How does Registration and Enrollment work in Jackrabbit? We want to pull all the pieces together, help you step through the process, and create a plan that makes the most sense for your business.
Let's start with a clear understanding of the difference between Registration and Enrollment in Jackrabbit.
Registration | ||
 | When a NEW family's information is first added to Jackrabbit, we refer to it as registration. Registration for a family happens once to create the family's account. There are three ways to register a new family:
*Students can be enrolled in classes during these registration processes. When applicable, registration fees can be set to automatically post to the new family's account. | |
Enrollment | ||
 | When an EXISTING family (already registered in Jackrabbit) enrolls a student into a class, we refer to it as enrollment. There are multiple ways a student can be enrolled in classes:
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Here are some recommendations to help you outline your process to be sure your registrations are received and recorded properly, student enrollments are correct, fees and payments are processed accurately, and families are notified along the way.
Create a Process that Works for Your Business
Every business operates differently. We hope you will consider the information below to create the best process for your organization.
Plan Your Strategy
Spend a bit of time planning and ask yourself these questions:
 | Do you need to add/update your legal policies? |
| Do you want to offer trial enrollment? |
| Do you offer discounts? Watch our webinar, Pay Yourself First - 5 Things to Consider Before You Discount featuring a CPA! |
| Do you need to make adjustments to how you post tuition fees? Do you want to automate the process? |
| Do you use an online registration form and/or allow enrollment in the Parent Portal? |
| Do you want to send a link to your Online Registration form for a specific class or offer priority enrollment to existing families? |
| Do you charge registration fees? |
| Do you have a plan for retaining families at your activity center? Check out this blog article! |
Get Jackrabbit Ready
After planning your strategy, it's time to get Jackrabbit ready for registration and enrollment.
 | Create and/or review your class schedule and add classes as needed. |
| Transition current classes to a new session of classes. |
| Make any changes to your classes as needed. Use Edit All Classes to modify multiple classes. |
| Add class listings tables to your website. Classes open for registration at midnight, in your timezone, on the Registration Start Date indicated in each Class record (Summary tab), and Allow Online Registration is set to Yes. Note: if a Registration Start Date is left blank, registration will be available immediately. |
| Review your registration fee settings. In a Class record, Has a Registration Fee? defaults to Yes. Uncheck the checkbox if you do not want to charge a registration fee during Online or Quick Registration. |
| When ePayments are enabled, payment can be required with a Parent Portal enrollment. Use Edit All Classes to exclude classes from requiring payment. |
| Check to see if you need to update your Tuition Settings, including any discounting and prorating. Check out this Discounting & Prorating Tuition webinar! |
 | We recommend you review these checklists for additional information: Online Registration Form - Checklist for a Successful Rollout and Parent Portal Setup - Checklist for a Successful Rollout. |
Communicate with Families & Staff
Communicate important dates, registration, and enrollment information to your staff and families.
 | If you expect class demand to be high, use the email template, Class Registration Prep, to email your families. Encourage families to update their payment and student information in the Parent Portal before registration opens to help speed up enrollment. |
| Email Student Schedules to families a few weeks before classes start. |
| Communicate with your families through the Parent Portal. |
| Use the Staff Portal News to keep your staff informed. |
| Check out this Jackrabbit blog article! Powerful Email and Communication Features in Jackrabbit Class. |
Open Registration & Enrollment
New families can register and enroll their kids in classes using your Online Registration Form. Existing families already entered into your system can enroll in the Parent Portal.
 | Check to be sure that each class has a Registration Start Date on the Summary tab in the Class record.
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| Confirm settings for all classes. Be sure they are all open for online registration and Parent Portal enrollment. These settings are located in the Class record on the Summary tab:
TIP: Use Edit All Classes to work with all classes on the same page at the same time. For example, if you want all your classes to open registration at a set time of day, change Allow Online Reg.? and/or Allow Portal? fields to Yes. Once you save the changes, the registration will open immediately. |
Review & Confirm
Now that you have promoted and opened your classes for enrollment, you'll need to keep track of the online registrations and Parent Portal enrollments so they can be reviewed and adjusted if needed.
 | Watch your Jackrabbit Executive Dashboard! Your Dashboard numbers for online registrations and Parent Portal enrollments will begin to rise as enrollments come in. This area gives you a real-time count at your fingertips. |
| Email notifications for online registrations and Parent Portal enrollments are sent from Jackrabbit to the email addresses defined in your email notification settings. |
| The Process Class Registrations report allows you to review all registrations and class enrollments, including those coming in through online registration, from the Parent Portal, and those done from within Jackrabbit. Additions to waitlists are also displayed. |
Post Fees
Not all fees are created equally! Review each section here to understand which fee is which and how they get posted to a family's account.
| Registration Fees | Options for posting registration fees (for first-time registrations):
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| Annual Fees | Do you have fees that you charge annually or fees that are charged when existing families enroll in a new session? These fees can be posted individually or in groups:
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| Tuition Fees | Options for posting tuition fees:
Check out this blog! Tuition tips: How to enforce your tuition policy to ensure revenue. |
Stay in Touch with Families throughout Enrollment
Keeping your families informed as they register and enroll in classes is key.
 | Email Confirmations - Jackrabbit sends a summary email to each family after registering online or enrolling through the portal. This helps your parents feel confident that their child is enrolled. After you process payments, Jackrabbit will also email a receipt to each family. |
| Student Schedules - Before classes start, you can email families their students' schedules. If schedules are still changing, you can direct parents to the Parent Portal to view and print their student’s schedules. |
| Enrollment Detail Report - Use this report to reach out to students who completed classes last session and have not enrolled for classes in the new session. |
