Slatest News: June 2023
Summit Central
New Feature Spotlight
We announced some exciting features at the Summit: First Draft, Deliver Ad-Hoc, Prompt Editor, Slate Support, Express Checkout in Slate Payments, Dashboard Editor, Slate Voice Snippets, Portal Components . . . and so much more! Check out the comprehensive guide to all announced features in the 2023 Slate Innovation Summit Executive Summary.
Presentations Available
Sometimes you've got to get Moving with Slate! Before you embark on your Fantastic Voyage(r) and Boldly Go Where Some Folks Have Gone Before!, you might want to first make sure that you can Communicate with your Students from Start to Finish. As always, before heading off on an adventure, make sure you Visualize if you might need some Financial Aid. So whether you're Xtreme Portaling, or Powering Direct Admissions; make sure your team Doesn't Get Ghosted by making sure that you Make Accessibility Accessible. At the end of the day You're Still the One so go ahead and Manage Your Database to Make it Magical Tomorrow. Review all of the Summit 2023 concurrent session slides in the Knowledge Base.
Strike a Pose!
Relive the best moments from the Slate Summit and try to spot yourself in a session or on the dance floor in the Slate Summit 2023 Facebook photo album, or feel free to look through our favorite Instagram stories!
Save the Date: 2024 Summit Returns to the Windy City
Thank you to all who attended the Slate Summit! We were thrilled to see so many new faces and welcome back so many familiar ones. Save the date for next year as we travel back to Navy Pier in Chicago: June 19-21, 2024!
Updates & Enhancements
Dispatches from Slate Feedback
Check out the latest from Slate Feedback—our product management team has been actively soliciting your thoughts for new ideas and posting updates about existing and completed features. Here are a few of our favorite updates from the last few weeks:
Last week at Technolutions: May & Summit Updates
Curious about recent updates to Slate? In addition to new feature updates, we're also publishing tweaks and bug fixes via our new periodic posting, "Last Week at Technolutions." Follow our Product Management channel in the Community Forums for info on the latest publishes to Test and Production environments, including the recent updates from May 15, after Summit on June 9, June 12, and June 19.Display Internal Name
The internal name for Forms will now be prioritized over the public title when a select list is being used in Queries, Rules, etc.Slate Preferred Partner Directory
Connecting with the Slate Preferred Partners has never been easier! Send messages directly to our Preferred Partners via the Preferred Partner Directory, which can be found in the Database.Slate After Dark Releases
Many attended Slate After Dark at Summit, and now your ideas are hitting production databases! Check out the post-Summit update for information on the new features that were released.
Common Application Updates
We're pleased to share some important dates and other information related to the Common Application process for the upcoming cycle:
July 28: Final delivery of first year applications Slate via SDS. The Common App for first year applicants will close to students and recommenders at 5:00 pm ET on July 27.
July 29: Final delivery of transfer applications to Slate via SDS. The Common App for transfer applicants will close to students and recommenders at 5:00 pm ET on July 28.
August 1: The 2023-24 application will launch for all applicants.
Have questions about the Common App process and Slate? Check out the new course, Getting Started with Importing the Common Application, as part of the expanded Learning Lab courses. We will also be hosting two Community Conversations in August to answer questions about the process. Check your Home Slate for additional details.
Early to mid August: Each year, the Common Application starts the automated SDS feeds a few weeks into August. We expect first year and transfer SDS feeds to go live in stages, with first year SDS feeds live starting approximately August 9, and transfer SDS feeds starting approximately August 21.
Changes for 2023-24: The Common Application has made some changes described in the 2023-24 First-Year Preview Data Catalog Companion Guide and the 2023-24 Transfer Data Catalog Companion Guide documents. The standard CommonApp and TransferCommonApp source formats in Slate will be updated to receive the new file layouts, the remap as of date and remap active status will be updated prior to new files being received. Once you have received data files for the new year, you will be able to map any of the new fields/values to custom fields/prompts that you have created within Slate for this purpose.
A2P Campaign Registration Deadline Reminder
Beginning July 5, 2023, A2P campaign registration will now be required by the telecommunications carriers regardless of sending volume. Twilio, our SMS provider, and carriers will begin filtering out any SMS message from an unregistered number. By August 31, 2023, all SMS messages from unregistered phone numbers will be rejected. This process can take some time for the carriers to review, so we strongly recommend that anyone with SMS numbers in Slate begin registering their A2P campaigns if they haven't already done so.
The More You Know
Virtual Conversations: Slate Presents
Join our very own Charlene Raube and Tim Dunning as they present two upcoming webinars designed for users who are integrating Common App applications within Slate. Whether you're integrating for the first time or just have questions about the Common App process and Slate, they will be covering a variety of topics including integration timeline, roles & responsibilities, daily process, testing, remapping in Slate, and more! Mark your calendars and register today.
