Notification Types

Doesn't seem familiar? Jump to the "Ultra" help about notification types.

This table lists all of the notifications that the system can produce, along with the users who will receive them and under which circumstances. It also lists the module in which each notification appears.

Notification types
EventsRecipientsDescription
Announcement AvailableCourse instructors and studentsA new course announcement has been posted. If an instructor chooses to override user notification settings when creating an announcement, the notification will ignore any user settings that may preclude its delivery and will be delivered immediately.
Assignment AvailableCourse instructors and students. For group assignments, all students in the group receive this notification.A new assignment is available.
Assignment DueCourse students. For group assignments, all students in the group receive the notification.A new assignment is due, or the due date for an old assignment has changed. This is similar to Assignment Available, but shows a new assignment with an explicit due date.
Assignment Needs GradingCourse instructors. For group assignment submissions, all students in the group receive a notification.

An assignment has been submitted.

Instructors will receive this notification in the Needs Attention and What's New modules, for both individual and group assignments.

Assignment Past DueCourse instructors and studentsAn assignment was not submitted by its due date. This notification will be generated after the due date passes.
Blog Comment PostedCourse instructors and studentsA blog comment has been posted.
Blog Entry EditedCourse instructors and studentsA blog has been edited.
Blog Entry PostedCourse instructors and studentsA blog has been posted.
Blog Needs GradingCourse instructorsA gradable blog has been submitted.
Calendar EventsCourse instructors and studentsA calendar event has been added.
Content Item AvailableCourses instructors and students

One of these types of content item is available:

  • Audio
  • Blank page
  • Course document
  • Web link
  • Image
  • Learning module
  • Lesson plan
  • Syllabus
  • Video
Course/Organization AvailableCourse instructors and studentsIssued as soon as a course is created. Unlike all other notifications in the system, this notification can't be turned off. If the notification system is active, this notification will always be sent to everyone enrolled in the course.
Course/Organization Message ReceivedCourse instructors and studentsReceived a new course or organization message.
Course/Organization Quota Soft LimitsCourse instructorsQuotas keep courses from exceeding acceptable disk space limits and warn instructors when a course is approaching the limit.
Discussion Activity On Responses The Current User Has Replied ToCourse instructors and studentsA discussion thread where the user has previously responded has new activity.
Discussion Activity On The Current User's ResponsesCourse instructors and studentsA discussion response that the user has posted has new activity.
Discussion Board Forum Needs GradingCourse instructorsA gradable discussion board forum has been submitted.
Discussion Board Thread Needs GradingCourse instructorsA gradable discussion board thread has been submitted.
Discussion Responses And Replies For FollowedCourse instructors and studentsA discussion response or reply to a discussion that the user is following. 
Discussion Responses From InstructorsCourse instructors and studentsAn instructor has rseponded to a discussion.
Form AvailableCourse instructors and studentsA new form is available.
Form DueCourse studentsA form is due.
Form OverdueCourse studentsA form wasn't submitted by its due date. This notification is generated after the due date passes.
Form SubmittedCourse instructors and studentsA form has been submitted.
Grade Below ThresholdCourse studentsA student's grade has dropped below a threshold set by instructors.
Grade DroppedCourse studentsA student's grade has dropped.
Grade in Top 10%Course studentsA student's grade is in the top 10% of a course.
Grade IncreasedCourse studentsA student's grade has increased.
Item DueCourse studentsA content item is due.
Item GradedCourse studentsA content item has been graded.
Journal Comment PostedCourse instructors and studentsA journal comment has been posted.
Journal Entry EditedCourse instructors and studentsA journal entry has been edited.
Journal Entry PostedCourse instructors and studentsA journal entry has been posted.
Journal Needs GradingCourse instructorsA gradable journal has been submitted.
Journal Non-Student Comment PostedCourse instructorsAn instructor has commented on a journal entry.
Low Class ActivityCourse studentsClass activity has fallen below a percentage set by an instructor.
Needs ReconciliationCourse instructorsInstructors receive notifications that grades need reconciling after delegated graders begin providing grades.
No Recent ActivityCourse studentsA student has had no activity for a certain amount of days set by an instructor.
Retention Center Rule DetailsCourse instructors

A list of Retention Center notifications.

The Retention Center notification isn't a traditional notification. No records are generated, and the counts are calculated dynamically each time its associated module is displayed.

Survey AvailableCourse instructors and studentsA survey has become available.
Survey DueCourse students

Issued when a user submits a survey that has a due date.

Users sometimes receive both Survey Available > and Survey Due notifications.

Survey OverdueCourse instructors and students

A survey wasn't submitted by its due date.

When the due date passes, this notification will be issued in addition to the Survey Due notification.

