Appointment Scheduling Limits

Owned by Spartan Connect, created
Last updated: May 18, 2021
5 min read

Overview

Each location can have different limitations and scheduling settings for different appointment services. This guide attempts to explain effect the detailed settings have on how students schedule appointments.

These restrictions only apply to appointments created by the student. If a staff user creates an appointment for the student, the restrictions will not apply and those appointments don't count towards the limits. Additionally, staff users can create appointments at any time for any service giving them the option to bypass the time/day-based restrictions as well.

All of these restrictions are per location only. They do not apply to the entire care unit.

Student Cohort Limiting

Locations can specify which groups of students can see specific services or the location as a whole. The restrictions are additive when used such that multiple cohorts added means anyone in any of the cohorts can see the service. These groupings can be by Major (academic plan code) or Category (Spartan Connect categories).

Majors (Academic Plan Codes)

Services can be limited to students in any number of majors by plan code. This is typically used for major advising services that are traditionally limited to just students in those majors.

Categories (Spartan Connect Categories)

Spartan Connect categories come from multiple sources and by default include the following:

  • Academic colleges, split by GRAD and UGRD

  • Academic minors

  • Academic Programs (e.g. UGD, MST, UGXD, CRED)

  • PeopleSoft Student Groups (selective groups are included and more can be added by request)

  • PeopleSoft Service Indicators (selective service indicators are included and more can be added by request)

  • Others like: Expected Graduation Term, Academic Standing, and Milestones

Custom Categories

For specific needs not addressed by the existing categories or majors, custom cohort categories can be created. Please reach out to SpartanConnect@sjsu.edu for assistance.

Time/Day-based Restrictions

Number of Hours Ahead of Time Students are Allowed to Schedule an Appointment 

Defines the number of hours in advance a student must schedule appointments. If no limit is set, students may schedule at any time.

If this limit is set to four (4) hours and the current time is 10:04am, the earliest appointment a student could see would be after 2:04pm.

If the limit is set to twenty-four (24) hours and the current time is 3:48pm, the earliest appointment a student could see would be tomorrow after 3:48pm.

Number of Days into the Future Students are Allowed to Schedule an Appointment

Defines the number of calendar days (weekdays and weekends, not just business days) into the future for which a student may view available appointments. While this limit is specified in days, the window is rolling such that the number of days specified rolls down to the minute. This means that appointment slots on the furthest visible day will slowly become available as the current day progresses.

If the limit is set to two weeks (14 days) and the current time is 9:31am, the furthest appointment a student could schedule would be at or before 9:30am two weeks from today.

Number of Hours in Advance Students are Allowed to Cancel an Appointment before it starts

While not entirely clear by the label, this limit defines the period of hours before an appointment starts wherein a student will automatically be marked as a no-show if they cancel their appointment. Students are able to cancel their appointments at any time but this setting defines how many hours ahead of the start time they must cancel in order to not receive a no-show. Essentially, if they cancel too close to the start time (within the number of hours in this setting) students get marked as a no-show. Refer to the no-show policy for more details on no-shows.

If the limit is set to four (4) hours and a student has an appointment today at 3:30pm, the student must cancel their appointment no later than today at 11:29:59am in order to not be automatically marked as a no-show.

The {Location} follows the Spartan Connect policy where students are marked as a no-show for three or more {Unit} appointments will be blocked from making further appointments on their own for {X days}. Appointments may be cancelled prior to the start time, however, students that cancel appointments within {X hours} of the start time of that appointment will automatically be marked as a no-show. Students that fail to arrive on time for their scheduled appointment will be marked as a no-show. Students that are blocked from making their own appointments may contact {the front desk/their advisor/etc.} for assistance.

Appointment Limits

Max Number of Appointments Students can Create per Day, per Service

Defines the maximum number of appointments that can be created on any given day, per service. Once this limit is reached (either greater than or equal to) students cannot create any more appointments for that service on that day.
This applies to any appointment created at any time, either past, present, or future on the given day.

If the limit is set to 1, a student can create one appointment (per service) on any day. Once the limit is reached, the student cannot create any more appointments for that day.

Max Number of Upcoming Appointments Students can Have at Any Given Time, per Service

Defines the maximum number of upcoming appointments at any given time, per service. Once this limit is reached (either greater than or equal to) student cannot create any more appointments in the future.

Weekly Appointment Time Limit

Defines the maximum number of hours a student can have in appointments for any given service. Increments of 1 hour.

In short...

The daily limit is for any given individual day.
The upcoming limit is for any time in the future (based on appointment start time).
The weekly time limit is for total duration per service, per week