Notifications help users stay informed when new content is assigned to them, when content is updated, and when they need to complete assigned learning by a due date. They are especially useful for keeping learners on track with required learning, upcoming sessions, expiring certificates, and other time-sensitive actions.

This article explains how notifications are controlled and managed, and how notifications and reminders are configured depending on the type of content assigned.

Within the organizational settings page, located in the global sidebar under Settings > Notifications, admins can choose which types of notifications users can receive from the platform.

As an admin, you can control:

While admins control which notifications can be sent at the organization level, users may still be able to choose whether they want to receive some notifications across the platform.

This makes it easier to understand which notifications exist on the platform and gives admins more control over which notifications are sent, and through which channels.

In the organizational notification settings, admins can enable line managers to receive notifications about learners who report directly to them. This helps L&D teams involve line managers in driving learner activation and completion.

A line manager is determined by the platform attribute Is manager = Yes. To set this up, connect Sana Learn with your HR system. Learn more here.

Line managers can monitor learner activity through the following notifications:

These notifications are sent daily at 8:00 AM user local time.

While admins control which line manager notifications are available, line managers may still be able to choose whether to receive some of them in their own user notification settings.

See below for examples of the Content overdue and Expiring certificate notifications.

All emails sent through Sana can be designed to reflect your organization’s branding by incorporating your custom logo. In Settings > Branding, admins can define the platform name used in notifications, helping communications with learners feel personalized and consistent with the organization’s brand identity.

Read more about how to customize the platform here.
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Emails are automatically translated into the user’s preferred language, helping ensure clear communication across diverse teams. Admins can manage notification translation settings from the notification control settings (Settings > Notifications).

Notifications for future events, such as due dates, future assignments, and expiring certificates are sent at 9:00 AM in the user preferred timezone.

Ad hoc notifications are immediate, one-time messages for programs. They are sent instantly, bypassing the regular schedule so that critical information or reminders can be delivered without delay.

Users who have received an ad hoc notification within the last 24 hours will not receive another one.

When a course is assigned to a user or group, users are notified by email and receive a link to access the course. If a user is unassigned from a course, they receive an email notification informing them of the change.

If a learner has already completed the course, reminder notifications are disabled. If there is no due date, the learner receives the initial assignment email but no reminder emails.

When a course completion due date is set and the course uses the default reminder schedule, automatic reminders are sent:

These defaults are also used when switching a course or program back from custom settings to default settings.

Admins can customize the reminder cadence for any self-paced course or program. A custom cadence is configured at the content level and overrides the organization-wide default schedule for that specific course or program.

Custom cadence is useful when content has an unusually short or long completion window, when required and optional assignments need different reminder behavior, or when content should have no reminders.

To set up a custom cadence for a course:

Under Settings > Notifications, admins can choose when learners receive course reminders using either the default or custom settings. Selecting Custom also allows admins to disable all notifications for the course.

When using custom reminder cadence, admins can:

Turning off all notifications for a course mutes notifications for that course while keeping the underlying settings intact. If notifications are turned back on, the previous settings are restored.

Custom notification settings apply to email, Slack, and Microsoft Teams notifications, not just email.

Turning notifications off, or removing a reminder day, takes effect immediately. Updating the reminder cadence applies to all existing assignments for that content.

Organization-level and user-level disabled settings take precedence over content-level settings. This means that if a notification type is turned off organization-wide, or if a learner has turned it off in their own settings, a custom content setting cannot turn it back on.

When a Sana Live session is assigned to a user or group, users receive an email with the time and session link. If a user is unassigned from a session, they receive a notification informing them of the update.

If Google Calendar integration is enabled, users are prompted to RSVP. Sana creates the calendar invitation, but it does not collect RSVP responses.

Custom notification cadence is not available for Live or in-person content.

For Sana Live, a reminder email is sent at 8:00 AM on the morning of the scheduled session. If the session is scheduled at 8:10 AM or earlier, a reminder is sent 10 minutes before the session.

If there is less than 10 minutes until the session start time, a notification is sent out.

For in-person events, a reminder email is sent 1 day before the scheduled session.

If recap is enabled, users may receive notifications when:

Users assigned to the live session receive the recap regardless of whether they attended.

Recap can be enabled before the session by enabling smart transcriptions and summaries in the scheduling modal. During a Sana Live session, smart transcriptions and summaries can be enabled or disabled from the three-dot menu.

Users receive a notification when a calendar event they are part of is updated.

