🚀 Case Management is Coming Soon!
This feature is currently in Closed Beta and limited to select partners. We'll keep you in the loop as we work toward a wider release.
Overview
Case Management in Element451 provides a structured way for your institution to identify student risk signals and turn them into accountable, coordinated work. Whether a student has missed classes, is at academic risk, or has a wellbeing concern, Case Management gives your team a shared place to triage concerns, assign ownership, track progress, and close the loop with clear outcomes.
The module is organized around two core concepts that work together: Alerts and Cases. This article introduces both, explains how they connect, and walks you through the module experience so you can get up and running quickly.
Understanding Alerts and Cases
Case Management is intentionally split into two distinct but connected concepts. Understanding the difference between Alerts and Cases is the key to using the module effectively.
Alerts
Alerts
An Alert captures a one-time signal that something happened and may require attention. Think of an Alert as a decision point.
Alerts answer the question: "Something happened — does this need action?"
Common alert signals include:
Missed classes or attendance issues
Academic or grade risk
Lack of engagement
Behavioral, wellbeing, or other institutional concerns
Alerts are designed to be:
Event-based — they capture a specific moment in time, not ongoing work
Owned short-term — a Reviewer triages and resolves them quickly
Lightweight — they include only the fields needed for fast decision-making
Cases
Cases
A Case represents the ongoing work staff do to help a student resolve an issue over time. Think of a Case as the system of record for that work.
Cases answer the questions:
"Who is responsible?"
"What work is happening?"
"Where are we in resolving this?"
Cases are designed to be:
Stateful and long-lived — they progress through statuses over time
Independently owned — an Assignee is responsible for resolution
Containers for related work — they can link to Alerts, Tasks, Conversations, Appointments, and Documents
How they Connect
How they Connect
Alerts and Cases are connected but independent.
An Alert can be escalated to a Case when the signal requires deeper follow-up.
Cases can also be created on their own—not every Case needs to originate from an Alert, and not every Alert needs to become a Case.
A student may have multiple Alerts and multiple Cases at the same time, reflecting different concerns or signals at various stages of resolution.
💡 Key Distinction
Alerts use the term "Reviewer" (the person triaging the alert), while Cases use "Assignee" (the person responsible for resolution). This naming is intentional — it reflects the different nature of the work: short-term triage vs. long-term ownership.
Accessing + Navigating the Module
To access Case Management, navigate to Engagement > Case Management.
When you open Case Management, you'll see a left sidebar, a main content area with a list view, and action buttons at the top right of the page.
Top-Right Actions
At the top right of the page, you'll find:
+ New Alert — create a new Alert
+ New Case — create a new Case
⋮ (More menu) — access Settings for Alert and Case configuration
Sidebar Navigation
The sidebar is divided into two sections — Alerts and Cases — each with a set of pre-filtered views designed to support common workflows. Each view shows a count badge so you can see at a glance how many items need attention.
Alert Views
Alert Views
View | What It Shows |
Triage (default) | Alerts in the Triage resolution status — this is designed to be a landing view for day-to-day review and decision-making |
All Alerts | All alerts with no filters applied |
Unassigned Alerts | Alerts with no Reviewer assigned — useful for delegation and load balancing |
Your Alerts | Alerts where you are the assigned Reviewer |
Created by You | Alerts you created — useful for tracking submitted alerts and follow-ups |
Your Team Alerts | Alerts assigned to any member of your team |
Case Views
Case Views
View | What It Shows |
All Cases | All cases with no filters applied |
Your Cases | Cases where you are the assigned owner (assignee) |
Created by You | Cases you created |
Your Team Cases | Cases assigned to any member of your team |
Subscribed Cases | Cases you are subscribed to — supports awareness and collaboration without ownership |
Stats Bar
Stats Bar
At the top of each list view, a stats bar provides a quick summary of key metrics. The stats shown depend on whether you're viewing Alerts or Cases.
