Event Management System Virtual EMS FAQs

Q. How do I reserve space on campus?

Visit the site of the venues listed below to view prerequisites before submitting a request.

Academic Space (specific buildings/rooms available M-F, 7:15pm-11pm):
Campus Center
Performing Arts Center
Campus Recreation Facilities: Complete required reservation forms (see website ) submit to Peter Kay, Associate Director of Campus Recreation at pkay@albany.edu.
Athletic Venues: Complete the Athletic Facility Request Form and submit to Eric Fletcher, Assistant Director for Game Management and Event Operation, at efletcher@albany.edu.
Residential Life Conference/Meeting Rooms: Forms and policies are specific to each quad. See list of numbers and links found within the “housing options” section of their site. (e.g. http://www.albany.edu/housing/empirecommons.shtml )
Outdoor Venues: (including non-athletic fields, hard-scape spaces outside of the residential areas, 5K routes) Submit to Jennifer Anderson, Associate Director of Student Involvement & Leadership, at janderson@albany.edu for consideration.

Q: How do I Log in to Virtual EMS?

A: Faculty/Staff may log in using their University NetID and password.

Students once approved by Student Involvement who are affiliated with an approved Student Group may log in to the Event Management System (EMS) using their University NetID and password.

Off Campus Customers

If you will be requesting University spaces on a more regular basis, you may request an EMS account through a Service Desk Request. Please note: all off campus users of University facilities will need to apply for a Revocable Permit.

Q: Is there documentation, a "how to" guide?

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

Q: What 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, Google Chrome and Safari

Q: Who 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: The "browse for events/facilities/space" and the "reservations" 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. In many cases Virtual EMS is your only means to making a reservation request.

Q: Is there a mobile version of VEMS?

A: Yes, if If you access VEMS from a mobile device you are redirected to the mobile version. It does not require a client download, the web application is dynamically reformatted for use on a mobile device.

Message/Issue:	Meaning/Advice:
"The date(s) you requested violates your last allowed booking date"	The date and time you have selected is not permitted for that venue for whatever reason. Review their booking rules. For example: student organization events/meetings are not permitted after the last day of classes each semester
"Request violates building hours"	You may be selecting hours in the shaded area of the Time Grid next to the room or space you are selecting. if not return to the INFO tab for that venue and compare the times you had selected with what is permissible. There may be dates the space is unavailable. Dates that are configured as closed are displayed in red on the Calendar tab and dates that are holidays are displayed in green on the Calendar tab.
"No space available matching your criteria"	No rooms to accommodate the selected set-up type, or you moved the date and tried to book without the requisite number of days notice, or resources you selected are not available in that space (A/V, certain accessories) Bottom Line: there is a conflict status on this booking.
"Room type is too small for the number of people"	Select a different space.
"Request would create a conflict with another booking"	The room you have selected is already booked. Select a different space and/or change date/times.
"There is more than one user records that matches the supplied user id."	A manually created account is in conflict with one fed into system via automation. Please submit a Service Desk request by selecting one the options available here.
The room I want to schedule appears to be available under "Browse" but when I try to schedule it, it cannot be requested.	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.
When I use the Browse feature I don’t see the building/space I want.	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.

Need more help? Contact the ITS Service Desk.

Questions about a particular space? See the venue site 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

University at Albany's public calendar may be found at: events.albany.edu

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

Where is Virtual EMS?

Log in here.

*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.