Conference Registration Procedures
Online Registration Portal
Star Island provides an online portal in which individuals can register for a conference, pay room and board deposit and pay conference programming fees. This information feeds directly into our database. Conference Registrars will have access to our database system and should reference the Star Island Raiser’s Edge for Registrars Manual for instructional use.
After a conferee registers, they will receive an acknowledgment email. This email contains some important information from Star Island. It typically does not provide any information from the Conference, nor does it confirm any acceptance into the conference. It is recommended that Conference has a method in place for communicating with conferees after they register with Star Island.
For those who do not want to register online, paper forms are available on the website or by calling the Star Island Corporation office. SIC will process all paper registrations by manually entering into the database.
Application Receipt and Acceptance Best Practices
Before Accepting Registrations
- Get conference speakers/staff list (to make sure that they all register)
- Prepare acceptance/welcome email:
- Your Conference Welcome Letter (see sample) which should also include the link to a specific webpage from Star Island Corporation with important information and rules which must be disseminated to all registrants (www.starisland.org/faq-category/important-info)
When Accepting Registrations
- Follow up on questions from registrants or unclear information on their registration (Arrival/Departure Time and Boats/MMRF/Discount Eligibility).
- Send acceptance/welcome email to the registrant
- Mark each registrant ACCEPTED in Raiser’s Edge after you have sent your acceptance email.
Accepted Conferees Best Practices
An acceptance, once sent, is difficult and embarrassing to rescind. Further, once you have sent out an acceptance, you have little leverage to insist that any missing, required information be furnished. Thus, it is important to make a final check of the registration data before mailing out the acceptance email. Any registrant who is not accepted will be refunded registration fees (deposit and programming fee).
Registration Checklist
- Minor Medical Release Form (Have forms sent to Island Registrar)
- Late Arrival and Early Departure dates for COG’s are have been correctly noted in Raiser’s Edge.
- Correct STATUS entered in Raiser’s Edge (Accepted, Cancel, Waitlist)
Waiting List
It is important to be sure that those placed on waitlists are encouraged to persevere if there is any reasonable likelihood that they will finally be accepted. Therefore, the following suggestions are made:
- Be sure to inform people promptly when they are placed on a waitlist. The online portal will notify registrants if the conference is full and only accepting waitlist applications. Registrations mailed into SIC will be entered into the database and appear on your registration reports promptly, if waitlisted, the individuals should be contacted immediately as well.
- Keep those on the waitlist up-to-date regarding both their position on the list (first, second, third, etc.) and their chances of being accepted. If you think last year’s cancellations give an indication of what may happen this year, include that information. (For example, “You are third on this year’s list. Last year we had seven cancellations. I cannot guarantee you acceptance; however, had you been in this position last year, you would have been accepted by the time of the conference.”)
- As the dates for your conference approach, reassess your situation. If you have a waitlist at that point, touch base with enough people to cover possible cancellations by knowing which waitlisted individuals are still available to attend, and be prepared to make last minute calls.
- If/when you know that there won’t be room for individuals on the waitlist, please encourage them to go to www.starisland.org and look at other available conferences – we certainly don’t want anyone who wants to come to Star Island this summer left out.
- If someone wants to remove themselves from the waitlist, refunds will be provided promptly.
Refusing Registrants
The Chief Executive Officer and Island Manager are authorized to require conferees to leave the island or to refuse registration in response to a person who exhibits behavior which causes disruption of a meeting or of our island neighbors, creates a threat to the health and safety of others, violates policies, violates the law, and/or causes damage to island. Usually, action of this kind is taken only when required to enforce minimum, necessary standards. The Star Island Corporation will hold a confidential list of people not permitted on Star Island. If a registration is received from someone on the confidential list, you will be notified by the Island Registrar. The registration will be held pending if a resolution can be made.
When conference rules are broken or a behavioral problem develops which is primarily of concern to the conference, the conference officials may take appropriate action. This may include refusal of registration in future years. Such situations should also be brought to the attention of the CEO or Island Manager, who will intercede if the situation is so acute as to require immediate action. Cooperation between the Star Island and Conference Officials is important in resolving matters of this kind.