CollegeVine tracks communication opt-outs across different channels — email, phone, SMS, global (meaning all) — using two distinct categories of fields: Partner opt-out fields (used for imports to CollegeVine) and CV opt-out fields (used for exports from CollegeVine). Understanding the difference between these two categories, and how they interact, is essential for setting up your integration correctly and avoiding data mismatches.

A separate boolean field, AI Phone Consent, also affects phone and SMS engagement independently of opt-out values and is covered at the end of this article.

The two categories of opt-out fields

Partner opt-out fields (import to CollegeVine)

Partner opt-out fields allow your institution to bring existing opt-out preferences from your own systems into CollegeVine. These fields reflect opt-out behavior that your institution has already tracked — for example, a student who has opted out of SMS communications in your CRM. Importing these fields ensures CollegeVine honors your existing suppression rules consistently.

You can import up to four different opt out fields and map to the following existing properties in CollegeVine. Note these are all boolean fields (true = the constituent has opted out):

Partner email opt out
Partner global comms opt out
Partner phone opt out
Partner SMS opt out

CV opt-out fields (export only from CollegeVine)

CV opt-out fields are generated by CollegeVine for export to your institution. These fields represent a combined opt-out status — they are derived from both the Partner opt-out values you imported and CollegeVine's own internally tracked opt-out data (based on a constituent's explicit engagement with CollegeVine communications).

The following CV opt-out fields are available for export. Note these are all boolean fields (true = the constituent has opted out):

CV email opt out
CV phone opt out
CV SMS opt out
CV global opt out

How CV opt-out values are determined

A student's CV opt-out status can be set in two ways:

Via your import (Partner opt-out fields). Using your imported Partner opt-out values, you can proactively opt students out to reflect what your institution already tracks in your CRM. These values are mapped to the Partner opt-out fields described above.
Via the student directly. Students can opt themselves out through explicit keywords or natural language, applied immediately:
- SMS — STOP (also OPTOUT, CANCEL, END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE, REVOKE, STOPALL)
- Email — clicking or replying UNSUBSCRIBE; or natural language ("remove me from your list," "I don't want these emails")
- Phone — verbal request during a call ("please stop calling me")
Note: Texting STOP opts the student out of both SMS and phone. These channels are linked at the SMS provider level — texting START restores both.
Once an opt-out is recorded, CollegeVine updates the corresponding CV opt-out field automatically.

CV opt-out fields are not a direct mirror of CollegeVine's internally stored opt-out values. They reflect a combination of your imported Partner opt-out values and CollegeVine's internal tracking. This distinction matters: if a student appears opted out in a CV export field, it is not necessarily clear whether the opt-out originated from your institution's data or from the student's direct engagement with CollegeVine.

CV global opt out is exported as true when all three channels (email, phone, and SMS) are opted out — based on either the internally stored CV values, the imported Partner opt-out fields, or both.

How students opt back in

Channel	How to opt back in
SMS	Text START
Phone	Text START (phone is linked to SMS for opt-in/opt-out)
Email	Requires a manual override by the CollegeVine team. Students cannot re-subscribe on their own. Contact your Implementation Manager.

⚠️ Note: A student's opt-out status does not change if you re-import their record. They must opt back in through the appropriate channel, or the CollegeVine team overrides manually.

What you can do with your CV opt-out data

CV opt-out fields are intended for your institution's own record-keeping and visibility. A common use case is adding them as new data properties in your CRM — this gives your team a clear view of which constituents are no longer receiving AI-powered communications from CollegeVine across each channel.

⚠️ Do not re-import CV opt-out fields into CollegeVine. These fields are export only. Because CV opt-out values are already derived from Partner opt-out inputs, feeding them back into the platform creates a feedback loop and can produce unreliable suppression behavior.

AI Phone Consent

AI Phone Consent is a boolean field (true/false) that controls whether CollegeVine will engage a constituent via phone or SMS at all. If AI Phone Consent is not set to true for a constituent, CollegeVine's platform will not initiate phone or SMS outreach to that student — regardless of their opt-out status.

Key details about AI Phone Consent:

AI Phone Consent affects both phone and SMS channels.
AI Phone Consent does not affect email outreach. Email does not require consent in the same way.
AI Phone Consent does not impact CV opt-out values. The two operate independently.
If your institution cannot provide AI Phone Consent values, email can serve as a fallback channel for outbound communications — and can also be used as a mechanism to capture consent from students before phone or SMS engagement begins.

Summary: how the fields relate to each other

Field category	Direction	Purpose	Affects CV opt-out values?
Partner opt-out fields	Import (Partner → CV)	Bring your institution's existing opt-out preferences into CV	Yes — contributes to CV opt-out export values
CV opt-out fields	Export (CV → Partner)	Provide your institution with a combined opt-out status for record-keeping	N/A — these are the output
AI Phone Consent	Import (Partner → CV)	Gates phone and SMS engagement independently of opt-out logic	No

FAQ

How do students opt out of CollegeVine communications?
Students can opt out through explicit keywords or natural language:

SMS — STOP (also OPTOUT, CANCEL, END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE, REVOKE, STOPALL)
Email — clicking or replying UNSUBSCRIBE; or natural language like "remove me from your list"
Phone — verbal request during a call

Once an opt-out is recorded, CollegeVine updates the corresponding CV opt-out field automatically.

Can a student opt out of one channel but still receive communications on others?
Yes. Opt-outs are channel-specific by default. A student who opts out of SMS, for example, can still receive email outreach — unless they have also opted out of email or triggered a global opt-out.

What does a global opt-out mean?
A global opt-out overrides all channel-specific preferences. If a student's global opt-out is set to true, CollegeVine will suppress them from all communications — email, SMS, and phone — regardless of their individual channel opt-out values.

Do I need to configure suppression rules in my outbound messages when a student opts out?
No. Suppression is enforced automatically at the platform level. If a student's opt-out field is true for a given channel, CollegeVine will not contact them on that channel — even if they are included in a Mission/Task that uses it. No additional configuration is required on your end.

If a student has AI Phone Consent set to true but has opted out of SMS, will they receive text messages?
No. Opt-outs will always take precedence over AI Phone Consent. Even if AI Phone Consent is true, CollegeVine will not contact a student on any channel they have opted out of. AI Phone Consent only gates whether AI-powered phone and SMS outreach can occur at all — it does not override an active opt-out.

How do I opt a student back into email?
Email opt-ins require an internal CollegeVine override. Students cannot re-subscribe on their own. Contact your Implementation Manager.

How opt-outs are handled by your agents