# Schedule sessions

Set the dates of the opt-in and match messages of a program, once or on a recurring basis, or run admin-led sessions to review the matches before sending them.

import { Steps } from '@prosefly/astro-components';
import Callout from '@components/Callout.astro';
import CurrentRound from '@components/app-screens/screens/CurrentRound.astro';
import AddRound from '@components/app-screens/screens/AddRound.astro';

Scheduling a session means setting the dates of its messages: the opt-in message (if the program asks for participation), then the match message. Nothing is sent to your members until a session is scheduled.

How you schedule sessions depends on the "Matching process" of the program, in "Settings" > "Matchmaking":

- "Automatic" (the default): matches are generated and sent on the dates you schedule. See [Schedule automatic sessions](#schedule-automatic-sessions).
- "Admin-led": matches are generated for you to review and adjust before you send them. See [Run an admin-led session](#run-an-admin-led-session).

## Schedule automatic sessions

<Steps>

1. **Open the scheduling page.**

   Open your program, go to the "Sessions" tab, and click "Schedule a new session". The "Add a round" page opens.

   <Callout type="note">
     The button is only available when the program is running: "Activate your program to be able to add new sessions".
   </Callout>

2. **Choose the dates.**

   - "Date to send opt-in invitations": the date and time of the opt-in message. This field only appears if the program asks for participation.
   - "Date to send matches": the date and time of the match message. It must be after the opt-in date.

   Dates cannot be in the past. To send right away, click "Now" at the bottom of the date picker.

   The calendar on the right shows your dates as you choose them.

   <AddRound alt="The Add a round page, with the program time zone, the opt-in and match dates and the recurrence on the left, and the calendar showing the two dates on the right" />

3. **Check the time zone.** The dates are set in the time zone of the program, shown above them. To change it, go to the program's "Settings".

4. **Choose the recurrence** in "Recurrence":

   - "One time only"
   - "Every week on same days"
   - "Every 2 weeks on same days"
   - "Every 3 weeks on same days"
   - "Every 4 weeks on same days"

5. **Click "Save".**

   If there are less than 2 days between the opt-in and the match dates, a tip reminds you that members need time to answer: programs that allow at least 4 to 6 days between opt-in and match get better participation. Click "Confirm" to keep your dates, or "Cancel" to change them.

</Steps>

Between the opt-in date and the match date, the session is open: you can follow the answers, change the match date and send a reminder. See [Follow an open session](/admin/programs/open-sessions/).

<Callout type="tip">
  Do you want sessions every quarter, or once a year? Choose "One time only" and schedule each session manually on the dates you want.
</Callout>

### Change or delete a scheduled session

In the "Sessions" tab, click an upcoming session in the calendar (or "More" in the list view), then:

- "Edit" to change its dates or recurrence;
- "Delete" to remove it.

For a recurring session, RandomCoffee asks whether the change applies "Only for this round" or "For all rounds".

<Callout type="warning">
  You cannot delete a session once its opt-in messages have been sent. To stop the match messages of this session, [pause the program](/admin/programs/manage-a-program/#pause-a-program) and choose to pause it now, without waiting for the end of the session.
</Callout>

## Run an admin-led session

With an admin-led session, RandomCoffee generates the matches, and you review and adjust them before choosing when to send them.

<Callout type="note">
  The "Admin-led" matching process is available on the Enterprise plan, and in mentoring programs with the Mentoring add-on.
</Callout>

<Steps>

1. **Choose the admin-led process.**

   In your program, go to "Settings" > "Matchmaking", select "Admin-led" under "Matching process", and click "Save".

2. **Create the session.**

   In the "Sessions" tab, click "Create session". The "Create an admin-led session" window opens:

   - If the program uses "Ask for participation", choose the date in "Send opt-in invitations on". Members first receive the opt-in message. You will then generate and review the matches among those who accepted.
   - Otherwise, the session is created right away and the matches are generated automatically.

   Click "Create session". Only one session can run at a time: if one is already running, you see "A session is already in progress - please try again when this session is over".

3. **Review the matches.**

   The session appears at the top of the "Sessions" tab, in "Current round". Its match date is "Not scheduled".

   <CurrentRound session="admin-led" alt="The Sessions tab of the Acme Mentoring program, with the Current round card of an admin-led session: Round starts in, then Send matchs &quot;Not scheduled&quot;, and the Update matching date button" />

   Click the "..." button, then "Review your matchs". Check the generated groups, move, add or remove members if needed, then save your changes.

   <Callout type="note">
     At this stage, no date is set for sending the matches. You can come back and change them until you send them.
   </Callout>

4. **Choose when to send the matches.**

   Click "Update matching date", choose the date in "New matches sending date", and click "Update". The date appears in the "Current round" card.

   <Callout type="warning">
     If you change and save the matches after setting a date, the date is removed and the session is no longer scheduled. Set the matching date again once you are done.
   </Callout>

   <CurrentRound session="admin-led" modal="matching-date" alt="The Update matching date window over the Acme Mentoring program, with the chosen date and the time zone in &quot;New matches sending date&quot;, and the Cancel and Update buttons" />

   If some participants accepted the invitation but are not part of any group, RandomCoffee warns you that they will not be matched. Click "Send anyway" to keep the date, or "Cancel" to add them to a group first.

</Steps>

For an admin-led session without opt-in, you can also cancel it before sending: click "...", then "Cancel this session".