Advisor config for max lead time

Advisors can now limit how far into the future students are allowed to book meetings with them. A new “Advance Scheduling Limit” setting is available in individual advisor settings, allowing staff to specify a maximum number of days in advance that students can schedule. For example, if the limit is set to 2 days and today is Monday, students can book Tuesday and Wednesday, but not Thursday or later. Staff can continue to schedule appointments with students at any time, regardless of this limit.

Advisor-restricted scheduling

Summary

Institutions can now require students to schedule selected services with their assigned advisor (or coach), with an optional, system-controlled fallback when there is no near‑term availability. This protects advising continuity and policy while still ensuring students can access timely support.

What’s New

1. Advisor Scheduling Requirement (per service)

In Admin > Meetings > Service Offerings, each service now has an Advisor Scheduling Requirement setting:

• No restriction – Students can book with any eligible staff member (current behavior).
• Require assigned advisor – Students must book the service with their assigned advisor.
• Uses institution‑customized terminology for “advisor” where configured.

This allows institutions to enforce advisor continuity only for targeted services (e.g., academic advising).

2. Optional Coach Alternative

When Require assigned advisor is enabled, admins can optionally allow coaches:

• Allow assigned coach as an alternative to advisor
  • Students may schedule with either their assigned advisor or their assigned coach.
  • The experience still emphasizes the primary advisor while recognizing institutions where the coach is the main point of contact.
  • Uses customized “advisor/coach” language where applicable.

3. Availability-Based Fallback (Institution Controlled)

To prevent access issues when advisors are booked out, admins can configure a time-bound fallback:

• Allow scheduling with other staff if advisor has no availability within X days
  • Only available when Require assigned advisor is on.
  • X is an integer number of days (min 1, max 90).
  • If the assigned advisor (or advisor/coach, when enabled) has no appointments within X days:
    • The student is informed that their assigned advisor has no availability in that timeframe.
    • The system allows the student to select and book with other eligible staff for that service.
  • Fallback is triggered only by system-detected lack of availability, not by a student choice.

4. Custom Text for Scheduling Help

For services where advisor restriction is enabled, admins can add short guidance:

• Custom text for scheduling help (label text to match this phrasing)
  • Free-text field, up to 100 characters.
  • Displays to students when advisor scheduling is enforced for that service.
  • Example uses:
    • “Need help scheduling? Contact advising at advising@institution.edu.”

This gives institutions a clear way to direct students who need additional assistance.

Student Experience

Default Behavior (Advisor Required)

When a student selects a service that requires their assigned advisor:

• The staff field is:
  • Pre-filled with the student’s assigned advisor (or advisor/coach, if the coach alternative is enabled).
  • Labeled with student-friendly text such as “Your Advisor” or “Your Advisor/Success Coach,” respecting institution terminology.
  • Disabled so the student cannot change the staff member under normal conditions.
• Helper text explains that this service is scheduled with their assigned advisor (or advisor/coach).
• If the student had previously chosen a different staff member, a message (e.g., modal) informs them that:
  • The service must be scheduled with their assigned advisor (or advisor/coach), and
  • Their prior staff selection will be cleared.
• If student has no assigned advisor or coach they may book with any available staff.

Fallback When There’s No Availability

If Require assigned advisor and the availability-based fallback are both enabled, and no appointment is available within the configured X days:

• The system:
  • Notifies the student that their assigned advisor has no availability in the next X days and that they may schedule with another advisor to receive timely support.
  • Enables the staff selection control and switches it to an “All staff” view (or equivalent wording when staff names are hidden).
  • Removes advisor-only messaging so the new options are clear.
• There is no explicit override button, no “None of these times work for me” option, and no student-configured bypass; the only path to other staff is this system-triggered scenario.

Interactions with Existing Settings

Hide Staff Names

To avoid confusing configurations:

• Forced advisor scheduling cannot be used together with Hide Staff Names.
• If admins attempt to enable both, the system blocks the combination and explains that these features cannot be used simultaneously.

Out of Scope (Not Included in This Release)

This release does not add:

• Student-initiated overrides (e.g., “None of these times work for me”).
• Multiple or layered fallback mechanisms beyond the single X‑day check.
• Seasonal or date-based rules (e.g., different logic during registration).
• Additional API-level enforcement beyond the described UI behavior.