Discussion Boards provide a positive space for families to connect, ask questions, and get support, with built-in AI moderation to help your team monitor the conversation. Once you've implemented a Discussion Board, check out our other Discussion Boards Guides to further your understanding.

Prefer a more visual walkthrough? Check out our short video guide.

Setting up a Discussion Board

In the admin area, navigate to the Discussions Board icon and click the "Create a Discussion Board" button.

Put in the key details for your Board. This includes:

Name - Make this specific to your audience (e.g. Model University Family Forum, Class of 20## Families, First Generation Families)
Description (optional) - Add a short introduction, description, or welcome message to families. This appears to users when they click into the Discussion Board.
- TEMPLATE: Welcome to our Discussion Board, a space for families to connect, ask questions, and get support! For a quick guide on how to use the Discussion Board, click HERE!
- You may want to use this space to share important links or guidelines with families. We recommend using the template above with the linked guide, but you are welcome to customize this!
Audience - Target your audience based on who the Board is for (e.g. all families, admitted families, first year families, first-gen families, etc.)

💡 Pro Tip (strongly recommended): Tag the audience to a test community that you're in before switching it to the proper audience when you’re ready to launch, so you can test out how your Board looks.

Visit our Guide on Dynamic User Targeting to see every option for user targeting and learn how you can segment your Discussion Board audience further.

When you're done with the setup, click the "Create a Discussion Board" button.

NOTE: The Discussion Board will automatically set to active on the setup page. You can disable your Board at any time.

Adding Your Initial Posts

NOTE: You can only create a post in the Discussion Board once your Board is set to active.

We suggest adding 3-5 initial posts for each Board so that families see something they can engage with when they check it out for the first time.

Click on the "Discussions" icon and click "Create a Post".

Alternatively, you can always click on the “chat” 💬 icon in the top right corner of your homepage and click “Create Post” button to add a new post.

Select the Discussion Board you want to post to. Here you can:

Add a Headline
Upload an image (optional, but highly recommended)
Add an attachment (optional)
Write your content in the text box
Submit your post when you're ready! You can check out your post by clicking on the "chat" 💬 icon in the top right corner.

NOTE: Once you create a post, you cannot edit it. Make sure you are ready to post!

💡 Pro Tip: Click on the carrot icon next to a post and “Pin post” to pin it to the top of the Board. Don't forget to unpin it once you are done!

Turning on Admin Notifications

NOTE: You can only turn on notifications once you set at least one Discussion Board to active.

If you want to set notifications for yourself, click the person icon and "Edit My Notifications." If you want to do this for another user, you can have them follow the same steps or Impersonate them.

Select notifications. There are two options:

Checking off Discussion Boards Notifications notifies admins of reported content.
Checking off Discussion Boards Digest notifies admins a summary of activity in the Discussion Board. There is both a daily and weekly option.

NOTE: Different admins can be notified for different Discussion Boards.

Discussion Board Post Ideas (that you can copy and paste)

Headline	Post Content
👋 NEW Discussion Board - Introduce Yourself in the Comments!	Welcome, families! We’re so excited to launch our new Discussion Board, and we can’t wait to connect with you! Let’s kick things off with a round of introductions! Drop a comment below with: Your name City & State Anything else fun you want to add about your family!
💡 What questions do you have about the admissions process?	The admissions journey can feel like a lot to navigate. What questions are on your mind as you and your student go through this process?
💰 What questions do you have about financial aid?	Financial aid can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to figure it out alone. Post your questions about scholarships, grants, loans, or FAFSA here so we can help point you in the right direction.
🏡 What questions do you have about housing?	Housing is an important part of your student’s experience. What would you like to know or talk about when it comes to living arrangements, roommates, or settling in?
🎭 How is your student getting involved?	We’d love to hear how your student is jumping into campus life! Clubs, sports, volunteer work, student organizations — share their favorite activities (and maybe a proud parent moment!).
📚 How is your student taking advantage of campus resources?	Tutoring, career services, health & wellness programs — there are so many ways students can get support on campus. Tell us which resources have been helpful for your student so other families can learn about them, too.
💡 What advice do you have for other parents and families?	Every family’s journey is unique, and your experience could be helpful to someone else. What tips, lessons, or encouragement would you share with parents and families who are on a similar path?

How to Promote Your Discussion Board

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Create a launch email and reminder email to let families know about the Discussion Board

We strongly suggest sending a launch email to Discussion Board users to announce your new Discussion Board. Additionally, we recommend setting up a recurring email to remind families to use the Discussion Board. You can access templates for both of these emails in our Discussion Boards Communication Best Practices Guide.

View our Guide to Send an Email for step-by-step instructions to help you set these up.

Example Launch Email:

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Recruit others parent ambassadors/volunteers to add their own posts and comments

This is a great way for parents to get involved while building excitement and momentum within your Board. Ask a few parents—whether from your Parents Council or other experienced families you can tap—to create some initial posts of their own. Encourage them to keep the conversation going by commenting on new posts from other parents as they roll in.

NOTE: If a parent ambassador isn’t already part of your Discussion Board audience, add them to a new community that can be part of the audience criteria, so the Board is visible to them. Reach out to support@campusesp.com if you need any assistance.

💡 Pro Tip: Add a question in your onboarding survey to ask if families are interested in serving as parent ambassadors or volunteers. Use this community as your outreach list!

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Recruit other university staff and student workers to join the conversation

In addition to recruiting parent ambassadors, getting university staff and student workers involved can boost engagement in your Board and make it easier to get questions answered.

💡 Pro Tip: Add Discussion Board posts that introduce families to these staff members—or have the staff make their own! Check out an example below.

Example Discussion Board Post to Introduce Staff:

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Promote the Discussion Board at family events

Let families know about the Discussion Board at events like Orientation and Family Weekend and get them excited to participate!

Make sure to include the "Discussion Board Summary" block in any follow-up emails sent after the event.

View our Best Practices for Discussion Boards Guide for more recommendations!

Configuring Class Year and Funnel Stage Based Discussion Boards

We recommend reviewing the setup of your Discussion Board(s) at least once a year to account for any maintenance that might be needed. Here are suggestions we have for some unique use cases:

➡️ Discussion Board Use Case	❓How to Handle
If your institution uses both CampusESP for Student Enrollment and Family Communication and your Discussion Board is for an incoming family audience (i.e. a stage with a funnel workflow like Deposited or Enrolled)	There is no need to adjust this audience if you want them to continue using the Board throughout their student’s college experience.
If your institution uses CampusESP for Student Enrollment and your Discussion Board includes earlier stages of the funnel (i.e. Inquiry, Applicant, Admitted)	Make sure you disable the Board at the end of the cycle and create a new Board for each cycle.
If your institution uses CampusESP for Family Communication and your Discussion Board is for a specific class year community (i.e. First Year Families, Second Year Families, etc.)	You will need to update the Board annually. We suggest aligning this with the annual class year workflow, which typically occurs in May or June.

Check a FERPA Connection Status

Guide to Funnel Reports in CampusESP

June 2025 Product Feature Launch

Moderating Discussion Boards

Best Practices for Discussion Boards

Implement a Discussion Board