Higher Education

This week, we hosted our Q3 Education Networking Meetup where attendees came together to delve into the intricacies of event management, explore the latest product releases, and strategize for future networking opportunities. Here's a comprehensive recap of the discussions and insights shared during the event.

Event Builds with UT Austin: A Collaborative Triumph

We began our meetup with a presentation from Seth Curlee, Cvent UT System Administrator, at the University of Texas at Austin. Seth Curlee plays a pivotal role at UT Austin by managing and supporting the institution's Cvent license users, ensuring smooth operations, comprehensive training, and effective onboarding. He collaborates with departments to create event websites and registration systems through event builds, which are joint efforts between the Cvent Admin and various departments. 

The services offered encompass a wide range of tasks, including registration setup, agenda and speaker management, email creation, website design, custom logic application, planner alerts, testing, launching, and providing event management training. The event build process is detailed and involves several stages, starting from inquiry and scoping, followed by quoting, signing a letter of agreement, site design, backend setup, timeline establishment, a kickoff call, testing, launching, training, and finally, handoff.

Seth also supports training sessions with all users which are comprehensive, covering navigation, attendee list management, session and speaker management, discount codes, reports, and the use of support resources. Customers consistently provide positive feedback, commending the exceptional service and responsiveness that Seth and his team deliver.

Q3 Product Releases & Roadmap Updates

The meetup also showcased exciting updates and releases from Cvent. Attendees learned about new features designed to enhance event experiences:

• Basic Surveys now offer configurable open/close times, boosting response rates.
• Pricing enhancements streamline fee setup with a consolidated interface, bulk fee management, and improved visualization.
• Daily Highlights in the Event App provide AI-generated summaries and stats, enriching attendee engagement.
• Cross Event Insights allow for segmentation and analysis of registration funnel data across multiple events, offering valuable performance insights.

Upcoming features promise further improvements, including easier group registration, automatic calendar holds for manual emails, REST API updates for attendee status, and event theme updates for Cvent Essentials and Webinar.

Breakout Room Insights: Q&A with Seth Curlee

The breakout session focused on UT Austin's approach to event builds, which is modeled after Cvent's Event Build process. Despite not having separate pricing for internal vs. external customers, the model has garnered interest.

With about 90 departments utilizing Cvent at UT, user engagement is robust. The university has seen substantial buy-in thanks to the availability of Cvent support, including customer care, onboarding/training, and community engagement spearheaded by Seth.

Word of mouth remains a powerful tool, supported by outreach efforts like monthly newsletters and shared testimonials. Tailored demos and training sessions further bolster engagement, although some users continue to prefer alternatives like Eventbrite.

Overall, the Q3 Education Networking Meetup was a resounding success, fostering collaboration, innovation, and a shared vision for the future of event management in higher education. We extend our gratitude to Seth Curlee for his presentation, and to all participants for their engagement. 

Preparation is already underway for the next gathering, the Q4 Networking Meetup, scheduled for December 9, 2025.

This week, we hosted our Q3 Education Networking Meetup where attendees came together to delve into the intricacies of event management, explore the latest product releases, and strategize for future networking opportunities. Here's a comprehensive recap of the discussions and insights shared during the event.

Event Builds with UT Austin: A Collaborative Triumph

We began our meetup with a presentation from Seth Curlee, Cvent UT System Administrator, at the University of Texas at Austin. Seth Curlee plays a pivotal role at UT Austin by managing and supporting the institution's Cvent license users, ensuring smooth operations, comprehensive training, and effective onboarding. He collaborates with departments to create event websites and registration systems through event builds, which are joint efforts between the Cvent Admin and various departments. 

The services offered encompass a wide range of tasks, including registration setup, agenda and speaker management, email creation, website design, custom logic application, planner alerts, testing, launching, and providing event management training. The event build process is detailed and involves several stages, starting from inquiry and scoping, followed by quoting, signing a letter of agreement, site design, backend setup, timeline establishment, a kickoff call, testing, launching, training, and finally, handoff.

Seth also supports training sessions with all users which are comprehensive, covering navigation, attendee list management, session and speaker management, discount codes, reports, and the use of support resources. Customers consistently provide positive feedback, commending the exceptional service and responsiveness that Seth and his team deliver.

