The following article describes some possible approaches to managing existing registrations when a course needs to be cancelled.
If you cancel courses regularly due to low numbers of registrants, Arlo has a course confirmation feature that can aid with the management of registrations.
- Hide the course from the website (by unticking Display Course on website) so that no one else can register for the course while you cancel the registrations. Select the following options from the course page.
- Send an email to all course registrants informing them that the course needs to be cancelled and offer them the option to either a) cancel their registration, or b) transfer to another course. Ask them to respond to the email with their preference.
Learn how to send registrants an email.
- When you receive each registrant's response, complete one of the following;
- If the registrant requests a transfer, you can transfer them to another course. Learn how to transfer a registrant.
- If the registrant requests a refund, you can create create a refund as requested. Learn how to create refunds and credit notes.
- It is likely that some registrants will not reply to your email so you will need to follow these people up with another email or phone call.
- When all registrants have been removed from the course, cancel the course. Learn how to cancel a course.
If you run a regular programme of courses and often run the same course multiple times a year you might like to use the following process.
- Send an email to all course registrants informing them that the course needs to be cancelled. Let them know that you will be transferring them onto the next available course date and that if this does not suit, they must call/email you to be refunded or transferred onto an suitable course.
Learn how to send registrants an email.
- Transfer each registrant onto the next course date. You will have the option to send an automated email informing the registrant of the transfer. Learn how to transfer a registrant.
- When all registrants have been removed from the course, cancel the course. Read how to cancel a course.
If you want to transfer your registrants for the cancelled course to a new one but you don't have one scheduled yet, you might like to schedule a holding course that you can transfer the registrants to. Then, once you have enough interest, you can schedule the course and transfer the registrants from the holding course to the new scheduled course.
- Set up a new course template, for example Holding date for cancelled course <name and date of course>, and schedule a date far in the future.
Hints for the new holding course:
- Hide the course from the website.
- Turn off communication.
- Make the holding course well in the future so there's no chance that the registrations will expire before you transfer them on a new date.
Hints for the new date:
- Assign a task to follow up and create the new date.
- Use the leads and campaigns features to gather interest on the new date.
- Send an email to all course registrants informing them that the course needs to be cancelled. Let them know that there are currently no scheduled dates but you will contact them once one is available and that if this does not suit, they must call/email you to be refunded or transfer onto an alternative course.
Learn how to send registrants an email.
- Transfer each registrant onto the holding course date. Untick the option to send an automated email informing the registrant of the transfer (as you have already sent a custom email explaining the situation). Learn how to transfer a registrant.
- When all registrants have been removed from the course, cancel the course. Learn how to cancel a course.
- When you have a new date, transfer the registrants from the holding course to the new date.
We have compiled the following list of approaches that other training providers using Arlo follow when they need to cancel a course.
Community education provider #1
"We run off the list before we cancel the class and try to phone the people. We apologise for having to cancel and then try to on-sell another course (it sometimes is an course in a completely unrelated area). Often by calling each person, you avoid them having bad feelings about our programme and it is easier to get them to do something else."
Community education provider #2
"..a few days before the course starts, we email everyone to tell them of the possibility that the course may be cancelled due to low numbers. If numbers are still low, we sometimes extend the course start date to a later date and inform every one of the change, asking them to confirm (via email) that the new dates are still good for them."
Community education provider #3
"We try to transfer registrants to the next course date (see above) and we send registrants an email before we do the transfer/cancellation (We try to transfer where possible). We have a range of emails (see below) depending on how they originally enrolled but basically, we send them an email with a "friendly" message, then do the refund/transfer through Arlo and send them the "official" communication. We then write a brief note on the student's file to say what has happened so we can easily see what changes have been made (rather than checking the communication log each time)."
1 Registration transferred
Hi <>,
We regret to advise that the X course due to start on …….. has been cancelled due to low numbers. We have transferred your enrolment to the next course and will send you a separate email with details.
If the timing of the new course is not convenient, please get back to us so that we can organise a full refund or discuss other course options.
(We apologise for the late notification but had delayed cancelling in the hope that there might be more enrolments).
2 Registration cancelled and refunded (where all students have paid by credit card)
Hi <>,
We regret to advise that the X course has been cancelled due to low numbers. A full refund has been made to your credit card but please note that it may take up to five working days for the refund to appear in your account.
(We apologise for the late notification but had delayed cancelling in the hope that there might be more enrolments).
3 Registration cancelled and refunded (where students have paid by a range of methods)
Hi <>,
We regret to advise that the X course due to start ………….. has been cancelled due to low numbers. A full refund will be paid as a credit to your credit card account or a cheque will be posted to you (if you originally paid by EFTPOS or bank transfer).
(We apologise for the late notification but had delayed cancelling in the hope that there might be more enrolments.)