Training & Permission Requirements

With additional training, those with Graduate Coordinator permissions in Slate can send bulk emails out to their applicants using a feature called Deliver. Deliver is a powerful tool in Slate, and -- as the saying goes -- with great power comes great responsibility. While it might take a little extra effort and attention to detail to send emails using Deliver rather than sending via Outlook or some other email service, there are some distinct advantages to using Deliver, including:

• Emails will be added to each applicant's individual timeline, meaning you can track if an individual applicant has received and opened the email in Slate
• Many of Slate's merge fields will be available to you to personalize the mailing, such as preferred name and Campus ID
• You can review the email's overall performance in Slate by checking data like how many messages were sent, how many bounced, and how many clicks there were in the message
• Once you get a hang of it, it will likely be faster and more secure than setting up a mail merge outside of Slate

If you are a Graduate Coordinator in Slate and wish to gain the necessary permissions to send bulk emails out of Slate, you must first complete a Canvas course training. Please use the button below to register.

Register for the Slate Query Manager Email Training 

5-Step Process to Successfully Send Bulk Emails

To ensure successful delivery of your email, you should follow these 5 steps:

1. Compile List: Determine which of your applicants need to receive this email and prepare this list
2. Write Email: Draft your email, using the proper merge fields to personalize the email and settings to make sure it isn't marked as spam
3. Preview Email: See what the email will look like and send a test email to yourself
4. Submit Email: Send the email out to your desired recipients
5. Verify Email: Check to make sure your email has properly sent and review its performance

Choosing the best method to compile your list -- the first step above -- will determine the first actions you need to take in creating your bulk email. There are three main methods for compiling your list, so we've created three separate KB documents that provide step-by-step instructions based on the method you choose to compile your list:

• Use the Graduate Coordinator Portal to Set Up a Bulk Email - KB Document: Using the Graduate Coordinator Portal is the best option for compiling your email list when trying to communicate with an assortment of applicants that don’t already exist in a well-defined query. This KB document will show you how to use the Graduate Coordinator Portal to select the individual applicants who should receive the email, no matter where they may be in the admissions process, and create an email batch to be used for your mailing.

• Use an Existing Query to Set Up a Bulk Email - KB Document: Using an existing query is the best option for compiling your list when emailing a group of applicants that already conveniently exist in a query. This KB document will show you how you can use an existing query (such as a homepage query) to send a bulk email to all of the applicants in the query.

• Upload an Excel Doc to Set Up a Bulk Email - KB Document: Uploading an Excel document of prospective student data is the best way to compile your email list when some of the prospective students you are emailing have not yet started an application (and therefore do not yet exist as records in Slate). This KB document will show you how you can essentially create a mail merge in Slate to send an email out to prospective applicants using an uploaded Excel spreadsheet.

Have questions? Want to Learn more?

If you have questions about bulk emailing out of Slate, please reach out to admisstionstaff@grad.wisc.edu. We will do our best to answer your questions via email or, if useful, we can set up a time to meet with you one-on-one. Do not be shy -- we are eager and willing to help!