Handling Student Messages: Your University Inbox on AllUniversity.info

Prospective students who have a question about your university can now message you directly through AllUniversity.info, and your replies land back with them in one tidy conversation. For verified representatives, this turns scattered enquiry emails into a single, manageable inbox. Here's how it works and how to stay on top of it.

Where student messages arrive

When a student messages your university, the conversation appears in your dashboard inbox, and you're notified by email so you never miss one. From your dashboard, open your university and choose Open Inbox. You'll also see an unread count beside your university wherever it's listed, so it's easy to tell at a glance when something needs a reply.

Finding your way around the inbox

Your inbox is organised into three tabs:

• Active — open conversations that may need your attention.
• Closed — conversations you've finished with, kept for reference.
• Archived — conversations you've filed away.

Open any conversation to read the full thread and reply.

Replying to a student

Open a conversation, type your reply, and send. A few things worth knowing:

• The student sees your reply as an official response from your university, so keep it clear and professional.
• You're welcome to include links to official university pages — prospectuses, application forms, deadline pages — which makes it easy to point students to the next step.
• Your reply reaches the student in their own inbox, and they're notified by email too.

Answer the question directly, and if something falls outside what you can resolve, tell the student who to contact.

Closing, archiving and reopening

When a conversation is resolved, you can Close it. If you'd rather file it out of the way, Archive it. Closed or archived conversations aren't gone — you can Reopen any of them if the student comes back or the matter resurfaces. Both closing and archiving are confirmed before they take effect, so you won't do either by accident.

Choosing whether to accept messages

You control whether students can start new conversations with your university. From your dashboard, open Communication Settings and toggle Messages from students:

• On — the contact option appears on your public profile and students can message you.
• Off — the contact option is removed and no new conversations can be started.

Turning it off only affects new messages — any conversations already open stay open, so you can still finish replying to students you're already talking to. This is handy if your team needs a break from enquiries during a busy period. When you're ready, switch it back on and select Save preferences.

Messages from before you claimed

If students reached out to your university before you claimed it, those conversations aren't lost. When your claim is verified, earlier enquiries are brought into your dashboard inbox so you can pick up where they left off.

Tips for handling enquiries well

• Reply promptly. A quick, helpful answer at the shortlisting stage leaves a strong impression.
• Keep it in the thread. Replying within the conversation keeps a clean record and keeps the student's follow-ups in one place.
• Point to the next step. A link to the right page often answers the question better than a long paragraph.
• Watch your unread count. It's your signal that a prospective student is waiting.

A responsive inbox is one of the simplest ways to stand out to students who are deciding where to apply. If you haven't claimed your university yet, start there — the inbox and communication settings are among the tools verification unlocks, free of charge.