Q3 Product Releases & Roadmap Updates

The meetup also showcased exciting updates and releases from Cvent. Attendees learned about new features designed to enhance event experiences:

• Basic Surveys now offer configurable open/close times, boosting response rates.
• Pricing enhancements streamline fee setup with a consolidated interface, bulk fee management, and improved visualization.
• Daily Highlights in the Event App provide AI-generated summaries and stats, enriching attendee engagement.
• Cross Event Insights allow for segmentation and analysis of registration funnel data across multiple events, offering valuable performance insights.

Upcoming features promise further improvements, including easier group registration, automatic calendar holds for manual emails, REST API updates for attendee status, and event theme updates for Cvent Essentials and Webinar.

Breakout Room Insights: Q&A with Seth Curlee

The breakout session focused on UT Austin's approach to event builds, which is modeled after Cvent's Event Build process. Despite not having separate pricing for internal vs. external customers, the model has garnered interest.

With about 90 departments utilizing Cvent at UT, user engagement is robust. The university has seen substantial buy-in thanks to the availability of Cvent support, including customer care, onboarding/training, and community engagement spearheaded by Seth.

Word of mouth remains a powerful tool, supported by outreach efforts like monthly newsletters and shared testimonials. Tailored demos and training sessions further bolster engagement, although some users continue to prefer alternatives like Eventbrite.

Overall, the Q3 Education Networking Meetup was a resounding success, fostering collaboration, innovation, and a shared vision for the future of event management in higher education. We extend our gratitude to Seth Curlee for his presentation, and to all participants for their engagement. 

Preparation is already underway for the next gathering, the Q4 Networking Meetup, scheduled for December 9, 2025.

This week, we hosted our Q3 Education Networking Meetup where attendees came together to delve into the intricacies of event management, explore the latest product releases, and strategize for future networking opportunities. Here's a comprehensive recap of the discussions and insights shared during the event.

Event Builds with UT Austin: A Collaborative Triumph

We began our meetup with a presentation from Seth Curlee, Cvent UT System Administrator, at the University of Texas at Austin. Seth Curlee plays a pivotal role at UT Austin by managing and supporting the institution's Cvent license users, ensuring smooth operations, comprehensive training, and effective onboarding. He collaborates with departments to create event websites and registration systems through event builds, which are joint efforts between the Cvent Admin and various departments. 

The services offered encompass a wide range of tasks, including registration setup, agenda and speaker management, email creation, website design, custom logic application, planner alerts, testing, launching, and providing event management training. The event build process is detailed and involves several stages, starting from inquiry and scoping, followed by quoting, signing a letter of agreement, site design, backend setup, timeline establishment, a kickoff call, testing, launching, training, and finally, handoff.

Seth also supports training sessions with all users which are comprehensive, covering navigation, attendee list management, session and speaker management, discount codes, reports, and the use of support resources. Customers consistently provide positive feedback, commending the exceptional service and responsiveness that Seth and his team deliver.

Q3 Product Releases & Roadmap Updates

The meetup also showcased exciting updates and releases from Cvent. Attendees learned about new features designed to enhance event experiences:

• Basic Surveys now offer configurable open/close times, boosting response rates.
• Pricing enhancements streamline fee setup with a consolidated interface, bulk fee management, and improved visualization.
• Daily Highlights in the Event App provide AI-generated summaries and stats, enriching attendee engagement.
• Cross Event Insights allow for segmentation and analysis of registration funnel data across multiple events, offering valuable performance insights.

Upcoming features promise further improvements, including easier group registration, automatic calendar holds for manual emails, REST API updates for attendee status, and event theme updates for Cvent Essentials and Webinar.

Breakout Room Insights: Q&A with Seth Curlee

The breakout session focused on UT Austin's approach to event builds, which is modeled after Cvent's Event Build process. Despite not having separate pricing for internal vs. external customers, the model has garnered interest.

With about 90 departments utilizing Cvent at UT, user engagement is robust. The university has seen substantial buy-in thanks to the availability of Cvent support, including customer care, onboarding/training, and community engagement spearheaded by Seth.

Word of mouth remains a powerful tool, supported by outreach efforts like monthly newsletters and shared testimonials. Tailored demos and training sessions further bolster engagement, although some users continue to prefer alternatives like Eventbrite.

Overall, the Q3 Education Networking Meetup was a resounding success, fostering collaboration, innovation, and a shared vision for the future of event management in higher education. We extend our gratitude to Seth Curlee for his presentation, and to all participants for their engagement. 

Preparation is already underway for the next gathering, the Q4 Networking Meetup, scheduled for December 9, 2025.