Admins: Set-Up Drop-In Mode

Pre-Work

Before you can set up Drop-In, you need to enable the Drop-In mode. You will know if the Drop-In mode is enabled if you see the "Drop-In" heading on the admin panel. See the below screenshots. The Drop-In mode is disabled in the left image and enabled in the right.

           

To enable Drop-In, navigate to settings > Drop-In > Drop-In mode enabled > set this to enable. This is further described in the help center article, Admins: Drop-In Settings, under the heading, "Drop-In mode enabled (Admin Panel)". 

To use Drop-In, you'll work through the below steps to upload courses, upload providers, set provider hours, and set up Drop-In locations. 

Step 1: Courses

How to set up your course list can be found in the article, Admins: Courses (or Topics) Setup. These courses will be used across all modes of Penji (appointments, sections, and Drop-In).

Step 2: Providers

How to set up your Providers can be found in the article, Admins: Providers Setup (Tutors, Advisors, Coaches, etc.). These will be the eligible Providers across all modes of Penji (appointments, sections, and Drop-In).

Step 3: Locations

You'll configure a set of drop-in locations in your admin panel, which are distinct and unique from appointment/section locations. When uploading, you'll choose between a few key settings that will dictate how this location operates. When students look for drop-in help, students will see a list of location options based on the course they have selected.

Step by Step

A snapshot from the Drop-In Locations template CSV, showing various location possibilities.

1. 1. Navigate to “Locations” on the side menu underneath Drop-In
   2. Click the “Manage” header
   3. Click “Download Template CSV”
   4. Edit this CSV, referencing the field information above. Save.
      • Name: Choose the name of your Drop-In room. These locations are totally independent of locations created under the Sessions heading.
      • Kind: Supported kinds are listed in the Template CSV
        • Physical: These are for in-person locations. Log or Queue mode can be Kind = Physical. 
        • Online Locations: Zoom, GoBoard, Webex, and Provider Link are described below. These locations are only supported in Queue mode.  
          • Zoom/GoBoard/Webex: Penji will automatically generate links based on the providers’ settings configured within Penji. 
            • For GoBoard, you are required to have a GoBoard account/domain for your school, which you must send over to Penji, email [e-mail], to get set up. 
            • How Providers input their Zoom information is explained here: Providers: Setting up Zoom in Penji. 
            • There can only be one Zoom/GoBoard/Webex location kind per community. 
            • Zoom/GoBoard/Webex can be used in both sessions and Drop-In mode. 
          • Provider Link: Providers will be asked to input a specific link or phone number (tel:) within their settings. This location is specific to the provider, like Zoom/GoBoard/Webex.
            • Google Meet links are supported here.
            • There can only be one Provider Link location kind per community. 
            • Provider Link locations can be used in both sessions and Drop-In mode. 
            • If students/providers are using the app, they can directly call a phone number:
              
      • Mode: Log or Queue mode, explained below. A quick comparison between the two modes, that can help identify which would be better for your specific needs can be found in Admins: Drop-In Location Quick Guide.
        • Queue provides more control and more data. After check-in, students are placed in a queue within Penji, which they keep track of on their mobile app or via a link we send over email. We calculate and share a wait time based on queue length. Tutors manage the queue from their own devices, tapping "start tutoring" / "end tutoring" to work through the queue. 
        • Log mode is a simple check-in/check-out mechanism using our Kiosk. It is exclusively used for in-person (physical) drop-in, as opposed to virtual, so only "Physical" kind locations can be set to "Log" mode. In log mode, you'll load up a Penji Kiosk on any browser-capable device at your front desk and students can check-in, either by themselves or with the help of staff. The kiosk URL can be found within the Drop-in Locations tab of the Admin website. In log mode, you can track the number of students who came, their course/resource of choice, and how long they stayed.
          • If the Student Import, Data Integration, is turned on, the check-in information entered by the student will be matched to their greater Penji profile, providing information like Queue mode.
      • Check-In Methods: The options are "Any" or "Kiosk". This must be filled in for physical locations. Setting this to "Any" means that the students can check in through Penji or through the kiosk. Setting this to "Kiosk" means that students can only check in through the kiosk. 
        • The default is "Any". If the CSV file is blank for physical, the system will assume any check-in method is allowed. 
      • Resources: Only available in Log mode, these items will appear as check-in options for students (common examples include Computer Use, Printer Use, Study Space, etc.). 
      • Card Reader: Enabled or Disabled. Must complete for each row even if it's a virtual location. Card Readers have to be enabled on Penji's end before they will show up in your Kiosk's, so ensure you've asked Penji to set this up before expecting it to work in the Kiosk, even if "Enabled" in this column.
   5. Upload by clicking “Choose File”, selecting the edited CSV, and clicking “Import CSV”
   6. To make changes, you can download your most recent version under “Recent Imports” on the Manage tab and edit the document before re-uploading.

Step 4: Adding Provider Hours

For Drop-In, there are two ways to add provider hours: admin added or provider added hours. When looking for drop-in help, students will see a list of available locations and when they are open. The provider hours for each specific location will dictate when the drop-in location is open.

An optional notification may be sent to program admins when providers adjust their calendars (Penji-controlled setting). Admins can also "lock" provider hours by updating the setting "Allow providers editing drop-in hours" to "not allowed".

Provider Added Hours

How providers add their hours is explained in the following Help Center article: Providers: Setting Up & Editing Hours.

Admin Added Hours (for Providers)

Drop-in calendars are edited under the Drop-in heading in the tab labeled Provider Hours. Each row of this table corresponds to a provider's calendar for a given drop-in location; you can edit those existing rows, but if a provider hasn't yet added hours for a certain drop-in location, you'll have to do so by clicking "Add Hours" at the top of this table.

Step 5: Format Drop-In

You will want to review the following settings, Admins: Drop-In Settings, to make sure the Drop-In mode is set up how you would like.