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Table of Contents

What is Virtual EMS?  

The EMS (Event Management Systems) software solution from Dean Evans and Associates for University at Albany is a flexible campus-wide online room reservation and event management system. It enables us to be more efficient, agile stewards of our campus "space".  EMS is the system of record for academic scheduling.

Specifically Virtual EMS, provides University at Albany with real-time scheduling information online.  Website visitors can browse building schedules or search for specific events from any computer with internet access. Authorized users (employees, meeting organizers, facility staff, customers, etc.) can, depending upon the level of access granted, submit room requests or create self-service reservations directly from the web through a secure, intuitive interface. 

  

There are many benefits to the new Event Management System:

  • EMS provides a fair, transparent process for making the best use of University facilities.
  • The system can be accessed from most modern web browsers (Internet Explorer 11.0/10.0, Firefox 30+, Google Chrome 30+, and Safari) .
  • Campus customers and UA website visitors will know immediately if a space is available.
  • All rooms and reservations feed into a master calendar (the University's public calendars can be found at:  events.albany.edu).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I Log in to Virtual EMS?

A: Faculty/Staff and Students affiliated with an approved Student Group may

About     ||     FAQs     ||     Error Messages     || Venues     || Log In


Expand
titleHow do I reserve space on campus?

It depends upon who YOU are.  

their
  • your University NetID and password.
 

          Log in here. Image Removed

          After logging in, select "Reservations" from the menu and then choose the area you are interested in reserving. 

Off campus schedulers:  if you will be


  • Faculty/Staff may log in with University NetID and password.
     
  • Off Campus Customers requesting University spaces on a more regular basis,
you
  • may request an EMS account may request an EMS
account by submitting your request to EMSaccount@albany.edu

Please note: all off campus users of University at Albany facilities will need to apply for

a

Revocable Permit.

 
Expand
title
Q:
Is there documentation, a "how to" guide?
A: Naturally

Naturally....please

see the tutorial here.  You may also read the vendor's complete user manual here.Q: 

see the tutorial here.  

Expand
titleWhat browsers are compatible with Virtual EMS?
A:  Per DEA documentation: the web components (Virtual EMS, Web Client and the CPI) will work with: 

Internet Explorer 7.0-11.0  Firefox 40+, Google Chrome and Safari

Q: 

Expand
titleWho has access to Virtual EMS?
A:

Faculty/Staff and Students affiliated with an approved Student Group may log in to the Event Management System (EMS) using their University NetID and password.

Q: I have an error message that states:  "The date(s) you requested violates your last allowable booking date" 

A: You have requested a date outside of the available time to make a request

Q: The

  Off campus schedulers  requesting University spaces on a regular basis, may request an EMS account by visiting the ITS Service Desk in the University Library, calling 518-442-3700 or by submitting a request online.

Expand
titleWhat if the "browse for events/facilities/space" and the "reservations"
features are
features are not working properly
.
?
A:

You may need to clear the cache in your web browser.

  See the AskIT wiki How to Clear Browser Temporary Internet Files or Cache  or  https://wiki.albany.edu/x/EASX.      

Q: Why should I be using EMS? 

A: It will help you coordinate many vital campus services like dining, catering, multimedia support, and housekeeping for event programming.

-----  we are working on answering these ----   

Q: Do I need an Account?

Q: How do I create an account for the Reservations system?         

Q: How long will it be before my User Account is approved or denied?  

Q:  How long between when a request is placed and when I am told it is confirmed? ( What is the turnaround time for approval? )

Q:  Can we use this for departmental rooms?

Q:  Can I be copied on a reservation request for a student group?

Q:  Weekend events, what if on weekends the posted building hours are closed but I wanted to book a space there for the weekend?

Q:  Do I need to rebook my event if it's in the fall and I made the reservation in the spring?

Q:  Will the Campus Center renovations be reflected in EMS (offline rooms)?

Q:  In the classrooms- is food allowed?

Q:  What's prohibits people from taking up high demand space when they may not have an actual need?

Q:  What if there is a fee associated with the room? Where do I see that?

Q:  Can you cancel the reservation after it's been confirmed?

Q:  How do I search for audio visual?

Q:  Will there be a reminder for people to come back into the system to cancel their reservation if they don't need the space?

Q:  Troubleshooting and support?  Who do we call?

Q:  How are multiple requests for the same room handled?

Q:  Can you see who has the room reserved?

Q:  Is there a way for a supervisor to be notified if one of their employees places a request?

Q:  Can more than one person receive a confirmation for one event/reservation?

Q:  Can you search my feature?

Q:  Will doors open for reservation?

Q:  How often are patches applied?

 

Working with the Mobile Version of VEMS

 If

See Web Browser - How to clear temporary files or cache.

Expand
titleA space appears available under "Browse" yet it cannot be requested when attempting to schedule it. Why?

There may be a scheduling policy in the specific building that prevents scheduling the space.  Some buildings are not available on weekends, holidays or evenings.  Examples of constraints include but are no means limited to: the Athletic Facilities require at least 7 business days advance notice, academic space managed by the Registrar require a minimum of 2 business days and student organization events/meetings are not permitted after the last day of classes each semester.

Expand
titleWhen I use the Browse feature I don’t see the building/space I want. Why?

