Slatest News: October 2023

Written By Genevieve Brewer

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: September & October 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 September 18, September 25, and October 2.

  • Start.edu
    This free-forever service, which is a collaboration between Slate.org and NACAC, provides a centralized starting point to begin your college search. Student data is never bought or sold, and all Start.edu and Slate.org services are free, now and forever, for students and colleges alike. 

  • Badge printing
    When a QR code is scanned, the registrants for an event are now marked as attended upon sync of the data. Also, person scoped QR codes can be used to print a badge!

Custom Views
Custom Views are now available to use on the Workflow and Concierge pages. Happy viewing!

Summit Central

Registration is Open

Registration is now available for Slate Summit 2024! Held at Chicago's Navy Pier, June 19-21, 2024, the Summit gathers thousands of users from diverse institutions, roles, and experiences into one place to connect, share, collaborate, excite, and inspire. This year is sure to be our biggest and best ever as we celebrate our 10th Summit. Highlights include:

  • Slate.org Summit - The Wednesday preceding Slate Summit, we'll be hosting our inaugural Slate.org Summit dedicated to secondary school counselors. You're invited to attend portions of the Slate.org Summit to connect with colleagues on the other side of the desk.

  • Live Awards Show - Summit kicks off with the premier of a live awards show. We will look back on the past 23 years of Slate while also showing you where we're headed.

  • Slate at Sea - Smaller group discussions will take place on a fleet of yachts that will cast off from the docks at Navy Pier and cruise around Lake Michigan.

  • A New Flexible Schedule - Offering more sessions than ever varying in length, size, and format, there will always be something to see and do.

  • Networking, Dinner, Mark McGrath, and Fireworks - Thursday evening will include a networking reception, dinner, concert featuring music from the 90's rock sensation Sugar Ray, and a fireworks show to celebrate the 10th Summit.

Take advantage of discounted early action pricing and register today! For more information including travel and hotel information, please visit the Slate Summit website.

Call for Proposals

The ideas and experiences shared during sessions at Summit are what drives engagement, excitement, and the collaborative nature of the Slate community. Don't miss this excellent opportunity to connect with other users and represent your institution. The Slate Summit 2024 call for proposals will be opening up next week.

The More You Know

Virtual Conversations: Slate Presents

Save the dates for these upcoming webinars—register today!

  • Slate Spotlight: Slate.org in Recruitment — Wednesday, November 1 at 1:00 pm ET: The Slate.org team will lead a tutorial on ways to integrate Slate.org in your recruitment processes. Follow along to explore the Slate.org filter, Voyager overlay, and discuss talking points to improve your work with high school counselors through Slate.org. Additionally, learn how some schools are leveraging the power of Slate.org through portals!

Learn how Slate Platinum Preferred Partners can help you achieve your goals in the Slate Presents webinar series "Dive Deeper with Slate Preferred Partners." All sessions begin at 2:00 pm ET. Join us in the next few weeks for:

Visit the Slate Presents portal in your Home Slate to watch any of our previous Slate Presents webinars and to register for these Community Conversations. 

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:

  • Thursday, October 26

    • 1:00 pm ET: Ask Us Anything: Application & Reader

    • 1:00 pm ET: Advancement: Ask Us Anything!

  • Monday, October 30

    • 2:00 pm ET: Welcome to Slate (Admissions & Enrollment, Student Success, Advancement)

  • Tuesday, October 31

    • 1:00 pm ET: SFTP and Web Services

  • Wednesday, November 1

    • 1:00 pm ET: Configurable Joins: The Basics

    • 2:00 pm ET: Implementing Advancement: Ask Us Anything!

  • Thursday, November 2

    • 1:00 pm ET: Advancement: Ask Us Anything!

    • 1:00 pm ET: Checking up on your Checklists Part 1

Slate.org Sharing

For those colleges and universities waiting for the right time to enable sharing in Slate.org, the time is now! And the effort is easy. Review the Slate.org documentation for colleges.
We've been hearing from our high school counselors that many can still see students from the class of 2023. Be sure to update your Rounds, Statuses, and other pertinent term items via your Slate.org Application Sharing page. 

