Introduction and Context

New to setting up Programs and Classes? Want to understand how it all works or need a refresher? This article is for you.

First, let's cover the basics and get on the same page with some Enrollsy terminology. Programs are at the heart of the enrollment process. Meaning, without them, there isn't anything to enroll in.

Programs are organized and subdivided using Program Options. A Program is a unique combination of these Program Options. Programs contain nearly all the settings that dictate how enrollment works.

Programs also contain Classes. Classes can be front and center in the enrollment process as required selections Enrollees need to make. Or, Class selection can be left out of the enrollment process because an Administrator uses information obtained during enrollment to manually make Class assignments.

The distinction between enrollment into Programs versus Classes and the way your offerings are displayed in the enrollment form is what we call the Enrollment Model.

Understanding these two concepts of Program Options and Enrollment Models will best prepare you to successfully implement Enrollsy. So, let's jump into each of these in more detail.

Program Options are best defined as one or more choices or selections that narrow down an Enrollee's broader interests into a final enrollment. Program Options are not actual Programs. Program Options are created inside of a Program Option Category. Think of them as the scaffolding used to create your Programs and Classes.

We'll discuss these both in detail with screenshots, illustrations, and descriptions.

To create new or edit existing Program Options and their Categories, head over to your Programs page (My Company > Programs - also, remember that you may have renamed the word Program) and click the Manage Program Options button at the top of the page inside the Enrollment Period you're working on (or the Open Options button near the bottom if you are in a new Enrollment Period):

Managing:

Program Option Categories are unique for each Enrollment Period, but they can be reused across Enrollment Periods. This means that Categories and Options used for one Enrollment Period do not need to be utilized for other Enrollment Periods, but they can be.

Click the + button to Add a Program Option Category:

Give it a name and click Save:

Now, you're ready to add Program Options inside this Category:

When you create a Program Option Category, you're essentially saying, I have a group of Programs (or at least one Program) that I want to present and categorize in a specific way (in this instance, I am saying I am grouping my Programs by name, so my Program Option Category is called Program Name).

Your first Program Option Category should be viewed by you and your Enrollees as the primary category of options. For example, if you sell sports camps, you might want to consider naming the first Program Option Category Sport. Any additional options the customer needs to select can come later. Likewise, if you are selling Early Childhood Education, you might want to consider naming the first Program Option Category Child Age or Program.

Once you've done this, you're ready to add some Program Options inside.

Program Options are created directly inside of the Program Option Category they belong to. What we want to do now is click the dashed + button inside the category and give the Program Option a name. If this is the first Program Option Category (furthest left), you will see an option to add an image and a description as well. These elements feed into the Browse page of Enrollsy. Give it an Image (optional), Label (required), and Description (optional).

Name your Program Option:

Congratulations! You just made it possible to create your first Program. You read that correctly. You have not created a Program. There is still nothing for anyone to enroll in. Remember, this is just the scaffolding we'll use to build our Program(s).

Before we build a Program though, let's break this down with some illustrations to make sure we're on the same page.

Creating a Program Option Category with one Program Option inside of it creates one possible Program. Adding another Program Option inside of the same Category creates two possible Programs. And adding a third creates three, and so on.

Program Options inside a Program Options Category create placeholders for Programs you can but don't have to create.
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You can edit Program Options and their Categories anytime. You can change names, images, and descriptions, and add or delete them as you please.

The above example is of a single Program Option Category with one or many Program Options inside of it. But, what happens if we add another Category with Options?

The illustrations below demonstrate that by adding more Categories with Options you exponentially increase the number of potential combinations possible for Program creation.

By adding a second Program Option Category called Schedule and adding two Program Options to it, I went from having three possible combinations of Programs to six. If it's easier for you to see this in a table view, see below:

Adding a third Program Option Category with just two more options increases the number of possible unique Programs to twelve (see the twelve unique combinations in the table below).

If every combination of Programs possible is created, here is what my Enroll Form would look like (fully expanded):

Likewise, if Program 1 is only offered on M | W | F in the Mornings, then when an Enrollee selects Program 1 during enrollment, they will not see the T | TH Schedule or the Afternoons Time in the selection lists.