Alert Stats (Triage View)
Metric | Description |
Need Triage | Count of alerts currently in the Triage status |
Overdue | Count of alerts past their due date (shown in red) |
Unassigned | Count of alerts with no Reviewer |
Due Today | Count of alerts due today (shown in red if non-zero) |
Alert Stats (All Other Views)
Metric | Description |
Total Alerts | Total count of alerts in this view |
Overdue | Count of alerts past their due date (shown in red) |
Unassigned | Count of alerts with no Reviewer |
Due Today | Count of alerts due today (shown in red if non-zero) |
Case Stats
Metric | Description |
Total Alerts | Total count of alerts in this view |
Overdue | Count of alerts past their due date (shown in red) |
Unassigned | Count of alerts with no Reviewer |
Due Today | Count of alerts due today (shown in red if non-zero) |
The Alert Lifecycle at a Glance
Alerts follow a straightforward lifecycle from signal to resolution:
An Alert is created, either manually by staff, submitted by faculty, or generated through automation.
A Reviewer triages it by reviewing the details and deciding what action to take.
The Alert is resolved by dismissing it, resolving it directly, or escalating it to a Case for further work.
For a detailed walkthrough of creating, triaging, and resolving Alerts, see Working with Alerts.
The Case Lifecycle at a Glance
Cases progress through statuses as work is completed:
A Case is created manually, from an Alert, or via automation.
An Assignee owns it with optional Subscribers who follow along for awareness.
Work is tracked through related Tasks, Conversations, Appointments, and Documents.
The Case is resolved or cancelled moving it to a final status.
For a detailed walkthrough of creating, managing, and resolving Cases, see Working with Cases.
Permissions Basics
Access to Case Management is controlled by your permission group. What you can see and do depends on several layers working together:
Individual Permissions
Individual Permissions
Determine what actions you can take based on the Alert and Case permissions assigned to your user role. These permissions can be added to any custom permission group.
To configure:
Go to Settings > Manage Users > Permission Groups.
Create a new permission group or open an existing one.
Select the Permissions tab from the left-hand menu.
Locate Alerts and/or Cases under the Element Core heading.
Check the boxes for the permissions you want to grant.
There are four Alert permission levels:
Access Alerts — view-only access
Manage My Alerts — create and edit Alerts you created
Manage My Team Alerts — create and edit Alerts created by your team
Administer Alerts — full control over all Alerts and Alert settings
There are five Case permission levels:
Access Cases — view-only access
Manage My Cases — create and edit Cases you created
Manage My Team Cases — create and edit Cases created by your team
Administer Cases — full control over all Cases and Case settings
View All Cases — visibility override that lets you see all Cases, including Private ones
For full details on permission levels, see List + Details of Individual Permissions.
Alert Type and Case Type Visibility
Alert Type and Case Type Visibility
Control which types of Alerts and Cases users in a permission group can see.
This is configured in two steps:
Step 1: At the Permission Group Level
With the permission group open, select the Case Management tab from the left-hand menu and check the boxes for the Alert and/or Case types you want to make visible to users in that group.
Step 2: At the Individual User Level
Navigate to the user's profile, select the Restrictions tab at the top, and enable Case Management. This allows you to apply type visibility restrictions to specific users within the group without affecting others. Once enabled, that user will only see the Alert and Case types checked in the group's Case Management settings.
⚠️ Important: Both steps must be completed for the restriction to take effect.
Visibility Groups
Visibility Groups
If visibility groups are applied to your account, you may not see Alerts or Cases associated with students outside your visibility scope, even if you have general access to the module.
Visibility Groups are managed in Settings > Manage Users > Visibility Groups.
Case Privacy
Case Privacy
Private Cases are only visible to the creator, assignee, and users with the View All Cases permission.
Privacy can be enabled at the time of case creation or from the header of an existing case. Note that for existing cases, only the case's creator, assignee, or an admin can enable or disable privacy.
Related Object Permissions
Related Object Permissions
Objects inside a case — Conversations, Tasks, Appointments, and Documents — each carry their own native permissions. Having access to a case does not automatically grant access to everything inside it. You'll need the appropriate permissions for each object type to see them within the case detail panel.
These permissions are managed the same way as Alert and Case permissions — via Settings > Manage Users > Permission Groups.
Note that Documents have an additional Document Type visibility setting, which allows you to restrict visibility by document type at the permission group level. Cases inherit those restrictions as well.
Faculty Access
A faculty-specific interface for raising alerts is currently in development. Check back later updates and more information.