Open Registration FAQ

Q: Our district wants to use Open Registration. What is our Open Reg URL?

A: All districts automatically have an "Open Reg" URL available to them. This is the URL that parents/guardians will use to complete the Open Registration data entry.

This URL becomes active as soon as Open Registration is enabled on Registration>Open Reg>Setup . It is part of the basic Genesis implementation - you already have it if you'd like to use it.

Essentially, you remove the /sis and replace it with /openReg.

Genesis ASP Customers Open Registration URLs:
https://genesis.cX.genesisedu.net/district-name/openReg where "district-name" is replaced by your districts name. When Open Registration is enabled, this URL becomes live.

Open Registration URLs if you host your own In-House Server:
If you host your server within your district, your Open Registration URL will be your regular URL with "/openReg" tacked on the end. It will be available whenever Open Registration is enabled.

Q: How do we add specific schools to the Open Reg selections?

A: You check off the schools you want to include via Registration>Open Reg>Setup>Setup in the "Select School Drop down list options" area.

Q: How do we add specific grade levels to the Open Reg selections?

A: You check off the schools you want to include via Registration>Open Reg>Setup>Setup in the "Grade Levels that will appear" area.

Q: Once parents start submitting open reg packets, how do our users register them into the system?

A: Open Registration is a set of screens that allows parents/guardians to "pre-enter" demographic, address and contact information for their newly registering students.

Admins/users in each school still need to review that data and actually go through the regular process of registering them into their Genesis system.

To register (or pre-register) students who have been submitted through the Open Reg portal, users should go to Registration>Open Reg>Search Open Registrations.

Perform a search on this screen, and once you get results, you can review the data.

On the right hand side of each record, you'll see columns for Registering or Pre-registering students (highlighted below, click on the image to make it larger.)

After you click on either button, it brings you to the regular Registration>New Student / Registration>Pre-register tabs in Genesis and you continue on as you normally would register the student.

Q: Can we avoid entering duplicates if a returning parent entered info through Open Reg?

A: The Open Reg screen warns the user if a student exists right after they click Register or Pre-register. The system will compare with the current system school year when looking for students.

You should get this pop-up if the student matches to an existing student in the system:

Q: Can we have parents request a time to meet about their Open Reg packet/submission?

A: Yes - they can now do that with our Appointments feature once it's enabled. 

Q: When setting up Appointments for the Open Reg Portal, can we create overlapping appointment blocks if we want 2+ parents to select the same date/time?

A: Yes. You would need to create 2+ overlapping blocks - you can create them with the same time/dates.

For example, you can have Block A, Mon-Fri, 9AM-1PM and then Block B, Mon-Fri, 9AM-1PM.

With 2 created, separate parents will be able to pick the same exact slot 2 times until it shuts other users out.

Mr. Smith can select 9AM on March 5th and then Mr. Adams can select 9AM on March 5th. But a 3rd parent would not be able to select that same exact slot, since you only have 2 blocks etc.

Q: We have Appointments set up but parents are receiving a There are Currently No Appointments Available message in Open Reg. What would be missing?

A: Double check the Location you have created on the Registration>Appointments>Setup tab. You can click the Modify icon on the location itself.

If your district has chosen not display the "Desired School" in Open Reg, you'll need to check off the "No School/Blank Option" box in the "Associated School" area on the Location. That will allow the appointments to display.

"Associated School" is tied to the School (Desired School) that is selected by the parent when they enter a student.

Q: Do you have the option to include the Home Language Survey for parents to fill out?

A: Yes - you enable the Home Language Survey on the Registration>Open Reg>Setup>Setup screen.

You also have the option to make it "required" for parents to fill out.

Q: Can we add an option to the Open Reg screen for parents to select a preferred Gender for students?

A: Yes - we have a "Add Gender Preference Question" option on the Registration>Open Reg>Setup>Setup screen, in the "Student Tab Default" area. When that is checked, it adds a question to Open Registration for a student's gender preference (the options are taken from gender preference generic code), and it changes the current gender question to say 'Birth Sex.'

Q: Can we set a minimum birth date for certain grade level selections?

A: Yes via Registration>Open Reg>Setup>Setup in the "Grade Levels that will appear (If none are checked, all will be available) and Minimum Date Of Births for Registering" section.  If a grade level is not available or the from through dates have passes/have not happened yet, the grade level will not appear in Open Registration. If a message is filled in the parents will be able to see the missing grade level followed by the message in a pop up during Open Registration. Min. DOB will prevent parents from registering their child into a grade level they are too young to register for. Minimum Date of Birth will automatically be advanced one year if registering for Next Year. Your OpenReg must be set to collect School Year, Grade Level, and Date of Birth in order for Minimum Date of Birth to prevent registrations.

Q: What is the maximum file size that a parent can upload into the Documents section?

A:  There are separate file size limits for Photos (.jpg) versus Document files (.doc or .pdf) as follows:

Image Files:  10 Mb

Documents:  3.5 Mb

This limit pertains to each individual file being uploaded by the parent. So if the district is allowing multiple pages to be submitted for one required document, the total size of all the files may exceed the maximum above.

Q: Can we add custom questions to our Open Reg portal?

A: Yes, you can add custom questions via Registration>Open Reg>Custom Questions.

Q: Can parents "un-finalize" their application submission?

A:  Yes, as long as parents can log into their open registration account, they can do so by visiting the "Finalize" section of the application, and use the "Unfinalize Submission" button to continue making changes to the application.  They would simply "Finalize" once again whenever they are finished making changes. See Registering a Student Through Open Registration Portal for more information.