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Frequently Asked Questions

REGISTRATION - CANCELLING - RESCHEDULING

• How do I register for a workshop?
  
  
• When I registered using your live form, the department and contact information that appeared was out of date. But my HR records were updated long ago - why is this old information showing up again?
  
  
• How many workshops may I sign up for?
  
  
• What is the latest I can register for a workshop?
  
  
• I see that the workshop I want is full - should I bother to get on the waitlist?
  
  
• I don't have department approval for a workshop yet. Would you please pencil me into a workshop to save me a seat?
  
  
• How do I cancel my registration or reschedule my workshop?
  
  
• I have missed the one week cancellation/rescheduling deadline, but I just found out about a meeting I am supposed to attend [or] coverage/work demands require that I stay at the office. May I reschedule my workshop?
  
  
• I am an employee at Duke. Can my spouse/ partner/ child register for one of your workshops? [or] I am not employed by or connected to Duke in any way. Can I register for one of your workshops?

How do I register for a workshop?

Please register by completing a written request - this is our authorization to enroll you in a workshop and to process workshop fees where applicable. We do not register participants by telephone. You may register by any of the following methods:

• online at our web site - the web site is live and indicates available seats
• print the hard copy registration form from our web site
• complete the form on the back cover of our catalog
• telephone 613-7600 or 613-7613 and request that we fax a blank form to you

  If you are registering for a workshop happening the very next day, please call to alert us. This way we can make certain that instructors have the most current roster, and any class materials used are ready for you. Materials that require advance ordering may not be available; we may need to send them to you afterwards.

  To register with payment by cash or check, we request registration in-person.

  We are always glad to answer questions. Please do not hesitate to call us at
  613-7600 or 613-7613.

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When I registered using your live form, the department and contact information that appeared was out of date. But my HR records were updated long ago - why is this old information showing up again?

Our database is completely independent of and separate from the HR database that contains your private Benefits information, Social Security Number, and so on. Our database tracks only your workshop history and reflects information provided at your most recent workshop registration. If you haven't taken a workshop with us in a while, and your contact information has changed in the meantime, that is why the information that appeared was out of date.

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How many workshops may I sign up for?

We set no limit on the number of workshops an employee may register for. However, if your department is providing time off or payment for the workshops you are taking, then it is up to your department's continuing education/ staff training policy and your department management how many workshops you may attend. Each department has its own budget and policies; there is no one policy that applies across all Duke entities. Please check with your supervisor. Please see additional information about payment.

If you are using your own personal time off to attend workshops, and paying for them with your own funds, then you may register for as many workshops as you like.

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What is the latest I can register for a workshop?

It is best to sign up for workshops as soon as possible to guarantee yourself a seat. Remember - you can always cancel your registration with no charge if you notify us at least one week before your workshop. The longer you wait to register, the greater the chance that all available seats in a popular workshop will already be taken. When a desired session is full, you may put yourself on a waitlist and/or register for a later session.

The opposite risk is that if there is unexpectedly low enrollment, we may have to cancel a workshop. This decision is usually made one week before a workshop, so we recommend registering at least one week in advance. Just one or two enrollments can make the difference.

Please call to alert us if you register the day before a workshop so that we can make certain that instructors have the most current roster, and any class materials used are ready for you (613-7600 or 613-7613). Materials that require advance ordering may not be available; we may need to send them to you afterwards.

Currently available seats are posted live at our web site; just surf to the workshop you are interested in to see how many openings there are. Also, we are always glad to check workshop enrollments for you and provide an educated guess about how quickly you may need to sign up. Please call us at 613-7600 or 613-7613.

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I see that the workshop I want is full - should I bother to get onto the waitlist?

We strongly recommend signing up on our wait lists for three reasons.

• If a seat opens up in a workshop that was full, we hold that seat and contact the first person on the waitlist to see if he/she is still available to attend.
  
  
• When there are several people on a waitlist, we check instructor and room availability to try to add a new session of the workshop to our schedule.
  
  
• When customers sign up on waitlists, we are better able to gauge workshop demand and plan for future semesters.

Signing onto a wait list does not obligate you to attend the workshop if a seat opens up. We understand that you may have made other commitments in the meantime. We do recommend that you sign up using a departmental cost object number instead of a procurement card so that no charges are processed.

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I don't have department approval for a workshop yet. Would you please pencil me into a workshop to save me a seat?

We can only reserve a seat for participants who have completed a registration form, including payment information, and submitted it to us. Two problems arise when holding seats pending department approval: a significant amount of extra time is required to manage these reservations and check back at intervals with the participants, and if approvals are not granted in the last few days before a workshop, other employees who may be on a waitlist may unnecessarily be excluded from the workshop. For these reasons we only register participants who have already obtained approvals and provided payment information.

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How do I cancel my registration or reschedule my workshop?

Please put your request in writing and email it to hrlodregistration@duke.edu no later than 5:00 p.m. one week before the workshop date to avoid charges. You may also use the online cancellation/rescheduling form. For more information, please see our Registration Policies page.

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I have missed the one week cancellation/rescheduling deadline, but I just found out about a meeting I am supposed to attend [or] coverage/work demands require that I stay at the office. May I reschedule my workshop?

You may reschedule, however you will be charged for the missed workshop as well as for the rescheduled session. We recognize that managing deadlines, schedules and coverage across all Duke entities is an ongoing challenge. However when staff are scheduled to be away at a workshop, we expect departments to plan for that absence and make necessary arrangements for coverage and workload.

Waiving fees when participants don't cancel by the deadline or don't show up would effectively create an optional attendance policy. When attendance is optional, the attendance rate drops significantly. Managing increased cancellations and "no-shows" would require additional administrative support and cost Duke in wasted resources. Also, those staff waitlisted for a workshop would have been needlessly excluded from a learning opportunity.

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I am an employee at Duke. Can my spouse/ partner/ child register for one of your workshops? [or] I am not employed by or connected to Duke in any way. Can I register for one of your workshops?

Yes, however our first priority is to provide learning and development opportunities for Duke employees. Persons not employed by Duke may enroll in workshops at Learning and Organization Development, but they will be on second-tier status. If a workshop is full and there is a Duke employee on the wait list, we will need to cancel the registration of any non-Duke person in order to make room for the Duke employee. This can happen right up to the day before a workshop. Of course, related workshop fees would be cancelled/refunded in full.

Persons not employed by Duke do not have an employee ID number (required for online registration) and therefore must register in person with cash or a check. On the hard copy form:

• leave the "Duke Unique ID" field blank
• after "Department," write "NON-DUKE"
• list the email address you use most frequently, either work or home, and a daytime phone number
• If you do not have email or a fax number, write your work or home address on the form, and we will mail a confirmation to you

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