Executive Director Communication V O L U M E
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Online Registration Arrives for Winter Term
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After thorough preparation designed to make the process as simple and easy as possible, we are finally ready to launch Online Registration for the entire OLLI at DU Membership! OLLI at DU Members can select their classes online for the first time for the Winter Term!
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Online Registration
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Online Registration –Cont.
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OLLI East
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Executive Information Upcoming Events
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During the Fall term, OLLI South members were afforded the opportunity to register online. They were directed to a ‘Register Here’ button with no other training or significant information. They praised the process as clear and straightforward! Some of their unsolicited comments include: “AWESOME. No glitches, fast, efficient, even asks for class assistants!” “Easy and seamless.” “Easy as pie.” “My husband, a first timer at OLLI, thought it was great!” Online registration also reduced manual errors, allowed members to pay by credit card, and saved the staff countless hours having to input registration information into the system. During the registration process, enhancements were identified and further tested in preparation for the Winter term registration. With the enhancements and this successful ‘test’, we are now ready to launch OLLI wide.
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On Line Registration (continued)
Here is what you can expect to happen: An email will be sent to OLLI members in late October directing you to a prominent REGISTER button on the your ‘home’ OLLI website. This email will go out as much as a week before the printed catalogs are ready (November 6th), which means members can register online early
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself. ”
1. Members registering online will be able to pay their $130 term membership fee as well as other types of class fees via credit card. Should you desire to register online and pay via check, that option will still be available. 2. Note: Paper registration forms will be available within the printed catalog for those who chose to forego online registration. 3. When you click on the Register button, the first screen asks for you to enter your personal information, just as was required in filling out the paper form. There are some additional questions in this area. Any time you see a red ‘*’ it is an indication the question needs to be answered before you can move forward. 4. When you have completed entering your personal information, you will click the ‘next’ button at the bottom of the screen. 5. Clicking this button will move you to the course selection. This is a scrolling screen with each individual class at the sites you have indicated on the earlier screen listed by day of the week and then by facility. You scroll to your desired course and check below the title to register. 6. You can register for as many courses as you would like to take as is the process now. We are asking you to prioritize the courses you are registering for. By doing this, we will know the courses most important to you should we have overbooking in the courses you select. 7. Should you desire to select a course and then identify an ‘alternate course’ for the same day and time period, such a possibility exists. You will accomplish this by identifying the class as an alternate class 8. When you are done selecting courses you tap the Next button and it will take you to a screen where you can enter your credit card information (or you can mail a check to OLLI). It’s that easy!
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On Line Registration (continued)
Once you have completed the payment screen, you will automatically be taken to a screen showing the classes you registered for in the online process. You will also receive an email noting the same courses. We will highly recommend you print off this email and retain it for your records. Another note – if you do not receive the registration email almost immediately, begin checking your spam folders and make OLLI@du.edu an email your computer accepts. This email is not a confirmation of the courses you will be in…rather it is a confirmation of what courses the system shows you registered for. Due to the way OLLI at DU has been built, we still need the Site Managers to balance the class loads. Should you decide to register via paper form (the old-fashioned way), staff and volunteers will enter your information and you too will receive the email notifications. Again, we highly recommend you print off these emails and retain them for your records. This manual entry is necessary so we are all working from the same data base of class selections. Then… As the load balancing occurs (which is why it is so important to prioritize your class selections), you will receive additional emails should you be taken out of a course or courses you have submitted online. Then, on or about the time you would have received the confirmations in the mail, you will receive an email with a confirmation of courses. This email will direct you back to your last course listing from the computer system. Points to remember: Those registering online will be asked to prioritize their selections – an important requirement to ensure a smoother enrollment process. Members will be notified of a specific day and location to get help registering online. The same personal email cannot be used to register two different members; those who share email addresses should obtain a second email address before registering.
“Never underestimate your ability to make someone else's life better even if you never know “it. “
OLLI EAST AND THE STAGES OF OPENING A NEW SITE In previous communications. I have made references to a new site opening – OLLI East. It is now time to share a bit more about OLLI East and the processes we are following. First and foremost opening a new site begins with interest by current OLLI members and/or individuals who would love to be part of OLLI and are too far from any current site to join easily. The second step is to identify if there is a location that would suit OLLI members. As many of you who are currently attending classes at Central know, this is not an easy task and requires a great deal of time and energy. As the staff at OLLI Central were extremely busy with the changes occurring there, it made sense to turn to an individual who has been instrumental in the opening of both our West site and our South Site…Karen Thorne. Having successfully opened West ten year ago and supported the opening of South eight years ago she had the template for the process. Following the template used for West and South, research regarding the demography of the eastern Denver area was undertaken. Upon completion, Karen identified several possible sites, inspected those sites who showed interest, and narrowed it to the two top possibilities. We next formed a small group of OLLI members to visit the sites. After review of pros and cons, the site selected and contracted is the Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church, 13231 E Mississippi Ave, Aurora, CO 80012, two blocks west of I-225 on the north side of Mississippi Avenue. We had an initial meeting of individuals who
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either offered support or whom we knew were in the area and showed interest in the new site. This meeting was held at Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church on Friday, September 29th. The main topic of that meeting was the developmental steps necessary for marketing to the over 50 neighborhoods in and around the location. As the OLLI East site became a reality the need for a site Manager to assist in the launch planned for Spring term 2018 did also. I offered the position of OLLI East Site Manager to Paul Simon. Paul is currently the OLLI Central Site Manager and will continue in this position until the new OLLI Central Site Manager has been hired and trained. A notice went out to those of you who are identified as Central Site Members that we are seeking an individual for the position of Central Site Manager and qualified members were encouraged to apply. We are targeting a “Meet OLLI East” program for new members and current members who would simply like to see the facility. This program is planned for Friday, November 10th and will begin with a salute to our Veterans. More information will be forthcoming on this event. OLLI East has been months in the planning and development stage to this point. I want to thank Karen Thorne for her knowledge and leadership to bring us to this point. I look forward to continuing to move forward, offering classes and opportunities to individuals in the eastern Denver/ Aurora area as our mission states. At this time, please direct any questions to me at: barbara.ratcliffe@du.edu.
Barbe Ratcliffe Executive Director OLLI at DU 2211 South Josephine Street Denver, CO 80208 Phone: 303-880-5950 Email: Barbara.ratcliffe@du.edu
With an eye to allowing each site its own unique personality, I will be sending OLLI wide articles of interest to all members in an email format from now on. These articles will not be synchronized with the timing of the newsletters. They will be posted as events and/or news occurring on their own schedule. Some sites may include the articles in their newsletter, other may not. In addition to the emails you will be able to find the articles (with a summary at the beginning of each), on each of the individual site websites under a new tab labeled: Executive Director Communication
UPCOMING EVENTS Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming events. More information will be distributed via email registrations for such in the next few weeks. Friday, November 10th-Meet OLLI East
10:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m. Mississippi Avenue Baptist Church, 13231 E Mississippi Ave, Aurora, CO 80012 Tuesday, November 14th- Wellness Symposium “Being Our Best Advocate” 9:30 am – 3:00 pm Harvest Bible Chapel 3651 S Colorado Blvd, Englewood, CO 80113 Wednesday, December 6th – International Symposium “Why is Peace in the Middle East Important” 9:30 am – Noon Sturm Hall on the University of Denver campus 2000 E Asbury Ave, Denver, CO 80210 Monday, December 11th - for Facilitators Only a Morning with Steve Thaxton Director of the Osher National Resource Center 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Harvest Bible Chapel 3651 S Colorado Blvd. Englewood, CO 80113.