The Activities section is where services related to participants are created and managed. While there are multiple types of activities, this document focuses on creating Scheduled Activities.
Scheduled Activities include services like professional development for staff or a family picnic, activities which people sign up for beforehand. These activities are scheduled for specific dates, and people who have signed up for them are expected to attend.
It is recommended that activities and services be set up at the Admin Site to make managing activities easier. Activities created there are accessible to all sites, as explained in the rest of the article. To learn more about Switching Access, please see this article.
Select the Activities tab from the left-hand navigation menu. If a red "Bad Request" message appears in the upper right corner of the screen, it means that a Site Calendar has not been set up yet. Please see this article to learn how to add or edit a site calendar.
Activities previously created will appear on the Activities page. This article explains how to edit and delete existing Activities and Sessions.
Adding a Scheduled Activity
Click Add Activity + to add a new activity.
Select the Scheduled activity type. Click Continue.
Step 1 - Activity Information
Enter the name of the activity. This field is required, as indicated by the red asterisk. If the activity name you enter is the same as an existing activity name, the system will prompt you in order to avoid duplicates.
You can also enter a description of the activity if desired.
Custom fields may appear on this form. If they are required, as indicated by a red asterisk, you will need to fill them out.
Click Next Step.
Step 2 - Schedule
Next, you will establish a scheduled session for the new Scheduled Activity.
Enter a Session Name. If you plan to create more than one session, be sure to give each session a unique name.
Complete the other fields as appropriate for your program.
You will have the opportunity to schedule another session at the end of the Schedule form.
Choose the appropriate Event Type: One-time event or Recurring event.
For One-Time Events
For one-time events, click the date the activity will be offered from the calendar. The selected date will automatically turn blue. Alternatively, you can type the date into the date field.
Some dates on the calendar may not be selectable. This indicates that the site is closed, based on the Site Calendar, and/or the dates are outside the Reporting Term Date Range.
For Recurring Events
First, select the Start and End date for the range of dates when the recurring event will happen. These dates will default to the Reporting Term Date Range but can be changed as needed.
There are two options for setting the Session dates. You may use a combination of both options.
Option 1
This option is beneficial if your event regularly occurs only on specific days of the week. If the event occurs on varying days of the week, Option 2 may be more beneficial.
From the Scheduled-Dates dropdown, select the days of the week this session will occur. All dates for that day of the week between the start and end date of the Reporting Term Date Range you entered will be automatically highlighted in blue.
Option 2
Click every date the activity will be offered from the calendar. The selected dates will automatically turn blue.
Some dates on the calendar may not be selectable. This indicates that the site is closed, based on the Site Calendar, and/or the dates are outside the Date Range.
You may notice yellow and blue circles underneath the calendar tool. The yellow number indicates the number of dates in the calendar on which the session cannot be offered because the site is closed. The Site Calendar settings determine these closed dates. The blue number indicates the number of dates that have been selected, indicating when the session will be offered. To learn more about the Site Calendar, please see this article.
For Recurring and One-Time Events:
Set this Session's Start Time and End Time by typing in the time or using the time selector. Click an up or down arrow to select and then fine-tune the time.
The End Time can never be earlier than the Start Time. An End Time that is earlier than the Start Time will revert to one minute later than the Start Time.
Default Participation Time
Two options regarding the times that will be recorded for participants are available:
- The Current Time option is best when entering participation in real-time at an event, and each participant's exact start and end times are needed.
- The Session Start/End Times option is best if you want the participant's start and end times by default to match those of the Session. These times can be modified for each participant.
Choose the appropriate option for this activity.
Enrolling Participants
You will next see a list of all participants at this site with a current Registration record. Using the checkboxes to the left of each name, select which participants are expected to attend this session of the Scheduled Activity. This step will make it easier to track participation later.
Review the schedule and participant list to ensure accuracy. If necessary, click Previous Step to edit the Activity's information.
If this is the only session for this Activity, click Next Step. If other sessions are needed, click +Schedule Another Session and repeat the steps above.
Step 3 - Review and Save
Review the Activity and Session you have created. If necessary, click Previous Step to edit the information. If everything looks accurate, click Save Activity.
After you save the activity, a green notification will confirm that it was saved. You will then be redirected back to the main Activities page, where your newly created unscheduled activity will appear in the list.