If self-enrollment is configured for a Sana Live session, assigned users receive an email asking them to choose a session time and date. After enrolling, they receive an email with the confirmed time and date, along with a calendar invite.

When a program is assigned to a user or group, users receive the first step or steps in the program according to the program outline. If a user is already assigned to content in the program, they do not receive a reassignment email for that specific content.

To ensure all enrolled users receive an email upon enrollment, you can include a welcome email step in the program outline.

All assignments and reminder notifications follow the program outline. Reminder emails for live sessions follow the same structure as Sana Live notifications. Users receive an email notification when program next steps become available.

Admins can also customize notification cadence for programs.

To do this:

For program due dates, the program notification cadence takes precedence. If a course reminder is sent because of a program assignment, Sana uses the program’s cadence rather than the course’s cadence.

Authored program step emails are not treated as notifications and are still sent even if notifications are turned off for a program.

Users can receive collaboration notifications for the following events:

Certificate expiration notifications are sent 30 days and 7 days before expiration.

When a user requests access to a Teamspace, the Teamspace owner is notified by email that access has been requested.

When a user submits an exercise, exercise reviewers receive a notification if they have enabled this notification in their own user notification settings.

This notification is sent the next day at 8:00 AM local time and includes exercise submissions that have not yet been reviewed. Reviewers do not receive further notifications for the same exercise submission unless a new exercise is submitted.

When a user’s exercise is reviewed, the user receives a notification that their exercise has been reviewed.

When Smart Reviews is activated, the learner receives an email 14 days after completing the course.

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For actions related to account management and security, users may receive the following email notifications:

Each course and program has its own notification settings that control the reminders learners receive for that content. You can choose one of two modes:

You can also disable all notifications and reminders for the course or program:

If you switch back to Default or Custom later, the previous schedule is restored automatically.

Admins can see which courses and programs use overridden notification settings from Manage > Content and Manage > Programs, where there is a Notification settings column showing whether content uses Default or Custom settings.

Required assignments can have a separate reminder schedule. This is optional. If the required assignment schedule is turned off, required assignments follow the standard schedule.

The default schedule for required assignments is:

Turning off a standard reminder also turns off the corresponding required reminder.

For course groups, notification settings are set on the group, and all editions inherit those settings. Once an edition is grouped, notification settings cannot be edited per edition.

Turning off the User is assigned notification also removes that course from the grouped “you have new assignments” email.

What if I make any changes to an existing course or Sana Live session?

If you remove a user or group, delete assigned content, or change the time of a Sana Live session, assigned users are notified accordingly.

If I have 5 courses with a due date on the same day, will I get 5 individual emails?

No, they will be summarized into one email.

Why am I not receiving email notifications?

Please wait up to 10 minutes to receive an email. Check your spam folder. If you still have not received an email, email notifications may be turned off for your organization. Contact your CSM if you have questions.

Also check your own notification settings to confirm that the specific notification is enabled. If the issue continues, contact your Sana platform admin to confirm that the notification is enabled for your organization.

I do not have Google Calendar email integration. What now?

Sana attaches an .ics file to every user assigned to a live session.

I invited a new user to Sana, but they didn't receive an email. What now?

Go to Manage > Users, locate the user, and check their status in the top left. If the status still says Invite pending, click Send invite again. Ask the recipient to check both their inbox and spam folder.
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​I do not get a specific notification that is listed. What should I do?
First, check your notification settings to make sure the notification is active. If the problem continues, contact your Sana platform admin to confirm that this notification is enabled for your organization. Some notifications, such as exercise review submissions, may be off by default to reduce inbox clutter.

When are custom due-date reminders sent?

Due-date reminders are sent at 9:00 AM in the learner’s timezone. If the learner has no timezone set, Sana uses the organization timezone.

Reminders are prepared by a background job that runs roughly every 1–2 hours and looks around 48 hours ahead, so an added reminder is picked up within 2 hours at most.

What happens if I add, remove, or change custom reminders?

Turning notifications off or removing a reminder day takes effect immediately. Updating the reminder cadence applies to all existing assignments for the course or program.

Can content-level custom settings override organization or user settings?

No. Organization-level and user-level disabled settings take precedence. If a notification type is disabled for the organization, or if a learner has disabled it in their own settings, a custom course or program setting cannot turn it back on.

Are custom notification settings only for email?

No. Custom notification settings apply to email, Slack, and Microsoft Teams notifications.