Overview
Here is a list of frequently asked questions and the corresponding answers for the Appointments module.
As an admin, can I configure Appointments settings for everyone on my team?
Admins can configure categories and appointment types, as well as edit or delete any user's existing availability. However, users must add their own availability.
For more information on getting started with appointments for admins, click here.
If you are a non-admin user, click here to get started.
Can I set up a round-robin or group meeting type?
Not at this time. The Appointments module is designed to help you manage your one-on-one appointments. However, the feature will continue to evolve, so stay tuned!
Can you collect fees/payments via Appointments?
Not at this time. Payment integration is not available for appointments.
When someone schedules an appointment with Element451 and has never interacted with us, will they get a prospect milestone?
By default, scheduling an appointment will generate a prospect milestone if the person doesn’t already have a record in Element451. However, you can control this behavior with the “Create Date of Inquiry Milestone” setting in Appointment Types, allowing flexibility based on your needs.
Can a non-student or community member book an appointment?
Anyone can schedule an appointment. However, please note that a new record will be created for anyone who does not have an existing record. If you have regular appointments with parents, community members, or another non-student population, we suggest setting up separate categories for those meetings.
If I have several different meeting types on my booking site, can I share a URL that takes the invitee to schedule a specific meeting?
Yes, you can. Your custom URL includes a unique slug for each appointment type.
Can the invitee cancel or reschedule their appointment?
Using the links in their confirmation email/SMS, they can update their information (name, email, phone) or cancel. To reschedule, they will need to cancel and book another appointment. When canceling, they will be prompted with the option to "book again."
Will I receive a notification to let me know someone has scheduled an appointment?
Yes, you and the invitee will receive an email when an appointment is scheduled, updated, or canceled. You can explore more on appointment notifications here.
Are appointments automatically added to my calendar?
If you link your external calendar, the connection is read-only. This means Element451 can only check to see if you're free or busy. Your notification e-mail will contain a .ics attachment. Open that attachment to add the meeting to your calendar.
What automatic notifications and reminders are sent to the invitee or the person scheduling?
The invitee is sent a confirmation email immediately after scheduling, updating, or canceling (and you will receive a similar email). The invitee is also sent a reminder email 1 hour before the appointment is scheduled to begin. You can explore more on appointment notifications here.
Can I add another notification, for example, if I wanted to send a text reminder 24 hours before the scheduled appointment?
Yes! You can use an ongoing Campaign and Workflow to send additional reminders or notifications based on your institution's needs. Click here for more information.
Can I customize the automatic notifications?
At this time, you are unable to customize notifications. However, you can use tokens to reference upcoming appointments in Campaign communications. You can explore more about this here.
Why should I use Appointments vs another tool?
By utilizing the Appointments module, you can capture even more important student data. This means that when students schedule appointments, it becomes part of their record in Element451. By leveraging data from appointment scheduling and other student interactions, you can gain insights and engagement scores to track their progress. This holistic view of the student's activities helps you understand their overall experience and provide better support.
We are interested in using Appointments to schedule faculty interviews. Can we hide this from the Appointment site?
Yes, you can configure appointment types to be private. To do so, create a new appointment type specifically for faculty interviews and mark it as private. After creating the appointment type, add your availability for these interviews. Finally, share your availability link with the individuals who need to schedule appointments. This ensures that the faculty interview appointments remain hidden from the public appointment site.
Can you set parameters with appointments so it only schedules meetings for 2:00 pm-4:00 pm every Monday instead of any time you are available?
Yes, for each of your availabilities, you can configure the weekly hours settings to determine your specific availability for each day and time.
Are we able to embed the appointment booking form on our own site, or does it just live in E451?
No, at this time, the Appointments Site acts as its own entity. To ensure branding, we recommend setting up your external domain so that your appointments site URL will read something like appointments.fire.edu.
Can I have duplicative times that I am available? For example, can I be available for Advising Meetings M-F from 9-5 and also for Career Counseling M-F from 9-5?
Yes, you can have different availabilities with overlapping times. This allows you to be available for different types of appointments during the same time slots. However, keep in mind that once an appointment is booked for one availability, that time slot will no longer be available for any other availabilities at that same time. Using your example above, if a student books a 9:00 advising appointment, you will no longer be available at 9:00 for career counseling.
Can Zoom Links be Generated for Appointments?
Currently, there is no integration between Zoom and our Appointments module. We recommend creating a standard Zoom meeting link, such as your personal meeting link, and placing that URL in either the availability location or description fields.
If someone is completing the booking form and has selected a date/time, but doesn’t immediately hit submit, what happens if my availability changes during that time?
The system performs a final check on your calendar availability when the “Schedule Appointment” button is clicked to prevent any unexpected double bookings.
Why is the Element451 logo being used on appointment confirmations or reminder emails?
To send these automated messages, a full-color logo is required. If you see the Element451 logo, it means a full-color logo hasn’t been set. We’ve used our system fallback to ensure your message(s) were delivered. To fix this, go to General Settings > Branding and upload your full-color logo.
The Appointments Module is included with the Element Engage package.