Event Tier System

We are pleased to be launching a new collaborative approach to event programming that enables all campus constituents to schedule events with relative ease and raises awareness of the way in which individual events fit into the overall calendar of events. A formal scheduling structure has been developed in an effort to: promote event quality over event quantity, prioritize events that advance the College’s mission, promote a collaborative approach to campus event planning, reduce the number of concurrent and competing events, and to reduce strain on and serve as best stewards of institutional resources (i.e., personnel, financial, facilities). This Tiered Scheduling Approach allows for staggered scheduling in the year preceding the requested events, and we invite campus community members to visit the Scheduling Office website in order to review the document itself and a list of frequently asked questions. Additional questions can be directed to eventscheduling@etown.edu.

Signature and Platinum College events for academic year 2020-2021 have been scheduled by the Scheduling Office, and the window is open from now through the first business day in February for Gold Tier event requests which meet at least two of the following three requirements:

Event that is essential to the function/operation/mission of any department/unit/center
Event that requires a large or specialized event space
Event with a history of large attendance (250+)

The requirements and submission dates for Silver Tier events and all other College events are indicated in the Tiered Scheduling document. If you have questions about the category into which your event falls or how to submit event requests, please contact the Scheduling Office.

At each stage as events are submitted, a group composed of representatives from Academic Affairs, Student Life, and other campus offices, along with a student and three members from College Operations (i.e., facilities, catering, ITS) will aim to minimize conflicts, identify potential areas of collaboration, and confirm event dates. Gold tier events will be confirmed by the third week in February.

This approach, which is a modification of our current first-come, first-served approach to event scheduling, is intended to promote proactive and intentional planning in order to maximize the quality and impact of campus events and leverage our institutional resources to their fullest effect. The approach represents the culmination of two years of research, discussion, and collaboration among a diverse group of campus representatives. (Members of the Event Planning group are available from the link on the Scheduling Office website.) The Event Planning group continues to meet in order to develop training resources and materials and to discuss further enhancements to the event planning process. In particular, we will be securing feedback and collecting pertinent data as related to implementation of the Tier Scheduling Approach and will continue to refine the approach based on what we learn. We welcome your feedback, which can be shared with any of our team members or by directing an e-mail to eventscheduling@etown.edu.

To read the Event Tier Management System document in its entirety, click below.