Salesforce Education Cloud: Screen Flow fails at runtime with "Unfortunately, there was a problem" and an error ID

This article explains the intermittent, ambiguous screen flow failure that Education Cloud administrators and users report when running screen flows, Action Plan task-notification flows, or a scheduled birthday-email flow.

Customer Symptoms / Impact:

"A screenflow throws an ambiguous error at runtime."
"My flow generates an error ID and I can't figure out what's causing it."
"The bell notification stopped after deploying an Action Plan template update."
"The birthday email flow doesn't work."

Trigger Conditions & Technical Context:

The runtime error message displays: "Unfortunately, there was a problem. Please try again. If the problem continues, get in touch with your administrator with the error ID shown here and any other related details. Error ID: ".
The associated automated fault email states: "An error occurred trying to run flow ... Error element (FlowActionCall). An error occurred: try again or contact Salesforce Customer Support and provide this error id".
The failure often appears only for some users while an administrator cannot reproduce it.
It frequently appears after a sandbox refresh, after deploying an Action Plan Template update, or when the flow debug log shows no direct problem. The error ID shown in the toast is the key to locating the true failing element; it is not itself the root cause.

Cause 1: The toast hides the real failing element (Action, Apex, or subflow call).

Locate the Fault Email: Open the flow fault email sent to the flow owner or admin. The email names the failing element in the form "Error element <element name> (FlowActionCall)" and repeats the Error ID.
Open the Flow Version: In Setup, search for Flows in the Quick Find box and open the specific flow and version listed in the email.
Locate the Failed Interview: Go to Setup > Environments > Monitoring > Paused And Failed Flow Interviews (or Setup > Process Automation > Automations, depending on your release) and locate the interview matching the Error ID timestamp to see the element and input values at the moment of failure.
Add a Fault Path: Add a Fault path to the element named in the email. Connect the element's Fault connector to a Screen element that displays the fault message resource {!$Flow.FaultMessage}. Redeploy and re-run to capture the full underlying message instead of the generic toast.

Cause 2: The failing user lacks a permission the flow needs (works for admin, fails for some users).

Symptom: The same action succeeds for a System Administrator but fails for enrollment advisors or portal users.

Verify Permission Sets: Go to Setup > Users > Permission Sets and confirm the affected user is assigned the Education Cloud access permission set required by the objects the flow touches.
Verify Object-Level & Field-Level Security: For any object created or updated by the flow (for example, Task, PersonEducation, or enrollment objects), go to Setup > Object Manager > [Object] > Object-Level Security. Grant the user's profile or permission set Create and Edit access on that object, and Edit access on each field the flow writes.
Verify Sharing Rules for Portal Users: If the flow reads internal User records for portal users, assign a sharing rule that exposes those User records to the portal user. The OmniStudio 262 security update blocks internal User access for portal users unless a sharing rule explicitly grants it.

Cause 3: Record-locking or field-value conflict after a deploy or sandbox refresh (Action Plan / notification flows that stop after a template update).

Review Run Context: Confirm whether the flow runs in System Context or in User Context. Open the flow, click the version properties, and check How to Run the Flow. Set it to "System Context Without Sharing—Access All Data" only when the flow must bypass user sharing.
Resolve Locking Conflicts: If a flow writes to a parent record synchronously while a trigger updates the same parent (a locking conflict, commonly seen with LearningProgramPlan or Action Plan updates), change the update to run asynchronously. In the flow, set the Update Records or Action element inside a scheduled path, or add a Run Asynchronously action so the parent is not locked in the same transaction.
Re-activate After Deployment: After any deployment of an Action Plan Template update, re-activate the notification flow by going to Setup > Flows, opening the flow, clicking Activate, and confirming the flow version referenced by the Action Plan Template is the active version.

Cause 4: An encrypted field is read or written in the flow.

Check Shield Encryption Permissions: If the flow updates a field that uses Shield Platform Encryption, confirm the running user has the "View Encrypted Data" permission via Setup > Users > Permission Sets.
Refactor Filtering Logic: Do not use encrypted fields in flow filters or decision criteria. Move the encrypted field reference to a display-only or assignment step.

Verification

Confirm the issue is resolved by re-running the exact flow as the affected user (not as an administrator). Reproduce the original action (for example, trigger the enrollment, create the Action Plan task, or send the birthday email) and verify that the flow completes successfully without the "Unfortunately, there was a problem" toast and that the expected record is correctly created or updated.