Survey SubmittedCourse instructorsA survey has been submitted.
SCORM Content Item AvailableCourse instructors and studentsA SCORM content item is available.
SCORM Content Item DueCourse studentsA SCORM content item is due.
SCORM Content Item GradedCourse studentsA SCORM content item has been graded.
SCORM Content Item Needs GradingCourse instructorsA gradable SCORM content item has been submitted.
SCORM Content Item Past DueCourse studentsA gradable SCORM content item wasn't submitted by its due date. This notification is generated after the due date passes.
Student Activity AvailableCourse instructorsInformation about student activity is available. The median activity for students in the course must be at least 30 minutes over the past week. 
This notification is only sent once per course.
Student Grade Data AvailableCourse instructorsInformation about student grades is available. At least 50% of students enrolled in a course must have at least one graded item.
This notification is only sent once per course. 
Student Last Access Alert for InstructorsCourse instructorsThere is at least 1 student with a new last access alert. This alert is because a student hasn't logged into a course within a certain number of days set by an instructor.
Student Low Overall Grade Alert for InstructorsCourse instructorsThere is at least 1 student with a new low overall grade alert. This alert is because a student's overall grade has dropped below a certain percentage set by an instructor.
Student Missed Due Dates Alert for InstructorsCourse instructorsThere is at least 1 student with a new missed due dates alert. This is because a student has missed more due dates than the ones set by instructors.
Test AvailableCourse instructors and studentsA test has become available.
Test DueCourse studentsA test is due.
Test Needs GradingCourse instructorsA test has been submitted. This notification isn't generated for tests that are graded automatically.
Test OverdueCourse students and instructorsA test wasn't submitted by its due date. This notification will be generated after the due date passes.
Unread Blog PostsCourse instructors and students

A count of unread blog posts. Users receive these statistics:

  • The total number of unread blog posts
  • The number of unread blog posts per course
  • The number of unread blog posts per group

The unread blog posts notification isn't a traditional notification. No records are generated, and the counts are calculated dynamically every time its associated module is displayed.

Unread Journal EntriesCourse instructors and students

A count of unread journal entries. Users receive these statistics:

  • The total number of unread journal entries
  • The number of unread journal entries per course
  • The number of unread journal entries per group

The unread journal entries notification isn't a traditional notification. No records are generated, and the counts are calculated dynamically every time its associated module is displayed.

Unread Discussion Board MessagesCourse instructors and students

A count of unread discussion board messages. Users receive these statistics:

  • The total number of unread messages
  • The number of unread messages per course
  • The number of unread messages per group

The unread discussion board messages notification isn't a traditional notification. No records are generated, and the counts are calculated dynamically every time its associated module is displayed.

Wiki Comment PostedCourse instructors and studentsA comment on a wiki entry has been posted.
Wiki Entry EditedCourse instructors and studentsA wiki entry has been edited.
Wiki Entry PostedCourse instructorsA wiki entry has been posted.
Wiki Needs GradingCourse instructorsA gradable wiki entry has been submitted.

Every notification is also classified according to whether the system considers it important.

  • Important notifications are always generated, even in course import/copy/snapshot scenarios when the system is much more restrained in the notifications that it generates. To learn more, see Mass Notifications.
  • The recipient records of important notifications are never truly deleted. Instead, they are marked as deleted and retained. All of these notifications are active by default. For performance and usability reasons, administrators should disable the notifications that it does not want the system to generate. To learn more, see Notifications Cache.

ULTRA: Notification settings mapping

Doesn't seem familiar? Jump to the "Original" help about notification types.

In the Ultra experience, users always have the option to choose their notifications at the system level rather than the course level. These notification settings apply to both the Original and Ultra Course Views. Refer to the table to understand how a user's choice in the Ultra experience affects email and SMS notifications that used to be available at the course level in the Original experience. 

If users are enrolled in at least one course with the Original Course View, they'll receive some notifications by default. These notifications can't be turned off and are indicated as Always on

Email and SMS notification types
Event
(Original Experience)
Controlling Notification Setting
(Ultra Experience)
Applicable Course Views
Announcement AvailableN/AUltra and Original
Assignment Available
Content Item Available
Survey Available
Test Available
New content addedUltra and Original
Course AvailableNew courses availableUltra and Original
Assignment Due
Item Due
Survey Due
Test Due
New and upcoming due datesUltra and Original
Assignment Past Due
Survey Past due
Test Past due
Past due itemsUltra and Original
Assignment Needs Grading
Blog Needs Grading
Discussion Board Forum Needs Grading
Discussion Board Thread Needs Grading
Journal Needs Grading
Test Needs Grading
Wiki Needs Grading
Survey Submitted
New gradable itemsUltra and Original
Course Message ReceivedNew messagesUltra and Original
Course Quota Soft LimitsN/AUltra and Original
Needs ReconciliationN/AUltra and Original
Retention Center Rule DetailsN/AUltra and Original
Unread Blog PostsN/AUltra and Original
Unread Discussion Board MessagesNew discussion messagesUltra and Original
Unread Journal EntriesN/AUltra and Original