How does Registration and Enrollment work in Jackrabbit? We want to pull all the pieces together and 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 two 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 use 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 update your legal policies? |
| Do you want to offer priority enrollment for existing students through the Parent Portal? |
| 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 charge registration fees? |
| Do you have a plan for retaining families at your activity center? Check out this blog article! |
Get Jackrabbit Ready
After you are done planning your strategy, now 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 for your next session or group of classes to your website, classes will be available on the date you set for registration. |
| Uncheck the check box in class records for Has a Registration Fee? so new students enrolling in those classes during Online Registration or Quick Registration will not be charged a registration fee. |
| 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! |
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.
 | Email your families. |
| 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
For new families, they can register and enroll their kids in classes using your Online Registration Form. For existing families, already entered into your system, they can enroll in the Parent Portal.
 | Ensure that your current session has a Registration Start Date. |
| 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. |
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! As enrollments come in, your Dashboard numbers for online registrations and Parent Portal enrollments will begin to rise. 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 they register online or enroll 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 - A few weeks 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. |
