If there's one thing that will revolutionise the day-to-day practicalities of campus event management, it's implementing a university-wide event management system. Whether you're looking to ensure consistency, reduce risks, or just simplifying processes across the campus, an event management system is your best friend.
A well-organized system not only helps students manage their events efficiently but also aligns them with university guidelines and resources. Here are some essential do’s and don’ts for developing and managing this kind of system:
Do's:
Standardize Policies for Student Events: Set clear guidelines for everything from venue bookings to risk management. Ensure students understand the rules around capacity limits, vendor contracts, and safety procedures. Standardizing these policies creates consistency and helps avoid last-minute issues due to lack of clarity.
Offer Financial Planning and Budgeting Tools: Managing finances can be challenging for student event organizers. The system should include tools for tracking spending, allocating funds, and submitting budget reports. Clear guidelines and templates for budget management will help ensure transparency and prevent financial mismanagement.
Provide Training and Resources: Equip student organizers with the tools and knowledge to run successful events. Offering training sessions on risk management, budgeting, marketing, and logistics ensures that all events meet university standards and are well-organized from start to finish.
Use Data and Feedback for Continuous Improvement: Encourage students to collect post-event data and feedback to analyze attendance and engagement. A system like Lounge can provide the analytics needed to refine future events, ensuring continuous improvement based on past performance.
Centralize Event Management Technology: Use a platform like Lounge to centralize all the elements of event planning, such as registration, communication, budgeting, and reporting. This centralization helps students easily access all the resources they need, making the planning process more efficient and reducing confusion.
Don’ts:
Don’t Overcomplicate the Approval Process: While ensuring safety and compliance is essential, avoid making the approval process too complicated. Streamline workflows to allow students to get approvals and access resources without unnecessary delays, which will encourage engagement.
Don’t Neglect Communication: Successful events require seamless communication between various departments, including facilities, security, and student life. The event management system should facilitate this communication to prevent logistical problems, such as double-booking venues or lack of necessary support.
Don’t Forget Event Promotion & Attendance Tracking: Ensure that student organizers have access to effective promotion tools through the system. University resources, such as newsletters and social media, should be available for marketing. The system should also make it easy to track registrations and attendance.
Don’t Overlook Risk Management: Risk management should be an integral part of the event planning process. Provide students with guidelines and tools to assess potential risks and create contingency plans to ensure a smooth event.
Don’t Ignore Feedback Mechanisms: Implement a formal process for collecting feedback from participants and organizers after every event. This ensures future events can be continuously improved based on actual data and attendee input.
By using a centralized platform like Lounge, along with standardized policies and training programs, universities can significantly enhance student event management. This approach not only simplifies the process but also ensures that student-led events are compliant, accessible, and safe for everyone.