IN BRIEF
The News and Announcements feature in iClassPro allows businesses to create and share blog-style posts with families through the Customer Portal. These posts can be used to announce closures, deadlines, events, staff highlights, and more—all from within the Office Portal.
- Overview
- Accessing the Feature
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- Viewing in the Customer Portal
- Troubleshooting & FAQs
- Related Articles
Overview
The News and Announcements feature helps businesses communicate important updates to customers in a simple, visible way. Announcements appear in the Customer Portal under the News link. This allows families to stay informed about:
- Facility closures and weather updates
- Registration deadlines
- Program or staff highlights
- General business announcements
Posts can include formatted text, images, and embedded videos to enhance visibility and engagement.
Accessing the Feature
- Log into the Office Portal.
- From the User Panel, select News & Announcements.
NOTE: This link will only appear if the staff member has the proper permissions assigned under their User Group or Advanced Staff Permissions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Staff Permissions
Staff must have the following permissions enabled to access and manage News and Announcements:
-
Page Access > News & Announcements
- Full – Enables the News & Announcements link in the User Panel.
- None – Hides the link from view.
-
Tasks > News & Announcements
- None – No visible information after selecting the link.
- View – Can view but not create or modify announcements.
- Full – Can view, create, and modify announcements.
-
Tasks > Delete News & Announcements
- Full – Can delete any announcement.
- None – Can only delete announcements they created.
Creating an Announcement
- From the News & Announcements page, select Create New Announcement.
- Complete the announcement fields as described below.
Announcement Fields
-
Announcement Title – The subject of the announcement.
- Uses preset CSS formatting (no manual formatting).
-
Announcement Content – Body of the post (text, links, images, tables, etc.).
- NOTE: HTML formatting is only supported on the Customer Portal at this time. News items displayed in the Mobile/Branded App will be shown as plain text.
-
Main Image (optional) – Serves as the thumbnail and banner for the post.
- If no image is uploaded, a default gray placeholder is used.
- Thumbnail display – Cropped to a 2:1 ratio, centered on the shortest side.
- Banner display – Cropped at the center to a 3:1 ratio.
- Text included in an image should be centered to avoid cropping issues.
Examples
Embedding a Video
You can embed a YouTube or Vimeo video directly in the announcement.
To add a YouTube video
- Go to YouTube.com and open the video.
- Copy the URL from the address bar.
- Paste the link into the Video Link box.
- Select Add YouTube.
To add a Vimeo video
- Go to Vimeo.com and open the video.
- Copy the URL from the address bar.
- Paste the link into the Video Link box.
- Select Add Vimeo.
Choose where the video should display
- Above announcement content
- Below announcement content
Configuring Additional Settings
-
Selected Location(s) – Determines which locations display the announcement.
- Enable Select All to show across all locations.
-
Status – Controls visibility and timing.
- Draft – Save progress without publishing.
- Published – Immediately visible online (date can be future-dated).
- Scheduled – Choose a specific publish and expiration date/time.
- Hidden – Keeps a post unpublished but not deleted.
-
Visibility – Determines audience access.
- Public – Anyone can view (no login required).
- Private – Visible only to logged-in customers.
- Actively Enrolled Only – Visible only to customers with current/future enrollments.
- Show in Customer Portal Slideshow – Adds the post to the slideshow feature (Public posts only).
- Show Date on Customer Portal – Toggles whether the post’s date displays.
After completing all fields:
- Select Save Draft or Save to save without publishing.
- Select Save & Publish to make it visible in the Customer Portal.
- Select Cancel to discard unsaved changes.
Managing Announcements
Existing announcements display in a searchable list with the following details:
- Image and Title
- Visibility
- Location(s)
- Date Created
- Created By
- Status
Filter or Search By
- Title
- Date Created
Results can be paginated or adjusted to show more entries per page.
To edit a news item, select the announcement title.
Viewing in the Customer Portal
- If no announcements are published for a location, the News link will not appear.
- Customer Portal link format:
- Selecting an announcement displays the full post content.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
-
Why do I not see the “News & Announcements” link in the User Panel?
- Your account may not have the required permissions. Contact an administrator to enable Page and Task access for News & Announcements.
-
Why is my announcement not showing in the Customer Portal?
- Verify that its Status is set to “Published” and that it matches the correct Location and Visibility settings.
-
Can I track who edited or deleted an announcement?
- Yes. All create, edit, and delete actions are recorded in the Audit Log Trail for accountability and recordkeeping.