Related events enable your institution to connect multiple events based on a common theme or purpose. For example, if your office hosts an open house event, you can connect a related event for campus tours or information sessions scheduled around the same time. By linking these events together as related, attendees can easily navigate between them and register for multiple events simultaneously.

There are several reasons to use related events over a single event registration:

• Increase attendance: By linking multiple events together, attendees can easily discover and register for events that interest them, leading to higher attendance rates. 

• Streamline registration: Attendees can register for multiple events at once.

• Cross-promotion: Attendees are exposed to other events or programs.

• Improve data tracking: Track attendance and engagement across multiple events for a more comprehensive view of your recruitment efforts.

Create Event Templates

Begin by creating event templates for your Related Event structure.

Hold off on building the form and separate communications for these events until after completing this section. It is likely that communications and individual forms will not need to be created.

Batch Create Events

Batch create event instances for each event template, and place the events in a corresponding event folder. The folder will be crucial when selecting which related events to display. 

For a related event, the registrant can be automatically checked in when checking in for the main event, or each related event can provide a separate check-in. The Related Registration Check-In setting is on the Registration Settings tab when creating or editing an event.

Events will populate on the event calendar, and each event should be placed into a corresponding event folder:

Create the Master Template

Create a Master Campus Visit Template.

Create Master Event Form

Build a registration form for a master event template using form builder skills learned in Stage I. Use the Related Events Selector tool from the Form Builder Palette to add Related Events to the registration form. By selecting the corresponding folder, the events in that folder will be displayed in the widget.

Multi-Day Events? Adjust the Date Range

To display only events that occur on the same day as the master event, set both the Date Range Start and Date Range End to 0 days.

If prospective students have the option to attend events over multiple days, adjust the date range for the Related Events Selector. For example, for a master event on 3/4/2020, set Date Range Start to -1 Days and Date Range End to 2 Days, so that events that appear will have start dates that fall between 3/3/2020 and 3/6/2020.

If there are available events scheduled within the selected folder on the date a prospective student elects to visit campus, those event instances will display on the master event registration form as check box options:

No Events?

If there are no available events, the form will display the message: There are no other available events to display for this date.

If a Custom Unavailable Message is created, that message will display instead.

Important!

When the registration limit is met for a Related Event, it will no longer display as an option on the master form.

Create Master Events

Just like any other event, use the master event template to batch create individual instances. Create a master event for each day an event is offered. The folder selected for the master event will be used to select which events to display on the Event Landing Page.

Capacity Checking

Different events can have different capacities: While a registrant and their guests might not exceed the limit for the main event (e.g., a campus visit), they may exceed the available space for a related event (e.g., an information session). Slate automatically detects and displays if the registrant and their guests will exceed the capacity for related events. Related events allow registrants to sign up for supplemental/multiple events using a single registration form. A common example is a campus visit registration form that also allows registrants to sign up for an information session (or the related events).

Settings

Slate will automatically check if the current registration will exceed the registration limits of a related event. On both the Master Event form and the Related Event form, the system field for Guests needs to be mapped to Special Form Fields > Guests.

At the template or individual event level, Slate can count guests against the Registrant Limit using the Include Guests setting in the event/event template "Limits" tab:

 Here is a truth table for the different setting combinations:

Note. ✅= guests factored against limit; ❌= guests not factored against limit

The Include Guests setting will be factored into the waitlist transfer functionality, meaning that guests will be included when a registration is transferred from the waitlist. The status of a related event shown on the related events selector will not reflect if there are waitlist spots available. 

Important

Map only one form field to either Guests or Attendees under the Special Form Fields category to ensure Slate collects the proper number of guests for the total registration amount.

Communications for Related Events

To display all related events in chronological order in an event communication, select the Form-Related-Events merge field. This merge field adds a "Liquid loop" that loops through all selected related events and displays them in chronological order: 

We look forward to seeing you at the Admitted Students Day on
{{Form-Date | date: 'MMMM d'}}!{% for event in Form-Related-Events %}
{{event.datetime | date:"dddd,MMMM d\a\t h:mm tt"}}{{event.summary}}
{% endfor %}

The event date, time, and summary can be edited to change the display for each event in the communication. For example, the format mask for the date can be changed, the text can be bolded or italicized, or the summary can be placed before the date.

In addition, using snippets in conjunction with the loop can show a block of text, such as a description of the event, or an image:

Here are the activities you are registered for:
{% for event in Form-Related-Events %}{{event.summary}} at {{event.datetime | date:"h:mm tt"}}
{{event.summary | snippet: 'admitted_students_day_activities'}}
{% endfor %}

Constituent events selected using Related Events Selectors are available as merge fields for event communications. Use these merge fields to list the registrants itinerary. For example:

Best Practice

If the 'Upon registration' communications require complex conditional logic, consider using Event Structure C instead.

If follow-up communications require complex conditional logic based on which constituent events were selected, create a communications campaign for the constituent event templates.

Most event structures that use Related Events only require a single master event template form with a single set of communications. There are two circumstances when this may change.

Internal Fields

If a Related Event requires additional administrative processing and complex communications based on these processes, create a form for that event template with Internal Only fields.

If communications should be sent with this information, build 'Upon Update' communications for the Related Event Template.

Do Not Delete Standard Fields!

By default, a number of standard fields are included on every event registration form. Do not delete these standard fields when editing the forms for Related Events.

Conditional Logic

Conditional logic can convey information about specific Related Events. Add conditional logic to event communications in the master template.

Use the 'not equal' comparison operator with the null string to determine if the registrant made a selection for that Related Events Selector:

{% if {{related_infosession}} != null %}
We are looking forward to seeing you at the Group Information Session!
{% endif %}

This condition statement will evaluate to true only if the registrant selected an event for the Related Events Selector with the export key related_infosession.

If there are special instructions for certain Related Events, use the contains comparison operator to determine which event was selected:

{% if {{related_infosession}} contains '03:00 PM' %}
Your Group Information Session will meet in room A210.
{% elsif {{related_infosession}} != null %}
Your Group Information Session will meet in room A100.
{% endif %}

This condition statement will evaluate to true if the selected event starts at 3:00 PM. For example, Tuesday, March 10 at 03:00 PM - Information Session.

Important!

Since the text stored for the Related Events Selector field changes based on the specific event selected, the 'equal' comparison operator cannot be used effectively. Use the 'contains' comparison operator instead.

Cancelling

If cancelling a Related Event, the event data will still pull through into an hours-out communication for the Master Event unless the registration status for the student is also set to cancelled.

Configure a cancellation email on the Related Event to communicate this related event has been cancelled.