If you folks are anything like us, you move a large numbers of student complimentary tickets out the door for each event.
Currently, this is an in-person process they can only complete during our weekday daytime hours - exactly when they are in classes. They fill out a paper form and we cross-check their ID's (both hard copy and their student portals), against a physical list provided to us by the departments for each event. New this year, Faculty/staff request via a general boxoffice email which has been going swimmingly. However, the fac/staff comp list is fairly static from event to event and the student lists are not. Additionally, there are just too many student requests.
I am investigating how to get student complimentary tickets online somehow. I am pretty sure having them process their own tickets via TNew in not an option because there is no way to "plug into" a University database to verify their University student and departmental qualifying status at the time of processing. Does anyone have a process in place that removes the in-person aspect? Are there any pitfalls or warnings you'd offer?
We are brainstorming this as well for a day of "fill the hall" program. We are looking to automate students obtaining a single comp ticket for the "best available" next seat. We have a similar dilemma of verifying student status. The thought is to have students submit a student ID or class schedule that could be used by the staff to verify their status. Then assign a membership with an expiration that aligns with their expected graduation. The membership would trigger a mode of sale shift allowing the selection of a comp seat on the day of the show. We have the Instant Encore App that we are hoping to get this working through. That way we can push the notification of ticket availability directly to the students and since they will log into the system through the app the mode of sale will trigger for their comp ticket. They can then display their ticket on their device for entry. (At least that's how it works in my mind!). We hope to implement it this fall.