Opt out Management

Adding Opt Out Information to a Contact List

Managing Opt outs After Upload

Viewing Opt Outs in Engagements

Ensuring Opted Out Students Cannot Participate

The Opt out management feature helps leaders manage participation in surveys by allowing administrators to mark students as opted-out. This ensures that participants who do not want to participate (e.g. if a parent or guardians chooses not to have their child participate in a specific school survey) can be opted-out of it. Here’s how you can use the feature effectively:

Introduction

When preparing a survey, school districts can give parents the option of whether they would like their children to participate in the survey. Alternatively, sometimes parents reach out to the school districts saying they do not want their children participating. The Opt out Management feature makes it easy for administrators to handle these requests. This guide explains how to:

1. Add opt out information to a contact list.
2. View and manage opted-out participants.
3. Ensure opted-out students cannot participate in surveys.

Step 1: Adding Opt Out Information to a Contact List

When uploading a contact list for your contact upload, you can include opt out information using the following steps:

1. Prepare your contact list: Add an “Opt Out” column to your CSV file. Valid values you can use for this column are:
   • True / T / Yes / Y /  (to opt out)
   • False / F / No / N / (to not opt out)

     

2. Upload the contact list:
   • Go to the Contacts page and upload your contact list: 

     

     

   • Map the “Opt out” column from your CSV file to the designated field

     

   • If the opt out field is left empty, the default value will be “False.”
3. Review the uploaded list: After uploading, the system will display the opt out status of each contact in the list. You can make changes manually if needed

   

Step 2: Managing Opt outs After Upload

Administrators can update the opt out status manually:

• Manual Updates:
  • Go to the contact list in your Contacts page.
  • Select a participant and edit their opt out status directly in the contact’s details

    

    

  • Bulk Updates:

    • The bulk update feature (recommended) makes it easier for leaders to update a contact list used in an active engagement. 
    • In Account settings, choose Contacts and ‘Manage Opt Out’:

    

    • Here, you can bulk-paste the email addresses or access codes to manage participants who opt out. 

    

    

     

Step 3: Viewing Opt Outs in Engagements

To ensure clarity, opted-out participants are visible in engagement summaries:

1. Navigate to the Engagement Summary page

   

2. Under the “Participant Invitations” section, view the “Opted-Out” list, which shows the first and last names of participants who are opted-out

   

3. The list automatically updates if:
   • The contact list is modified or appended.
   • New opt outs are added manually.

Step 4: Ensuring Opted Out Students Cannot Participate

Participants marked as opted-out will see a message if they attempt to join the survey:

• Access Code Invitations: After entering their access code, they will see:
  • “You have been opted out of this survey/Exchange and don’t have to complete it.”

    

• Email Invitations: When opening the survey link, they will see the same message on the welcome screen.

Important Considerations

• Engagement Invitee Lists: Any changes to the contact list’s opt out status may not automatically update in active engagements. 
• Privacy Notes: This feature is only for opting out of specific surveys. For requests to delete personal data or ThoughtExchange accounts, users must contact the Privacy Team at privacy@thoughtexchange.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I opt participants back in? 

Yes, leaders can update opt out statuses to re-enable participation for previously opted-out individuals.

Q: What happens if I Append a contact list with new data? 

New participants and their opt out statuses will be added, but updates to existing participants’ opt out statuses won’t apply to already launched engagements.