This leads us to our next step, which is to actually create and configure which combinations of Program Options we have, which will automatically create the filters above for use by the Enrollee in the Enroll Form.

Once you have all your Program Options and their Categories in place. We're ready to build a Program, which is a combination of one Option from each Category. You can now close the Manage Program Options section by collapsing it and then clicking the circular Add new Progam button in the top right of the page:

What you'll see is the Program Option Categories you just created in a top-to-bottom format. Simply select the combination you want to use to create your first Program:

You'll also notice that you can select one or many Locations (if applicable). This makes it easy to create the same Program (it will be identical in all of its settings) for different Locations. However, it's worth noting that if you use the Classes Enrollment Model, the Classes the Enrollee can select from can be unique to that Location, and if you set pricing at the Class level, the pricing can be different at different Locations:

Another way to think of Program Option Categories is as a series of filters Enrollees use to find what they need without having to view every possible thing you offer. In many use cases, this is a huge advantage to the Enrollee and minimizes their cognitive load during enrollment.

In other words, if I am enrolling my son this summer with a local sports camp and he is interested in a Tennis camp, why force me to sort through everything? When the first Category is Sport and has Tennis listed among the other five sports camps, I can select Tennis and then only see what Schedules and Times tennis is offered. Perhaps Tennis only runs on M | W | F during the Mornings before it gets too hot, while Basketball (on indoor courts) runs every day of the week for both Mornings and Afternoons. No matter what you're doing, getting your Program Options and their Categories right will make a huge difference in optimizing your enrollment and your back-office operations. This is true because Enrollsy will segment many of your views accordingly (see below).

Breakdown of Programs and Progam Options from the Classes page:

Enrollment Models further extend the flexibility of Programs by categorizing enrollment into that Program into one of three flows.

The Enrollment Model of a Program is set in the second step of the Program creation process, but it can be modified anytime by editing the Program.

Setting the Enrollment Model of a Program:

As you can see above, the Enrollment Model Options are Simple, Days per Week, and Classes. We've broken these down in the table below to help you understand the Pros and Cons and also when to use these different models. While the table below isn't exhaustive, it's fairly comprehensive and can serve as a guide for your Program creation.

Once you've created your Program Options, Categories, and the actual Programs you offer (with their appropriate Enrollment Models), you're ready for the final step of adding Classes.

Regardless of your setup, you will need a Program with a Class inside of it with a Capacity of at least (1) one in order to open enrollment.

While creating Classes is easy to do, there are some nuances to the options that you should be aware of. The table below demonstrates how some settings are inherited from the Program or need to be set within the Class directly depending on the Enrollment Model you've selected for a given Program.

Additionally, there are two types of Classes and additional settings you'll want to be aware of. These are described below under Class Types.

To Create a Class, head over to the Classes page (you may have renamed the word Class). The rest of this section outlines some of the options you have in creating Classes.

Select the Program you want to create a Class inside of and click the Add class button:

Complete the form that slides out onto the page:

As of right now, there are two types of Classes inside Enrollsy:

You are presented with the option of choosing your Class Type only when you Set days/dates when the Class occurs:

When choosing days/dates when the Class occurs, you can either create a recurring schedule by choosing which days the Class runs and setting a Start and End Date (see below) or you can select the days one at a time:

If you set Dates and Times for the Class, you will also have the option of configuring an Email Reminder some period of time prior to Class Start:

When you set days/dates on your Class, you'll see a calendar icon appear within that Class, and when you click it, the dates you set will display as follows:

When you set an Email Reminder on your Class, you'll see a bell icon appear over the calendar icon within that Class, and when you click it, you'll see the reminder settings:

Enrollsy allows you to share a Class between different Programs. Doing this allows you to maintain some level of segmentation by Program, but share the Class and its capacity.

To share a Class click the Unshared icon/button:

Next, choose which Program(s) you want to share it with:

Sharing Classes is most commonly done when the Programs sharing the Class have unique pricing, coupon codes, terms and conditions, etc., but the Enrollees all need to go into the same Class.

The key to successful enrollments largely has to do with your ability to leverage Program Options. Program Option Categories, Enrollment Models, and Classes. If you understand how these three components work together, you'll be able to quickly and easily create a unique and enjoyable enrollment experience for all your different Programs.