Event management is a key piece of your lead nurturing and relationship building with prospects and current applicants/students. This article will explain what platform to use for event registration, with some best practice recommendations and possible roadblocks.
Terms Used in This Article
You will see the following terms used to refer to Finalsite’s two systems:
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CMS (Content Management System) refers to Finalsite’s website, marketing, and communication tools (which includes Forms, Composer, Messages, and Automated Email Workflows).
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EMS (Enrollment Management System) refers to Finalsite’s admissions and enrollment platform, Finalsite Enrollment (formerly SchoolAdmin).
Best practices
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All events for admissions and enrollment should be hosted in your EMS platform.
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Provide event registration for prospective families on the EMS Inquiry form and host/embed the form on your CMS site.
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Provide targeted registration for admissions/enrollment events after the Inquiry stage on your EMS checklist. Link all event information in your CMS to the EMS Portal.
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Community events (i.e. events that are not specific to student enrollment such as Grandparent’s Day) should be hosted in your CMS platform.
Questions to consider
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Is event registration required of an applicant in order to be accepted or become enrolled? If yes, this item belongs on your EMS checklist and should be hosted there. You can still promote your event on your CMS webpage and hyperlink to the EMS portal for registration.
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Does event registration trigger an Admissions/Enrollment Checklist item or internal reminder? If yes, event registration should be hosted in your EMS platform or on your EMS Inquiry Form embedded on a page in your CMS site.
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Who needs access to the registrant list? Are they an Admin/User/Reviewer in the intended platform? While admissions and enrollment events should be hosted on the EMS checklist and inquiry form, do you have any events that would be hosted by another party? Example: Your soccer coach would like to host an interest day and gather T-shirt sizes of attendees. This type of event is not considered a requirement and your coach will likely not have Admin access in the EMS platform. Event registration should then take place on a form in your CMS platform.
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Would you like to collect a fee upon registration? This is only available in EMS at the Admissions and Enrollment stages.
Key features and benefits of CMS and EMS
Registration setup
| Feature | CMS | EMS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom appointment/event registration form | YES | YES | Build a custom form with additional fields such as T-shirt size. |
| Collect fee with form submission | YES | YES (Applicant > Enrollment only) |
In EMS, this is only available at the applicant stage and beyond. |
| Automatically close event registration | YES | YES | Use Scheduled Activation in CMS forms to stop receiving form submissions. |
| Set a custom attendee cap per event date | YES | ||
| Automate custom follow up communications upon registration | YES | YES | |
| Custom name tag generation | YES |
Parent workflow
| Feature | CMS | EMS | Notes |
| Only name and email required for event registration | YES | EMS requires additional contact information, including phone number and address. | |
| Non-admissions/enrollment event registration | YES | EMS events are only intended for prospective/current student events. They are not intended for community events. | |
| Allowing a parent to cancel or reschedule | YES | Parent cancellation and rescheduling is optional per event in your EMS. |
Communications
| Feature | CMS | EMS |
|---|---|---|
| Automated messages | YES | YES |
| Cancellation notifications | YES | YES (Optional and Automated) |
| Send custom automated email notifications, such as a thank-you or follow-up email | YES | YES |
| Add contacts to a targeted communication workflow | YES | YES |
| iCal links in email templates | YES |
Additional features
| Feature | CMS | EMS |
| Admin Google Calendar sync | YES | |
| Printable PDF for each calendar | YES | |
| Reporting capabilities | YES | YES |
Related help articles and training videos
CMS content
- Getting started in Calendar Manager
- Use iCal feeds to synchronize multiple calendar systems
- All Calendar Manager articles
- Build a form
- All Forms articles
EMS content
- Calendars & Event Management Office Hours Recording Passcode: bp^57B$Q
- Inquiry Event Management Office Hours Recording Passcode: +m8NY+N6
- Calendars & Scheduling Video Tutorial
- Custom Appointment Forms
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