Event Guidelines
Planning Guidelines
As you begin planning your landmark event (Forge the Future, Explore Liberal Arts, etc.) or series of events (Custom Visits, Information Sessions, etc.), determine (1) what the core content of these events will be, (2) how they will differ from other events (3) what audience are these events are for, and (4) how you can make these events more valuable for those populations.
Take some time to also consider the following:
Who are these events for?
We need to know the population of your event because it drives how we build our registration form.
Prospective students
Prospective students and families want general information. They are investigating several colleges; how does your college differ from other colleges? Don’t worry about the details of orientation, like housing and dining, those things can be communicated at the admitted student stage.
Admitted students
Admitted students and families often have offers of admission from multiple colleges. Now, they are narrowing down their top choices. Help them envision themselves as a student at Purdue. Student organizations and ambassador/mentor programs are good topics for this audience. Show them how they can amplify their degree/educational experience within your umbrella (e.g., Hands-on experiences, internships, Degree in 3, certificates, etc.)?
Segmenting Audiences
Considering the goals of your area, think beyond the prospective and admitted audiences, for additional segmenting. Do you want events to engage underserved, underrepresented, female/male students, etc.?
Where are these events taking place?
In-person and on-campus
Know where precisely the event is taking place. Make sure to include parking information, offer helpful navigation tips, and consider the travel feasibility (i.e. It may not make sense to invite Alaska students to an in-person event in West Lafayette; consider inviting IN, IL, OH, MI, KY, etc. students).
In-person and off-campus
Want to host events across the country or across the world? You can do that! Load in the address to your event, provide navigation information, include time zone information, and consider connecting with Admissions regional representatives to take your off-campus visits to the next level. You can set up a Slate mailing invitation that sends to that specific state or zip code radius.
Virtually
The pandemic pushed Purdue to create engaging convenient virtual experiences for students and their families. With campus beginning to return to normal, a hybrid offering of both in-person and virtual events will be the new norm. Consider having a series of virtual sessions available. Do research on peak times for engagement and adjust staff availability to make some of these sessions possible at times beyond 5 pm ET. If you have a ‘no show’ for one of your in-person events, consider sending them an invite to some virtual sessions so they don’t miss out on learning more.
Is this a one-day event or a series of events?
- A one-day event, once created, will have a singular registration page.
- We recommend using this registration link as the call to action to register in any Slate invitation email.
- A series of events will likely require a Slate Landing Page. These are hub pages that pull in all confirmed events located in specific event folders. We can display all these events with a calendar view, a map view, or a list view.
- We recommend using the link to the landing page in your Slate invitation mailing.
What do you want to do with these students after they have attended your event?
Get feedback
Creating surveys based on events is a good avenue to measure the effectiveness and value of an event. Request feedback to improve, adjust, and add or remove events.
Offer more information regarding the next steps or things you covered in your session
You can send event attendees information on additional visit opportunities. If you covered unique programs or offerings in your event, send that supplemental information in a follow-up email.
Send them swag
Mailing export – swag in mailboxes. Everyone LOVES free stuff.
Event Communications Guidelines
Once you have come up with an event you want to create, there is work you must complete before you reach out to our team. Below are the key event communications we require to build an event template for you. You can use the Email Builder or your own email building tool – we just require that these mailings are in brand, responsive (email adjusts in size to desktop and mobile view), and are clear.
- Confirmation – this email confirms the registrant is registered and provides key event details.
- Reminder – this email typically goes out 1-2 days prior to the event date and contains the same information as the confirmation email.
- Waitlist (optional) – this email verifies a registrant had been added to the event waitlist and that they will be notified if they are shifted to ‘registered’ status.
- Confirmation from Waitlist (only if you have a waitlist)- this email sends to students moved into ‘registered’ status from the waitlist and contains the content from the confirmation email.
- Thanks for Attending – this email sends to registrants marked as ‘attended’ 24 hours after the event and often contains a thank you message and next steps.
Other event communications we have seen/created:
- No Show – this email sends to registrants marked as ‘no show’ and can prompt them to register for another opportunity or give the next steps.
- Internal Notification emails to Recruitment staff These can act as an internal notice that someone has registered for an event – this email can act as an internal notice that someone has registered for an event.
Submission Guidelines
The more information you give us in regards to your event request, the better. With that being said, 95% of the time EMSCI will reach out with questions. We want to ensure that we understand everything and an opportunity for us to brainstorm together on how we can take the template to the next level.
*Remember, you will need to submit a separate request for any type of invitation communication (typically Slate email or mailing export).
Timing considerations
If your event is on-campus, we recommend you give your audience at least a month’s notice to plan accordingly. Please remember, an event request takes 10-15 business days to facilitate and an email campaign request takes 10 business days. Build this into your timeline while planning.
If your event is virtual, we’d recommend giving your audience 1-2 weeks’ notice since they don’t physically have to travel and you want to keep this opportunity fresh in their minds.
Want clarity or have questions? Our team is always available to walk you through the process and consult with you about your unique event and goals.