4 Reasons Why Your School Should Implement Push Notifications To Improve Student Success 
92.4% of students using CourseKey opt in to push notifications to stay engaged in their academic journey.
Good communication has always been critical to student success, but communication methods must evolve with them as students evolve. When email was first introduced, it wasn’t a popular form of communication, but that changed over time. Now, it’s nearly impossible to pay bills, shop, or do other daily tasks without an email address.
Now, with the rise in mobile devices, students prefer texting. But not all communications are fit for texting, and too many messages can overwhelm a student, causing them to opt out of messages from your school.
Implementing push notifications from a student app empowers students to opt in to the communications they need without overwhelming them.
Push notifications can benefit every stage of the student lifecycle department—from enrollment to placement and everything in between.
Here are four reasons you should implement push notifications into your student communication mix.
Trigger Immediate Action
Push notifications from a student-driven app happen automatically based on a real-time trigger. For example, if a student forgets to clock out in their app, they’ll receive a push notification moments later, ensuring they close the loop and receive accurate credit for their time in class.
Without push notifications, administrators have to wait until they get the student attendance records for the day, text students who didn’t clock out, and remind them to connect with an instructor for a time adjustment—or wait and track down the student in person the next day.
Both processes create more work for everyone involved. Plus, students may feel that an after-hours text reminding them that they didn’t clock out is intrusive, leading them to opt out of messaging.
Push Notifications Are Customizable and Academic-Oriented
Push notifications put the power in the student’s hands. Students can choose which notifications they want to receive and change them at any time.
Many students who struggle to remember asynchronous coursework opt in to alerts for discussion posts, new assessments, and instructor communications. This information is critical for student success but may feel naggy or intrusive if sent via text. For example, while instructors may work late, no student wants a 10 p.m. text message letting them know they have a new assessment to complete.
Students are more likely to engage with your communications when they have a say in the messages that benefit them the most.
Protect Opt-In Rates
When students opt out of communications, it becomes increasingly difficult to confirm placement post-graduation. However, when you vary your communication mix, you’re more likely to keep one or more channels open with students long-term.
Because students can easily manage which messages they would like to receive, they’re less likely to opt out of all communication. If they’re annoyed at check-out reminders but find assessment alerts beneficial, they can opt out of check out alerts instead of completely shutting the door to all communication.
Reduce App Overload
Your team has an SIS, LMS, CRM, texting service, and sometimes an additional tool to manage texting opt-ins/outs. Unfortunately, when these apps don’t talk to one another, and your team spends time toggling between them, your school is paying what Harvard Business Review (HBR) has coined “the toggle tax.”
The toggle tax is the time it takes for employees to switch between apps and reorient themselves after switching. The HBR study found that the average user switched apps nearly 1,200 times daily, spending just under four hours a week reorienting themselves after switching apps, adding up to five working weeks per year.
When you leverage an application that automates push notifications, texting, and email in one platform, your team spends less time paying the toggle tax and more time supporting students.
How To Implement Push Notifications at Your School
CourseKey push notifications are triggered automatically by the data across your entire tech stack, removing data collection and communication work from instructors and admins.
We combine push notifications with event-triggered texts and email notifications to reach your students where they are and ensure they never miss a critical message.
Request a demo to learn how CourseKey helps over 300+ campuses better engage students while saving staff time through communication automation.
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