Introduction to Common App Integration with Slate — Tuesday, July 18 at 2:00 pm ET
Great Expectations: What to Expect and How to Prepare for the Common App Integration — Tuesday, August 8 at 2:00 pm ET
Visit the Slate Presents portal in your Home Slate to watch any of our previous Slate Presents webinars.
New Learning Lab Courses Available Now
We're excited to announce the newest course additions to the Continuing Education Collection in Learning Lab:
Application Materials and Checklists
Getting Started with Importing the Common Application
Pivot Tables in Report Builder aka Data Explorer
Creating and Displaying Dynamic Content Blocks in a Mailing
Create an Advising Email Using Liquid Markup and Merge Fields
Customizing Slate's Homepage
Using Formulas in a Query to Calculate Student Risk
Working with your SIS, LMS, and More
Constituent Management
Go to Learning Lab to check them out! Learn more and how to register for Learning Lab courses here.
Community Conversations
Join Technolutions staff and members of the Slate community for regularly scheduled, discussion-based sessions on specific topics. These calls are available to all, so come learn from the broad knowledge of the Slate community—including the expertise of Technolutions staff and the experiences of your colleagues at other institutions.
To view the complete schedule, register for Community Conversations, and submit questions in advance, visit the Community Conversations portal, accessible from your Home Slate or via Database >> Community Conversations. Join us the next few weeks for:
Wednesday, July 5
4:00 pm ET: Slate-Hosted Applications: The Basics
Thursday, July 6
1:00 pm ET: Advancement: Ask Us Anything!
2:00 pm ET: Implementation Office Hours
4:00 pm ET: Configurable Joins: Problem Solving
Monday, July 10
2:00 pm ET: Welcome to Slate: Getting Started
Tuesday, July 11
1:00 pm ET: Configurable Joins: The Basics
2:00 pm ET: Advancement: Ask Us Anything!
Wednesday, July 12
2:00 pm ET: Slate Stewardship and Cycle Prep
Thursday, July 13
1:00 pm ET: Advancement: Ask Us Anything!
1:00 pm ET: Linked Entities and Datasets
2:00 pm ET: Implementation Office Hours
4:00 pm ET: Be Content: Stay Current with Content Blocks
Slate On Tour
Get the full #SlateOnTour experience with Technolutions staff at these upcoming conferences. Come say hello—and tell your Slate (and future Slate!) colleagues, too.
International Association for College Admission Counseling Conference, Miami, July 11-14: Elizabeth and Louise will be attending the International ACAC Conference at Florida International University.
American School Counselor Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, July 15-18: Stop by Booth #1314 at the Georgia World Congress Center to chat about Slate.org with Donbee and Francesca.
CASE Summit for Leaders in Advancement, New York City, July 16-18: Make sure to swing by the New York Hilton Midtown to discuss advancement and alumni with Stephen and Carlos located at Booth #116.
Jesuit Advancement Administrators (JAA) Annual Conference, New Orleans, July 16-18: Genevieve will be heading to the JAA conference being held at Loyola University New Orleans to answer all your Advancement questions.
National Small College Enrollment Conference, Charlotte, July 24-26: If you're in the area, stop by the Omni Charlotte Hotel and say hi to Ben and Cody.
Slate Preferred Partners
National Small College Enrollment Conference
Carnegie is excited to be hosting The National Small College Enrollment Conference taking place this summer from July 24-26 in Charlotte, North Carolina. This conference is the only educational and networking event focused on small colleges and universities. In addition to Slate, attendees can pursue three other tracks: enrollment management, retention, and admissions. For conference details, the full schedule and registration information can be found online.
RHB Academy
RHB is thrilled to announce Configurable Joins Across the Slate Database, their first regional RHB Academy at Fairfield University on August 1. This full-day experience will be taught by our team of leading Slate experts and offer attendees hands-on instruction in leveraging the power of Configurable Joins to enhance query writing, reporting, rule building, and refined pathways for users to access the data they need in Slate. You can find more information, including registration details online.
Spotlight on the Slate Community
Slate Spirit Shop
We featured some fun new swag at the Slate Summit—Slate Night mugs, desk mats, the Blue Album, and more! These items are now available online. Check out our Slate Spirit Shop for all your Slate shopping needs!
Don't Stop Me Now
Can't get enough of Summit? You can now listen to our collection of Summit playlists: Slate Summit Pre-Show, Slate Summit Ambiance, and Slate Summit Networking Reception. Chose one or enjoy them all!
For The Record . . .
Slate: The Blue Album
Featuring the Slate Symphony Orchestra
We were excited to announce at Summit the release of Slate: The Blue Album featuring original selections from award-winning composer Nate Strasser and performed by the Slate Symphony Orchestra. This album includes 12 songs that were debuted during that past two Slate Summits and inspired by the creativity from Slate features and functionality. We hope you enjoy this album as much as we enjoyed making it! The Blue Album is available at any musical streaming service or you can purchase a special edition vinyl record at the Slate Spirit Shop.