Helping You Succeed with Slate

Community Support Update

For the last several months, our teams have diligently reflected, planned, and acted on our shared vision of a vibrant Slate community. To assist this commitment, we have selected and are currently implementing Document360 as our documentation platform. Here are some forthcoming changes that will support our vision:

  • Streamlined Documentation - Our goal in Document360 is to have lifecycle agnostic overview articles alongside multiple articles; for instance, we would have one overview article for Deliver as well as distinct articles for how to construct a recurring checklist reminder and mailing upcoming advising appointment mailings.

  • Improved Searchability- Document360 will allow you to find the right articles more quickly, such as filtering by updated date.

  • Videos- We intend to supplement articles with concise, narrated videos.

  • More & Updated Resources - We intend to have multiple project teams that regularly resource different tools/functions in Slate, such as: creating/updating documentation and videos; creating suitcaseable examples; and maintaining showcase environments.

The Slate community is known for its collaborative spirit and the Community Support team is committed to working alongside the community to foster that spirit. Here are other initiatives the team is currently working on:

  • Bettermode - We have selected and are currently implementing Bettermode as our community management/forums platform. This platform will allow users to connect more easily with one another and surface insights, like sorting posts by upvotes.

  • Community Ambassadors - Previously called Community Moderators, we have rebranded and expanded the program to Community Ambassadors. This group volunteers to share tips, tricks, and wisdom through the community.

  • Slate Support - Announced at the 2023 Summit, we are working on a tool that will better help you find answers to your questions. This will also illuminate the role of the Support Desk, which is to work with you on questions that are confidential, sensitive, or require our unique abilities (e.g., deleting objects inaccessible from a Retention Policy).

  • User Groups - Bettermode will improve our ability to assist user groups—whether they be regional, functional, or lifecycle focused—with tracking, growing, and engaging their membership through dedicated spaces. We are also accepting invitations to attend user group meetings, virtual or in-person!

Our timeline for these changes ranges from a few days to several months, and we will keep you informed of their statuses in future communications.

Slate Preferred Partners

RHB Academy

There's still time to register for RHB Academy at Claremont McKenna College on November 16-17. Unlocking Potential with Slate is a two-day training event for Slate users and enrollment management leaders focused on record and data management techniques and strategies using configurable joins, portals, and more.


Day one will be a full-day, instructional workshop featuring hands-on lessons centered around configurable joins and portals, ideal for Slate users of all skill levels. Additionally, enrollment management leaders are invited to a half-day seminar focusing on strategies to engage and support students and use data more effectively. You can lean more and register online here. 

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.   

Get to Know…

Benjamin Willner, Client Support Engineer


What do you do to de-stress?
I love to knit as a way to de-stress. I learned when I was 8 and have been doing it ever since. It keeps both my mind and hands engaged and can be either a challenging puzzle or something to do on autopilot depending on the mood and the project. 

What book would you recommend? And why?
I am a huge fan of Science Fiction/Fantasy and Brandon Sanderson is my favorite author right now. All of his work is fantastic, but Mistborn: The Final Empire is where I would start. I don't want to give anything away so here's the briefest description possible: magical heist in a renaissance like dystopian world. It's also book 1 of a trilogy and there's a follow-up series set in the same world as well if you really want to go down the rabbit hole. 

What is your favorite television show? And why?
For the past few years, I've been obsessed with a British show called Taskmaster. Each season, five comedians spend a few months completing ridiculous tasks (usually under time constraints) and then they all come together to watch their performances and be judged by the Taskmaster. For me it's the perfect balance of competition, creative thinking, and just sheer hilarity. It's also all available for free on YouTube. 

If you had a time machine, would you go back in time or into the future?
Definitely back in time. The idea of being able to answer the great mysteries of history or witness some of the most iconic historical events is too enticing to pass up.

Genevieve Brewer
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