Setting up Reminder Emails for Patrons and Instructors
Program Registration can send reminder emails to patrons and instructors to alert them that a program is starting soon. You can set up reminder emails separately for each program by specifying how many days before the start of the first session the system should send reminder emails. Reminder emails are set in the program record, and this setting is used for all attached sections.
When setting up email reminders in Program Registration, keep the following in mind.
- Sierra sends reminder emails only to patrons who are registered for the section and who have a valid email address in their patron records.
- The system does not send reminder emails to patrons who are waitlisted for a section.
- If there is an email address in the Instructor Email field, the system sends a reminder email to the instructor as well.
To set up patron reminder emails for a specific program, perform the following steps.
- Retrieve the program record associated with the section(s) for which you want to send a reminder email.
- In the TICKL DAYS field, enter the number of days before the first session of each section that you want the system to send reminder emails.
When the current date is the number of days before the first session as specified in the TICKL DAYS field, the system:
- sends a reminder email to the instructor and each registered patron of that section
- displays the date and time the email was sent in the TICKL SENT field of the section record
For example, if you specify the following:
- TICKL DAYS: 5
- First session of the section begins: 05-06-2006 9:00 PM
The system sends a reminder email when the current date is 05-01-2008 (5 days before 05-06-2008), and displays the time and date sent, e.g., "05-01-2008 2:00 AM" in the TICKL SENT field of the section record.
The system also uses the TICKL DAYS field to send Section Starting Soon alert emails. If you enter a value in this field, the program operator will receive a reminder email before the start of the first session. For information on this feature, see Section Starting Soon Alert.
A reminder email sent to a patron resembles the following:
From: progadm@north.lib.edu [mailto:progadm@north.lib.edu] Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:39 AM To: blanche@blanchewelsh.com Subject: Library Program Reminder Hello :) This is to remind you that the program below will begin soon. You are registered for 2 seats. Please contact the library if you are unable to attend. Program Name: Teen Movie Night Start Date: July 04 2008 07:00:00PM Location: Main Auditorium Public Note: Come early for best seats Public Note: King Kong Cost Per Registrant: $0.00 Instructor: Joe Wilson Name: Blanche Welsh Registration Note 1: Blanche Registration Note 2: Addie Thank you!
The email sent to the instructor is the same as the one shown above, but does not include a patron name or registration notes.
One Patron Reminder Email Per Section
After the system sends patron reminder emails and displays the email date and time in the TICKL SENT field, the system does not send any more reminder emails to patrons and the instructor for that section.
If you want to send another reminder email for the same section (for example, if the date of the first session was changed and you want to send a new reminder), delete the date and time from the TICKL SENT field of the section record. The system sends another reminder email to the instructor and patrons.
You can delete the date and time from the TICKL SENT field as many times as necessary. Note, however, that another Section Starting Soon alert email will also be sent to the program operator each time patron reminder emails are sent.