When it comes to building out your event submission process, don't forget why you're creating it in the first place: you want to collect the data you need to collect, make your life easier as an administrator of the process, and make it easy for student's to create events in your Engage system. Keep all of that in mind as we explore some of our tips and tricks for maximizing the tools in the process!
As a general note, if you are changing any part of your current form, we recommend first approving/denying all pending submissions and turning off the event form before making changes. This ensures your changes do not have consequences on any students currently going through the process!
1) Don't duplicate questions already asked in the basic event profile!
Engage already collects data like event name, date, time, location, categories, and RSVP information when users create an event. Your event request form should focus on the additional data fields you want to collect. Repeating questions can frustrate or confuse your users. View the basic details collected below:
The event custom fields are your opportunity to have users upload catering requests, ask about A/V equipment needs, provide information about campus security and more! There are so many possibilities, so focus your form on the information you need.
2) Make your event request form intuitive for users
- Use form elements that are easy for users to fill out. For example, it's much easier for a user to select an answer from a multiple choice question than type it in themselves as single-line text entry.
- Use Single Check Box when you want your users to agree to policies and procedures.
- With the Upload element, users have the ability to upload vendor contracts or receipts related to the upcoming event.
- Use logic in the form where you can to make the form simple and short! Logic prevents users from answering questions that are not relevant to their event, saving both students and administrators time in the long run!
3) Maximize your reviewer logic
With reviewer logic, you can add additional reviewers who can offer feedback before an administrator makes the final decision to approve or deny the event request. These reviewers could be anyone with a valid campus email address, including a campus security officer, catering director, events office manager, etc.
With logic reviewers, you can loop individuals into the process based on specific answers to form questions. Only need to bring in campus security if the event will have more than 100 people? Maybe you only need to bring in the catering director if the submission says the event will have food. Whatever the situation, use reviewer logic to your benefit to create a network of feedback for your process.
4) Utilize Additional Settings to streamline processes
- Position Template Reviewers/Approvers
Did you know you can set individual Position Templates to be automatic reviewers or final approvers for events? With this tool, you could loop in every organization's advisor to be a reviewer in event submission processes, or bring organization presidents in the loop. To make a Position template an event reviewer, navigate to the template through your branch tools and be sure to select the option that says "Holders of this position should be automatically added as Event Reviewers." When you select that option, you can also give holders of that position the ability to approve or deny the events they review.
- Approval Settings for Organization Types
You can also determine whether events need final approval by an administrator based on the type of organization that submits the event submission. For example, do you want to give your campus departments the autonomy to create their own events without final approval? Or perhaps you have a subset of organizations that do not need to have their events approved? Simply navigate to the settings for the organization type in your branch tools and observe the setting that says "Auto approve events."