Make sure you are logged into the system (your name will appear in the upper right hand corner of the screen). Although this option is available  to the public, not all buildings are available for view unless you do so. If you are logged in and still don't see the building you want, under "Browse," select "Browse for Space," then click "Filter" on the far right side of the screen. When the dialog box opens enter the date and use the "Facilities" drop-down menu to view buildings. Select your desired facility/building and click "Apply" to see availability.

Expand
titleI wish to schedule a specific room, but it does not appear in the list. Why?

A room should not appear in the list if it is already booked. To confirm this, use the "Browse" - "Browse for Space" option on the main menu bar. Use the "Filter" in the upper right of the screen to select the Date and Facility. If the room does not appear at all under Browse, then it is not available to your user group. If the room you want is already in use, either adjust the date and time of your event or look for an alternate room.

Expand
titleHow can I see what the room looks like?

When you click on an available space a Location Details box will open within which are Building Details and Room Details.  Room Details also has sub tabs Setup Types and Features for more specific information on the space

Expand
titleHow do I schedule an event for more than one date?

After you have found an available space, within the Where and When dialog click the "Recurrence" button and enter your start and end time. Choose daily, weekly, monthly or random. Enter the number of weeks and click the days you need. Under "Range of Recurrence," enter the start date and the number of occurrences needed or enter the date of the last occurrence. Then click the "Apply Recurrence" button.

Expand
titleI click and used to get a pop-up dialog box but now I don't. Why?

This can happen sometimes when someone is using two monitors, while making a reservation they drag the pop-up window to the other screen and later upon reuse of the link/button that same pop-up will be over on the other screen hidden underneath whatever other windows are open.  Another example is when clicking on the group button, it no longer opens the master list of groups but the list of groups can be seen by starting a reservation.  In both cases the fix is in user preferences.

1) Go to Settings > Preferences – check box for “Do Not Save Window Coordinates.

2) then reset the window coordinates  Go to Settings > Preferences > Reset Window Coordinates.

Expand
titleWhy should I be using EMS?

It facilitates coordination of the many vital campus services like dining, catering, multimedia support, and setup for event programming.  In many cases Virtual EMS is your most effective means to making a reservation request.

Expand
titleIs there a mobile version of VEMS?

Yes, if  If you access VEMS from a mobile device you are redirected to the mobile version

EMS Support Team

 

Karen Chico Hurst

University Registrar

442-5540 scheduling@albany.edu 

Amy Johnson

Lead Business Analyst,

Student Records Business & Enrollment Systems Team

437-3882 ajohnson@albany.edu

Patrick Ferlo

Director,

Performing Arts Center

442-3995 performingartscenter@albany.edu 

Stacy Stern

Assistant to the Vice President,

Division of Finance and Business

956-8120 sstern@albany.edu

 

Phase I Venue Managers

Academic Scheduling

 

Karen Chico Hurst

442-5540

scheduling@albany.edu  

Campus Center

 

Alicia Cowan

442-5490

acowan@albany.edu  

Campus Recreation

 

Peter Kay

442-3335

campusrecreation@albany.edu 

Outdoor Facilities

 

Stacy Stern

956-8120

sstern@albany.edu  

Performing Arts Center

Patrick Ferlo

442-3995

performingartscenter@albany.edu  

 

UAD Product Manager  - Jason Maloney,  Senior Programmer/Analyst   jmaloney1@albany.edu 

BEST

 

ITS DB Team

  

ITS Training

  

 

 

 

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Image Removed

Anyone can look at events as a Guest

.  It does not require a client download,  the web application is dynamically reformatted for use on a mobile device.

Expand
titleHow do I delegate access to my Virtual EMS Account?

If you will have someone else booking requests and reservations for you on a regular basis, you may wish to consider allowing them to be your "delegate."  In Virtual EMS, a delegate can login as the delegator for the purposes of creating/editing meeting requests and other reservation bookings.

To add a delegate:

  1. Login to Virtual EMS as the person who will be delegating responsibility to someone else (the delegator)
  2. Hover your mouse over the My Account menu and Click Edit My Account
  3. Click on the delegates tab
  4. Search for the delegate using the Enter text to search for delegate box and Click Search
  5. Select the appropriate user from the Users matching your search listbox
  6. Click on the > button to add the user as a delegate

The next time the delegate logs in to Virtual EMS, they will see a drop-down list box in the menu bar where their name is located (Welcome name goes here).  They will then select the delegator's name that they are looking to book as and make a request as they have in the past.

To remove a delegate:

  1. Login to Virtual EMS as the person who will be delegating responsibility to someone else (the delegator)
  2. Hover your mouse over the My Account menu and Click Edit My Account
  3. Click on the delegates tab
  4. Select the delegate to remove from the Users who can impersonate you listbox
  5. Click on the < button to remove the delegate


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Questions about a particular space?   See the venue management for details.

Anyone* can look at events as a Guest* and can select one of the two options under the Browse menu:

- Browse for Space

- See Today's Events

The

University at Albany's public

calendars

calendar may be found at: events.albany.edu

 

Need Help using the system? Please submit a Service Desk Request.

Where

to find it

is Virtual EMS

  

   

 Log in here. 

Image Modified

 

If you are unable to find what you are looking for, please submit a


*Off Campus Customers requesting University spaces on a regular basis may request an EMS account through a  Service Desk Request.

 

 

 

 

Note: all off campus users of University facilities will need to apply for a Revocable Permit.