How Do I Choose the Best Option on the Class "Bill Dates" Tab?

IN THIS ARTICLE:
Learn about the various options on the Class Bill Dates tab, how sessions/rolling sessions work, how they are created, and how to assign them.

What do the options on the Class "Bill Dates" tab mean?

When you set up a new class, you are given three options on the "Bill Dates" tab that determine the billing frequency and how enrollments are handled.

  • This Class Bills Monthly - means that enrollments in the class is ongoing and billing will be handled per calendar month.
  • This Class Bills According to Custom Date Ranges - means there is a session or rolling session attached to the class.  The dates assigned to the session or rolling session will determine how enrollment dates and billing are handled.

Let's look at these options a bit more in-depth.

This Class Bills Monthly 

This means that enrollments are continuous (with no set start/drop date) and billed by the calendar month (4-5 weeks, depending on the billing schedule settings).

Class registration date options are displayed on the BILL DATES tab for all classes when “This Class Bills Monthly” is selected. (Session/rolling session dates will already control these options for session-based classes.)
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Note: Show Online and Allow Registration must be enabled for this class for these dates to have an effect.

NOTE: Class Registration Dates/Registration Dates are optional. If no dates are defined, the class is considered to be perpetually ongoing.

    • CLASS DATES START/END DATES - The start date can be set to define the default or earliest start date that can be chosen for an enrollment made in the Customer Portal. The end date can be set to define the default or latest drop date that can be chosen for an enrollment made in the Customer Portal.
    • REGISTRATION START/END DATES – Defines the dates during which the class will be visible on the Customer Portal/Mobile App for registration.
      • NOTE: These dates WILL NOT affect Makeup Token redemption. Classes with temporary openings should still show during the Makeup Token redemption process even if the Registration Dates are in the past. However, they will not be displayed during the normal "Booking" process.
    • PRIORITY REGISTRATION START/END DATES: These dates define the date range that this class will appear in the Customer Portal for students that have the priority registration keyword assigned. (See our "What are the Customer Portal Registration Modes?" document for more information about configuring Priority Registration Mode.)

      If "Global Priority Registration Mode" is enabled under SETTINGS>CUSTOMER PORTAL>OTHER SETTINGS>GENERAL SETTINGS, those settings will override any priority registration dates set on the individual classes and any selected keywords apply to all classes/camps. If the setting is disabled, then the selected keyword only applies to that classes that have Priority Registration Dates defined. All other classes will still show on the Customer Portal and accept enrollments as usual.

When using the Class Tuition Charges task to bill for classes that use the Monthly bill dates setting, you will typically select "Student Active" dates for "In the Month of" and choose the month that you are billing for. This allows the system to find all enrollments within that month that are attached to the selected billing schedule.

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This Class Bills According to Custom Date Ranges - Keep Students Enrolled After Session Ends

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Choose this if you set up Rolling Sessions. This means that the enrollments are continuous (with no set drop date) and are billed by custom date ranges - such as every X number of weeks (rolling sessions are typically back to back).

When billing for classes that use the Rolling Session setting using Class Tuition Charges, you will typically select "Student Active" dates for "Within the Range of" and choose the dates of the rolling session that you are billing for. This allows the system to find all enrollments within that time period that are attached to the selected billing schedule.

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This Class Bills According to Custom Date Ranges - Drop Students After Session Ends

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Choose this if you set up Sessions. This means that the enrollments have pre-defined start and drop dates, where the student must re-enroll for class after the current session. Student tuition is then billed and prorated over the session dates.

When billing for classes that use the Session setting using Class Tuition Charges, you will typically select "Student Active" dates for "Within the Range of" and choose the start and drop dates of the session that you are billing for. This allows the system to find all enrollments within that time period that are attached to the selected billing schedule.

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Sessions and Rolling Sessions

Sessions and Rolling Sessions save you from having to create a new class for each enrollment period and allow you to open enrollment for future start dates. (Monthly classes do not have an established start date, so enrollments will default to the current date as the start date.)

If a class schedule and details are staying the same, the class can be re-used by attaching new session or rolling session dates. This can be very helpful if you want to start enrolling students into future sessions with the current session in progress. It also allows you to quickly view the enrolled students for past, current, or future sessions by viewing the same class and using the filters on the class page. 

Sessions and Rolling Sessions serve unique purposes inside of iClassPro. Below are some of the key differences you should keep in mind when deciding which setup is right for your classes.  

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For example:

Sessions are great for businesses that offer enrollments based on a season, such as Fall, Winter, or Spring which may be custom time frames. This requires students to re-enroll for each session.

Rolling Sessions are great for businesses that allow enrollment to be continuous year-round or until a student requests to drop, but that still want to bill by a custom time frame other than the calendar month.

PRO TIP! Once a class is associated with either Sessions or Rolling Sessions, it cannot be switched. To change the type of session associated with a class, you will need to create a new class or duplicate the existing class and make the changes on the new copy. Then, once any enrollments are transferred or dropped from the original class, set that class to inactive. This is the best way to preserve accurate enrollment and session history on your classes for later reference. 

