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Doane University Cuts Events Scheduling Time in Half and Boosts User Satisfaction with 25Live®

Doane University

Crete, Nebraska

Products

25Live® Integrated Academic and Event Scheduling System

Why 25Live?

“We evaluated a variety of event and facility management tools and 25Live was the best fit for the needs of our users.” – Amos Joseph, Director of Web Services
“25Live is a very user-friendly system that makes event planning simple for event planners and the rest of the University.” – Patty Lavelle, Manager of Event Services

Benefits

• Huge reduction in administrative hours

• All-in-one space and resources requesting

• Intuitive event planning and management

• Robust customization

• Automated communication

The Challenge

It was no secret that Doane University’s Office of Event Services wanted to upgrade their scheduling system. Their outdated manual process had been the source of frustration and unnecessary administrative work for years. Whenever a student, faculty, or external organization wanted to schedule a meeting or event, they had to email a request to the campus Event Services office administrator, who would then enter the information into an Active Data calendar and check room availability. If the room was already booked, the administrator had to email the requestor to offer alternative space and prompt the requester for all related information, such as number of attendees, setup time, equipment, catering, custodial needs, and so forth. Then, there was management of secondary communications, such as permit applications and notifications to Parking and Safety. To track available spaces and equipment, Events Services maintained a separate Excel spreadsheet that inventoried all rooms and facilities. It was a time-consuming system involving lots of manual data entry and follow-up emails. To make matters worse, only a few campus administrators had access to the system.

The Solution

When the University decided it was time to upgrade their scheduling system, they carefully considered their options. According to Amos Joseph, Director of Web Services at Doane, “We looked at CourseDog, Accruent EMS, Brightly Event Manager (the replacement tool from the makers of Active Data), and 25Live. 25Live was the best fit for the combination of event and facility management functionality that our users needed.” Once the 25Live system was up and running at Doane, it contained the descriptions and availability of 286 spaces, which event organizers could view and request – and Events Services could approve – all within the same system. Automated event request forms were easily customized to accommodate the unique needs of various requesters, such as students and faculty. Now, when event planners complete a request form, the system automatically prompts them for all relevant information, such as number of attendees, and catering, security, and equipment needs, in addition to automatically submitting any necessary permit requests and secondary department notifications.

The Results

According to Patty Lavelle, Manager of Events Services, “25Live is a very user-friendly system that makes event planning simple for the event planners and the rest of the University. We’ve been able to customize the system to help different groups, making everyone’s lives easier. For example, we integrated our Risk Assessment form into our reservation process, so the student doesn’t need to send a separate form to Student Affairs. I don’t have to wait to receive a separate approval for Risk Assessment. I can look to see that Student Affairs has what they need.” Ms. Lavelle appreciates how 25Live uses conditional logic, promoting the requester with the next appropriate question based on their previous response. And she described how 25Live streamlines internal communications: “It automatically sends the requester and Catering an email with menus and instructions. The Events Department, Custodial team, and food vendors can easily view all planning details, ask questions, and make suggestions within the system. They have everything at their fingertips,” said Ms. Lavelle. Schedulers now receive automatic emails, and reminders ensure all information is complete and any additional changes are made. “It has relieved us of micro-managing all the details and hundreds of hours of email communications.” 

Conclusion

“I wish we had adopted 25Live much earlier,” Ms. Lavelle said. “It has cut our time in half! It’s so intuitive – the system prompts requesters and provides images to help them schedule in a location they haven’t seen. It helps event planners think about what they need for their event. It can standardize set ups and give students options to choose. Students can even attach a poster for their events for automatic approval. Stakeholders can pull up current information on their phones – custodians have all the specifics they need to set up, even if the original plans have changed. The system prompts people to plan ahead and be responsible for their information. We’re able to do our jobs better because it asks the questions we need to know and removes stress on both sides.”

About Doane University

© Photo provided by Doane University
Established in 1872, in Crete, Nebraska, to bring educational opportunities to the Great Plains, Doane University is a small liberal arts college renowned for its commitment to academic excellence. Doane University creates distinctive educational experiences, immersed in the liberal arts, to prepare its students for careers and lives grounded in inquiry, ethics, and a commitment to lead and serve in the global community. Doane offers 40 undergraduate majors and nine graduate programs, in addition to an enriching campus experience that includes 90 clubs and organizations; award-winning theater, forensics and music programs; and 23 intercollegiate sports programs.

What's Next?

Additional streamlining: Ms. Lavelle and her Events Services team are now planning to integrate contracts, pricing, and invoicing for external organizations into 25Live.

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