Breaking Through the Student

Communications Barrier.

Make Your CTA

Stand Out

Offset CTAs with bold,

different colored text,

or buttons

Convey a Sense

of Urgency

Use action verbs that

convey a sense of urgency,

such as “sign up,”

“schedule,” or “pay”

increase in clicks when

the number of CTAs are

reduced from 4 to 1

42%

Include Only One

CTA When Possible

Lead with a CTA

in the Subject Line

Include the CTA in the

subject line so students

immediately know what

they need to do

Out-of-Industry Best Practices

Don’t Ignore Your CTA

The Call to Action Is Critical, but Often the Hardest Part to Get Right

Gunning-Fog Index Score:

Number of Words

Number of 3+ Syllable Words

2. Copy and paste the message into

the Gunning-Fog Index online tool:

www.gunning-fog-index.com. Then fill

in the following information.

Recommended score: 10 or lower

Recommended number: <200 words

Recommended number: <20 words

3. Use the rubric below to assess the

effectiveness of the message’s copy.

Worksheet: Student Communications Audit

Purpose of the Tool

This worksheet will help you identify common missteps that prevent students from understanding and acting on

emails from the university. This worksheet is designed as a group or independent activity to ensure

student-friendly communications.

1. Identify the purpose of the message. What is it meant to teach the student or get them to do?

Jargon

Translation

e.g.,

Prerequisite

e.g., a course you must complete before X

4. Identify jargon in the message (words of 3 or more syllables that someone outside of higher

education might not know). Translate jargon into plain-speak explanations.

Word Bank: Common

Higher Education Jargon

prerequisite

disbursement

subsidized

bursar

deficit

registrar

probation

academic

standing

eligibility

audit

misconduct

dismissal

Yes

Based on question

2, is the message

readable for the average student?

□

Does the message avoid passive voice?

(e.g.

must be completed by students)

□

Does

the message address the student

as “you” and appeal to their motivation?

□

Does the message include a

clear,

urgent

next step or call to action?

□

Worksheet: Student Communications Audit

5. Based on the audit you just completed, revise the message by removing passive voice, appealing

to the student’s motivation, and including clear next steps. Remove jargon where possible; if you

must include jargon, ensure there is sufficient context for the student to understand it.

Email Templates

Subject: You qualify for our new program!

Dear <FirstName>,

Welcome back! We hope that you had an amazing summer and that you all rested up

and ready to start the fall 2014 semester.

As you know, the Nursing program has a competitive admissions process based upon

grades earned. Over that last couple of years, the average cumulative GPA for

students that have been accepted to the Nursing Program has been 3.7 and above.

You are receiving this email because we’ve noticed that your cumulative GPA at UNC is

currently <GPA 3.0 to 3.5> which qualifies you to take advantage of our new program

designed to give pre-nursing students an additional layer of support by meeting with a

specialized advisor.

Use this link to schedule a program appointment or respond to attend one of the office

hours listed below.

Subject: URGENT – Chemistry Plans

Hi <FirstName>,

I am writing to follow up about an email I sent a week ago. Most science-related

industries generally look for students with a 2.8 GPA or higher. I noticed that you

currently have a <Cumulative GPA >2.5>. I would like to meet with you in person to

discuss your goals and create action steps together. Please use the link below on or

before Wednesday, October 22 to schedule an appointment during the week

of October 27.

If you have decided to switch majors, please respond to this email and let me know so

that I can work with you to ensure that the department does not put an advising hold

on your account.

Have a great day!

Student Seeking Admission into a Selective Program, in Need of Support

Student Struggling to Meet GPA Requirements for His/her Major

Subject: Is there a reason you have not yet registered for classes?

Name,

Your registration window closes April 1 (tomorrow) at 11:00 am. To have the best

opportunity to get the classes you want, you need to register before the window closes.

If you are not able to complete your scheduling by 11:00 am tomorrow, you will have to wait

until Schedule Clean-Up (April 27–May 8) and you are less likely to get the schedule

you want.

If you need assistance, please let me know.

Subject: Excited for your new journey!

Hi FirstName,

I noticed that you successfully changed your major in the system from Mechanical

Engineering to Environmental Studies. Congratulations!

As we discussed, I think this major is a great fit for you based on your interest in alternative

energy and sustainability issues and your strong performance in your science classes

to date.

Are you familiar with the career services office? I would recommend you visit to learn more

about opportunities in the field of sustainability. If you are interested, let me know before

the end of May and I can put you in touch with one of my colleagues who is a career

counselor there.

Student Who Made a Successful Major Change

Student Who Missed His/her Registration Deadline