Communication in openSIS helps institutions share important information with students, parents, staff, teachers, and administrators. Schools may use communication features to send announcements, academic updates, attendance alerts, reminders, billing messages, admissions updates, and general messages.
This article explains the key communication terms used in openSIS, including the Communication module, compose message, broadcast groups, email, SMS, WhatsApp, communication providers, gateways, templates, test connection, and delivery-related terms.
Communication refers to messages or updates sent from openSIS to users such as students, parents, teachers, staff, or administrators.
Communication may be used for announcements, reminders, alerts, academic updates, attendance updates, billing messages, admissions updates, and other school-related information.
The Communication Module is the openSIS area used to send and manage messages between system users.
It allows administrators, teachers, students, and parents to communicate through the openSIS platform, depending on the user’s role and permissions.
Messages may be sent to individuals or groups. If external email is configured, messages may also be sent to users’ email addresses.
Compose Message is the message creation screen in the Communication module.
Users can use this screen to write and send messages. The compose screen may include recipient selection, subject, message body, attachments, and an option to send the message as an email if email delivery is enabled.
To or Recipient Selection is the field where the sender chooses who should receive the message.
Recipients may include individual users, selected students, parents, teachers, staff members, or broadcast groups.
A Recipient is the user who receives a message.
Recipients may include students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators, or selected user groups.
A Recipient Group is a selected group of users who receive the same communication.
Examples:
All parents, selected students, staff members, teachers, or users linked to a specific grade level or academic group.
A Broadcast Group is a named group of users created for sending one message to multiple recipients at the same time.
Broadcast Groups help institutions send school-wide, grade-level, class-specific, or audience-specific announcements more efficiently.
Administrators may create groups by selecting users manually or using filters such as role, grade level, or other criteria.
A Message is the content sent to recipients through openSIS or through an enabled external communication channel.
A message may include a subject, body text, attachment, or template-based content depending on the channel and configuration.
A Message Subject is the title or subject line of a message.
It is commonly used for openSIS messages and email messages. SMS and WhatsApp messages usually do not require a subject line.
The Message Body is the main content of the message.
It contains the information the institution wants to share with the recipient.
An Attachment is a file added to a message.
Email and WhatsApp may support attachments depending on the channel and provider configuration. SMS generally does not support file attachments.
Send as Email is an option that allows an openSIS message to be delivered to recipients’ external email addresses.
This option requires email server configuration. It is useful when institutions want to reach users who may not regularly check messages inside openSIS.
Email Server Configuration is the setup required for openSIS to send external email messages.
Administrators may configure email delivery using SMTP relay details or API-based email service credentials, depending on the institution’s setup.
Once configured, email server settings may support features such as Send as Email, admissions notifications, billing reminders, and other automated messages.
Communication Settings are the system settings used to configure how messages are sent from openSIS.
These settings may include provider selection, email server configuration, gateway credentials, sender information, test connection, templates, and channel-specific configuration.
A Communication Channel is the method used to send a message.
Common communication channels include:
The available channels depend on the institution’s configuration and enabled providers.
An Internal Message is a message sent within the openSIS platform.
Users may view internal messages after logging in to their respective portals, depending on their role and access.
Email is a communication channel used to send messages to users through email addresses.
Schools may use email for announcements, academic updates, attendance messages, billing notices, admissions updates, and general communication.
SMS is a text message sent to a user’s mobile phone number.
SMS is commonly used for short alerts, reminders, attendance notifications, and urgent updates.
WhatsApp is a messaging channel that allows institutions to send messages through WhatsApp, depending on the configured provider.
WhatsApp may be used for school communication, reminders, alerts, parent updates, student updates, and selected communication workflows.
A Communication Provider is the service used to send messages through a selected channel.
For example, a school may configure a provider to send SMS or WhatsApp messages from openSIS.
A Gateway is a service that connects openSIS with an external communication provider.
Gateways help openSIS send messages through channels such as SMS or WhatsApp.
Twilio Gateway is a communication provider option that may be used to send SMS or WhatsApp messages from openSIS.
Institutions must configure the required Twilio credentials before using this gateway.
Infobip Gateway is a communication provider option that may be used to send SMS or WhatsApp messages from openSIS.
Institutions must configure the required Infobip credentials before using this gateway.
Meta Cloud API is used for WhatsApp communication through Meta’s official WhatsApp Business platform.
When configured, it allows openSIS to send WhatsApp messages through the institution’s approved WhatsApp setup.
A Sender is the email address, phone number, WhatsApp number, or configured identity used to send a message.
Sender details may depend on the selected provider and channel.
A Message Template is a predefined message format that can be reused.
Templates help institutions maintain consistent communication for common scenarios such as attendance alerts, admissions updates, billing reminders, payment notices, or general announcements.
A WhatsApp Template is a pre-approved message format used for WhatsApp communication.
Some WhatsApp providers may require templates to be approved before they can be used for certain types of messages.
A Placeholder is a dynamic field used inside a message template.
Placeholders are replaced with actual data when the message is sent.
Example:
A placeholder such as student name may be replaced with the actual student’s name in the final message.
Provider Credentials are the authentication details required to connect openSIS with an external communication provider.
These may include account IDs, tokens, API keys, sender numbers, phone number IDs, business account IDs, or other provider-specific details.
An API Key is a secure key used to connect openSIS with an external service or provider.
Communication providers may require API keys to authenticate message requests.
An Access Token is a secure value used to authorize communication between openSIS and an external provider.
Tokens should be kept private and updated when required by the provider.
Test Connection is an option used to verify whether the configured communication provider is working correctly.
It helps administrators confirm that credentials, sender details, and provider settings are valid before sending real messages.
Message Status shows the current state of a sent message.
Common statuses may include sent, delivered, failed, pending, or queued, depending on the provider.
Sent means the message has been submitted from openSIS or the provider for delivery.
Delivered means the message reached the recipient’s device, inbox, or communication account, depending on provider confirmation.
Failed means the message could not be delivered.
A message may fail due to invalid recipient details, provider configuration issues, insufficient balance, unsupported format, missing credentials, or gateway errors.
Queued means the message is waiting to be processed or sent by the provider.
Pending means the message has not yet reached a final delivery status.
It may still be waiting for provider processing, recipient confirmation, or status update.
A Delivery Report provides information about whether a message was sent, delivered, failed, queued, or remained pending.
Delivery reports help administrators review communication activity and troubleshoot delivery issues.
A Communication Log is a record of messages sent from openSIS.
It may include recipient details, message content, date, channel, status, sender, and provider response depending on the available tracking.
A Notification is an alert or message used to inform users about important updates.
Notifications may be related to attendance, grades, schedules, student requests, admissions, billing, behavior, or general announcements.
An Announcement is a general message shared with a selected audience.
Announcements may be sent to students, parents, teachers, staff, or institution-wide users.
An Automated Message is a system-triggered message sent based on a specific event or workflow.
Examples:
Application status update, payment reminder, attendance alert, password setup email, or course request notification.
Applicant Email Messages are automated email notifications configured for the admissions process.
They may be sent to applicants at different stages, such as application received, under review, accepted, rejected, or enrolled.
A Billing Reminder is a message sent to remind students, parents, or responsible parties about pending fees, invoices, balances, or payment deadlines.
Billing reminders may depend on billing setup and email configuration.
Communication terms help administrators configure message delivery correctly and help users understand how messages are created, sent, tracked, and delivered.
When communication channels, provider settings, templates, and email server details are configured properly, openSIS can support faster school updates, better parent engagement, clearer user communication, and more reliable operational workflows.