Selecting a Date, Time and Space

Availability of space and services will commonly impact your ability to plan an event.

Start by consulting the College’s web calendar which will include already scheduled events and the academic calendar.
Consult with the Events Office to confirm your date selection.

Below are some other things to consider.

Date Considerations

Classes meet on Monday and Thursday evenings. Avoid these days for events that include a student audience.
Scheduling events over campus breaks are generally more costly, since students are not readily available to assist with event tasks. This generally requires higher-priced staff labor to fulfill event requests.
It is generally more difficult to find open dates later in the semester.
Spring semester is generally more heavily-loaded with events than fall semester.

Building Hours: Please keep in mind that not all buildings are always open. While it may be possible to arrange to have a building opened, there may be additional costs or security concerns.
Set-up and clean-up: Be sure to reserve the time required by Catering, Physical Plant, Media Services and others to set-up and clean-up before and after your event.
Consider how to dovetail your event with others already scheduled to create event synergy with similar audiences.
Ensure that your event does not directly conflict with a class time that would engage the same audience as your event.
Ensure that your event does not directly conflict with another event targeting the same audience, so all events have the best opportunity for success.
Consider the implications the time of your event has on the event type. For example, for events that begin during the dinner hour, the audience would likely expect some type of food to be served.

Reserving the room only gets you the space. You must arrange for set-up and services, including audio-visual, separately. If any of the services require time or additional space for set-up, such physical plant or catering, be sure to plan for these needs in the room reservation.
Instead of asking for a specific space, please ask for assistance in finding a space that meets your needs — many popular rooms are used by small events that could easily be accommodated in other spaces.
Space is limited. If your program plans change, don’t forget to cancel the space. Cancelations are most useful when they are early enough for someone else to use the space.
Be sure you know what the standard set-up is. If you stop by to look at the room, don’t assume the set-up you see is the one that is always there.
Be respectful. If your organization hosts an event and the room is damaged, you are accountable for the damage.
If you are having an outdoor event, be sure to identify a rain location or a rain date.