Creating and Editing Sessions/Rolling Sessions

To create or edit Sessions or Rolling Sessions, go to SETTINGS>SETUP>CLASS SETTINGS.  Then choose SESSIONS or ROLLING SESSIONS depending on which type you need to create.

  1. SESSION NAME/ROLLING SESSION NAME: the name that will be used to identify the Session/Rolling Session.
  2. START/END DATE: establishes the date range during which the Session/Rolling Session will occur.
  3. (Optional) REGISTRATION START/END DATES – These dates define the date range that classes using this session/rolling session will appear in the Customer Portal for enrollments. (Similar to camp registration dates).
    • NOTE: if you allow visitors to redeem makeup tokens via the Customer Portal, classes assigned to the session/rolling session will still appear for makeup token redemption if an opening is available within the defined start/end dates; however, the class will not be displayed on the main class list when accessed via main "Booking" screen.
  4. (Optional) PRIORITY REGISTRATION START/END DATES: These dates define the date range that classes using this session/rolling session will appear in the Customer Portal for students that have the priority class registration keyword. (See our "What are the Customer Portal Registration Modes?" document for more information about configuring Priority Registration Mode.)
    • If "Global Priority Registration Mode" is enabled under SETTINGS>CUSTOMER PORTAL>OTHER SETTINGS>GENERAL SETTINGS, those settings will override any priority registration dates set on the individual /rolling session and any selected keywords apply to all classes/camps.
    • If "Global Priority Registration Mode" is disabled, then the selected keyword only applies to classes using the session/rolling session that have Priority Registration Dates defined. All other classes will still show on the Customer Portal and accept enrollments as usual.

You can create and attach as many Sessions/Rolling sessions as you need to a class, so there is no need to create the same class for each Session unless you doing so to keep registration for the two time periods completely separate. The "All Sessions" filter on the CLASSES page will allow you to easily filter to see who is enrolled for a specific session or rolling session that you select.

PRO TIP! Do not attach sessions or rolling sessions to classes which are set to show online and allow web registration unless you want customers to be able to immediately select that session or rolling session as their start date when enrolling online. 

How to Mass Assign Sessions & Rolling Sessions

From the CLASSES page, your business has the option to mass assign Sessions or Rolling Sessions! 

When using the tool to mass assign either sessions or rolling sessions, the session or rolling session you select will only be assigned to selected classes that are either currently set up as Monthly or to those classes already set to bill by the selected option (session/rolling session).

From the Classes page in iClassPro, follow these steps:

  1. Use the SEARCH and/or FILTER options on the left side of the page to narrow down your list of classes.
  2. Use the SELECT ALL option or manually select the classes you would like to edit.
  3. At the bottom of the page, click on the CALENDAR icon to open the mass assign tool.
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  4. From the SESSION drop-down menu, choose the Session or Rolling Session that you would like to assign to the selected classes.
    • FOR SESSIONS ONLY: enabling "Remove Previously Attached Sessions That Have No Enrollments" will automatically remove selected sessions from any selected classes if no enrollments are connected with them. (Rolling Sessions are not included as enrollments in these classes are not directly linked to the Rolling Session.)
  5. Click ASSIGN to launch the task in your background tasks.

Important Notes

Whenever the "BIll Dates" setting for a class is changed from "This Class Bills Monthly" to "This Class Bills According to Custom Date Ranges", the following occurs:

  • The system will check to see if any enrollments are linked to the Class ID.
    • If not, the Session is assigned to the existing class as usual.
    • If enrollments DO exist that are linked to the Class ID, the system will display the following warning message:

      You are attaching a Session to a class that is currently set to "This Class Bills Monthly." By continuing, the system will:

       - Create a duplicate class with the same name and details
       - Attach the selected Session to the new class
       - Transfer any current or future enrollments to the new class and associate them with the selected Session.
       - Make the original class Inactive and assign a drop date/drop reason to the original enrollments.

      Do you wish to continue?

      • If you click YES, the system will perform all of the tasks listed in the warning message.
      • If you click NO, THANKS, the system will cancel the process and:
        • Return to the "Bill Dates" tab with the original "This Class Bills Monthly" values intact (including any class dates/registration dates/priority registration dates) if the class is being edited directly.
        • Return to the main "Set Sessions" window if the "Mass Assign Sessions" QuickTool is being used.

When using the "Mass Assign Session" tool, If any classes are selected that have current or future enrollments that have start/end dates outside of the selected Session date range, the system will not update these classes and will produce an exception report that can be viewed/downloaded from the Background Tasks.

This will apply to scenarios where:

  • Any enrollments where the Start date is AFTER the end date of the session
  • Any current/future enrollments where the End date is BEFORE the end date of the session

Need more assistance?

Customer support is available at 1-877-554-6776 Mon - Fri, 9 am to 9 pm (CT) and Sat, 9 am to 6 pm (CT).