> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.deandesk.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Announcements

> Post announcements to students in your courses and programs.

<Info>
  **School-level feature** — managed within your school portal at `yourschool.deandesk.com`.
</Info>

Announcements are course-specific or program-specific messages that teachers and admins post to communicate with enrolled students. When an announcement is posted, every enrolled student receives an email, a push notification, and an in-app notification.

## Who can post announcements

| Context     | Who can post                                          |
| ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Course**  | The course instructor, course assistants, or an admin |
| **Program** | The program instructor or an admin                    |

Teachers can only post announcements in courses or programs they are assigned to. Admins can post in any course or program.

## Post a course announcement

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open your course">
    Navigate to the course from your dashboard. If you are the instructor, it appears on your instructor dashboard. Admins can find any course under **Courses** in the sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to the Announcements tab">
    Inside the course, select the **Announcements** tab.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click New Announcement">
    Click the **New Announcement** button (or tap the floating action button on mobile).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write your announcement">
    Enter a **Title** (up to 100 characters) and your announcement **Content**. Be clear and concise — students see the title and a short preview in their notification feed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pin if needed">
    Toggle **Pin to top** if this announcement should stay at the top of the list. Pinned announcements always appear above unpinned ones regardless of date.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Post">
    Click **Post**. All actively enrolled students in the course are immediately notified.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Program announcements follow the same flow — open the program, go to the **Announcements** tab, and post from there.

## What students receive

When an announcement is posted, every enrolled student receives:

* **Email** — delivered to their registered email address (or their parent's email if the student is a child account)
* **Push notification** — sent to their mobile device if they have the DeanDesk app installed
* **In-app notification** — appears in their notification feed on the web and mobile app

<Note>
  For child accounts that cannot receive email directly, DeanDesk automatically redirects the email to the student's parent with a `[For ChildName]` prefix in the subject line.
</Note>

## Pinned announcements

Pin important announcements so they stay at the top of the list and don't get buried by newer posts.

* Toggle **Pin to top** when creating or editing an announcement.
* Pinned announcements display a pin indicator so students can distinguish them from regular posts.
* You can unpin an announcement at any time by editing it.

## Responding to announcements

Students and teachers can respond to announcements, creating a discussion thread below the original post.

* Responses support **threaded replies** — you can reply directly to another person's response.
* All course members are notified when a new response or reply is posted (except the person who wrote it).
* Responses can include file attachments.

<Tip>
  Use announcement responses for quick follow-up questions about the topic. For ongoing class discussions, use the [Discussions](/communication/discussions) feature instead.
</Tip>

## Editing and deleting announcements

* **Edit**: The announcement author or an admin can update the title and content of an existing announcement.
* **Delete**: Deleting an announcement permanently removes it along with all of its responses.

## Attachments

Announcements support file attachments. Attached files appear in the announcement detail view and can be downloaded by any student in the course.

## Best practices

* **Keep it relevant.** Announcements go to every enrolled student in the course. If a message only applies to one student, send them a direct message instead.
* **Use pinning sparingly.** If too many announcements are pinned, the feature loses its usefulness. Reserve pinning for truly important items like exam schedules or policy changes.
* **Write clear titles.** Students see the title in their notification feed and email subject line. A good title tells them whether the announcement needs their attention.
* **Check responses.** Students may ask follow-up questions in the response thread. Check back after posting to answer questions.