Understanding Events, Cohorts & Sessions

This guide explains the key concepts behind the events system and how they work together.

The Three Levels

The events system uses three levels to organize offerings:

Event/Class (the offering itself)
    └── Cohort (a specific group, like "Spring 2024")
            └── Session (individual meeting times)

Level 1: Event or Class

This is the top level - the course or workshop you’re offering. It includes:

• Title and description - What the offering is about
• Type - Whether it’s a Class (requires instructor) or Event
• Default pricing - Member and public prices
• Default capacity - How many people can attend
• Location - Which workspace or facility
• Prerequisites - Any required certifications

Example: “Intro to Woodworking” - a beginner course teaching basic woodworking skills

Level 2: Cohort

A cohort is a specific offering of that event or class. Think of it like a “section” of a college course.

Each cohort has:

• Its own schedule - When the sessions take place
• Its own capacity - May differ from the default
• Its own pricing - May offer different rates
• Its own registrations - Who signed up for this specific offering
• Its own instructor - May differ from the default

Example: “Intro to Woodworking - Spring 2024” running Tuesdays in March, vs “Intro to Woodworking - Summer 2024” running Saturdays in June

Level 3: Session

A session is a single meeting time - when participants actually show up.

Each session has:

• Date and time - When it occurs
• Duration - How long it lasts
• Status - Draft, Scheduled, Cancelled, or Completed
• Instructor - Can override the cohort instructor if needed

Example: “Week 1 - March 5th, 6-8pm” and “Week 2 - March 12th, 6-8pm”

How It Works for Single Events

For a simple one-time workshop, you don’t need to think about cohorts. The system handles it automatically:

What you see:

• Create event → Add session → Done

What happens behind the scenes:

• The system creates a cohort automatically
• Your session goes into that cohort
• Registrations and capacity are tracked on the cohort

This keeps things simple while using the same reliable registration system.

How It Works for Multi-Session Courses

For courses that meet multiple times, you work with all three levels:

1. Create the class - Set up title, description, default pricing
2. Create cohorts - Each time you offer the course (Spring, Summer, etc.)
3. Add sessions to each cohort - The individual class meetings

When someone registers, they sign up for a cohort (not individual sessions). This enrolls them in all sessions within that cohort automatically.

Visual Example

Single Event: Laser Cutter Workshop

"Laser Cutter Safety Workshop"
    └── (automatic cohort)
            └── Saturday, March 15th, 2-4pm

Members see: “Laser Cutter Safety Workshop - March 15th, 2-4pm”

Multi-Session Course: Intro to Woodworking

"Intro to Woodworking"
    ├── Spring 2024 Cohort
    │       ├── Week 1: March 5th, 6-8pm
    │       ├── Week 2: March 12th, 6-8pm
    │       ├── Week 3: March 19th, 6-8pm
    │       └── Week 4: March 26th, 6-8pm
    │
    └── Summer 2024 Cohort
            ├── Week 1: June 1st, 10am-12pm
            ├── Week 2: June 8th, 10am-12pm
            ├── Week 3: June 15th, 10am-12pm
            └── Week 4: June 22nd, 10am-12pm

Members see: “Intro to Woodworking” with option to select Spring or Summer cohort

Pricing and Capacity

Where Pricing Lives

• Event/Class level - Sets default prices for all cohorts
• Cohort level - Can override with custom pricing

This lets you offer the same class at different price points. Maybe the weekend cohort costs more, or you want to offer an early-bird discount for one cohort.

Member vs Public Pricing

Every offering can have two price tiers:

Tier	Who Pays This
Member Price	Logged-in makerspace members
Public Price	Non-members or guests

Members see their discounted price when logged in. Non-members see the public price with an option to become a member.

Capacity

Capacity is set at the cohort level:

• Capacity - Maximum number of registrations
• Spots Available - Capacity minus current registrations
• Waitlist - Optional queue when the cohort is full

Instructors at Each Level

Instructors can be assigned at multiple levels:

Level	Purpose
Event/Class	Default instructor for all cohorts
Cohort	Override for this specific offering
Session	Override for this specific meeting

This flexibility lets you:

• Have a different instructor cover one cohort
• Have a guest instructor for a single session
• Track who actually taught each meeting

Key Takeaways

1. Events and Classes are the top-level offering that members browse
2. Cohorts are specific offerings with their own schedule and registrations
3. Sessions are individual meeting times
4. Registrations happen at the cohort level - not per session
5. Single events hide cohorts to keep things simple
6. Multi-session courses let you manage multiple cohorts of the same class