Registration activities are an important interface between the PD committee and the students. The way in which registration is handled will reflect on the entire work of the committee.Registration is first concerned with setting fees and policies for registration which will be published in the PDS brochure. (See "Fee Schedule" under "OTHER CONSIDERATIONS".) Policies to be made include the following:
- Bundles or package price: Sometimes a student already has the handout for the seminar, or doesn't want to eat the meal. It is far easier to have one package price, but that policy should be published with the fee schedule.
- Refunds: Some policy regarding refunds should be published with the fee schedule and registration information. Refunds are often allowed until a certain time before the seminar. This cut-off time might coincide with the end of advance registration, but certainly should be no later than the date when a decision must be made to cancel or proceed with a seminar.
As registrations are received, an accurate list of registrants should be compiled for use on the day of the seminar. In addition, a acknowledgment/confirmation letter can be sent to registrants.
The acknowledgment letter is useful in several ways:
- It provides feedback to the registrant (and often eliminates a call from the registrant, asking if registration materials have been received).
- It allows the PD committee to send additional information, either about the PDS or other Chapter activities.
- On the day of the seminar, the acknowledgment letter helps to speed up the registration line, as it has all the information needed at that moment.
Registration on the day of the seminar should be organized to process attendees as quickly and accurately as possible. One way to do this is to direct all at-the-door and problem registrations to a separate table, away from the mainstream of arriving attendees. At this table, be prepared to take in cash, make change, issue receipts, generate attendee name tags and keep records. This table should be well staffed, with clear, practiced procedures.
The table to handle all pre-registered attendees can be moved very fast by keeping the confirmation card brought by the attendees and just handing out the name tag along with the handout/books materials for the day. At any moment when there is no waiting line, the confirmation cards are used to record that those attendees have in effect arrived. This information is very important. You will need that information to confirm the lunch count given to the cafeteria, and to determine which names in the list corresponds to no-shows, to whom it is necessary to mail all the instructional materials. Also, in case of written refund requests, you will have records on which to make decisions, based on the predetermined refund policy.
It is recommended that a survival kit be prepared ahead of time for use by the staff on the registration desk. Things such as ACM registration forms and booklets as well as office supplies and other items. Talk to headquarters about what they might have available for this necessity.
The registration list must be updated at the end of the seminar to reflect all the actual attendees to the seminar. The completed registration list is the proof of income generated by the seminar and should be passed to the Finance Chair who will have it available for audit purposes.
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