Overview
To take classes at PCOC 2023, you will use our class ticketing system, which has two phases:
- Online Advance Ticketing, in which you will request classes via the website interface;
- Online Self-Serve Ticketing, in which you can request, add, and/or drop classes after the advance ticketing process has already been run.
In the online advance ticketing, you request the classes you wish to take during the week of October 15, 1:00 am–October 19, 1:00 pm EDT and arrange them in order of priority; following that, classes will be assigned in a round-robin fashion based on people's choices and availability. Teachers and volunteers receive priority.
Details are below.
Online Advance Ticketing
If you have registered for PCOC with classes, you will request the classes you want to take (on the days you have registered for). At the end of the class request period, classes will be assigned in a round-robin fashion. The key dates for class request/assignment are:
- October 8, 1:00 pm EDT — Preliminary class schedule posted
- October 11, 1:00 pm EDT — Final class schedule posted
- October 14, 1:00 pm–October 19, 1:00 pm EDT — Request classes
- October 19, 1:00 pm EDT — Class requests close
- October 19, 5:00 pm EDT — Class assignments posted
Once the class schedules have been posted, you can start looking at the class schedule for each day and making notes of what classes you would like to take.
We’ve prepared a printable document and a tutorial video to provide advice and illustrated instructions to help you with the request selection process. The document and video concentrate on a step-by-step process to guide you through the actual request processing pages. In addition, we provide an annotated worksheet (shown in the video) for those who prefer to compile a list of classes that interest them before actually entering their requests. (These instructions are for OrigamiUSA's Annual Convention, but classes for PCOC work the same way.)
Also, during this period, there will be a special email address for any ticketing-related questions: pcoc-ticketing [at] origamiusa.org.
Class Requests Period
A six-day period, October 14, 1:00 pm–October 19, 1:00 pm EDT, will be devoted to choosing your class requests. We'll send out an email to all registered participants when class requests open.
When requests open, you can go to PCOC 2023 > My PCOC > My Classes to begin entering your requests. For each day that you are registered for classes, you will select the classes you'd like to take and arrange them in order of preference. We'll use your order of preference for class assignment. You'll order all of your requests for all days together in one list. We'll try to get everyone at least one of their top picks. (In years past, everyone received one of their top-three classes, and nearly everyone received their first-choice class.)
While you can make and reorder your requests using any type of device (phone, tablet, laptop, desktop), you may find it easiest to use a laptop or desktop computer that will allow you to have multiple windows open on the screen so that you can go back and forth between your list of classes and the possibilities on the schedule. The windows you'll likely want to keep open are:
- My Classes (and its sub-pages), where you will make and order your class requests;
- Friday Classes, the schedule for Friday;
- Saturday Classes, the schedule for Saturday;
- Sunday Classes, the schedule for Sunday.
There are two ways to request classes. On the "Request classes" page, you can choose classes by typing their name into an autocomplete field and selecting each class as it matches what you type, then add it to your request list. (This is the approach described in the PDFs above.)
Alternatively, you can browse the class schedules and when you see a class you like, go to the class page and click the "Request this class" button near the bottom of the page. If you do this, make sure you visit your "Request classes" page to double-check and/or change your priority order.
Class Assignment Period
At the end of the request period, we'll close requests and make class assignments. Classes are assigned in a round-robin fashion (like the NFL draft), with each person getting one request fulfilled per round. Note that the initial order is based on your registration date: earlier registrations come earlier in the assignment in each round. Teachers and volunteers receive additional priority (see below).
Note that class assignment will take into account the days you've registered for classes (you won't be assigned classes on a day you're not registered for), your teaching (you won't be assigned to a class that conflicts with one you are teaching), and your volunteering signups (you won't be assigned to a class that conflicts with something you've signed up to volunteer for).
If for some reason you miss the online ticketing system (or you registered really late, like at the door), don't worry; there will still be some classes available for last-minute attendees and you can use the online self-serve ticketing described next. But we expect that the vast majority of PCOC attendees will request and receive their classes via the online advance process.
Information for Students
Please read through the pages linked below on classroom etiquette and origami difficulty. Origami folks are, in general, a friendly and forgiving lot, but you can help keep things running smoothly by following the generally accepted norms of behavior (etiquette) and only signing up for classes at your folding level.
Online Self-Serve Ticketing
If you did not sign up for classes via the online advance ticketing process or you want to make changes to your online class assignments after your classes are assigned, you can do so using the Self-Serve Ticketing process, which will open after classes have been assigned and will remain open right up until classes begin. During this time, people registered for classes can add or drop classes at will (subject to time conflicts and class size limitations).
To make any changes to your classes (either adding or dropping classes), visit your "My Classes" page (which you can find in the PCOC 2023 menu at upper right). After classes have been assigned, you will see your own class schedule (and those of any other people you have registered); for each person, you will also see a box to add or remove classes, like this:
Start typing the name of the class you want to add or drop, then select the specific class from the drop-down menu that will appear. Buttons will appear to allow you to add or remove the class, if either is possible, along with an explanation of the class's current status and any conflicts.
To find classes to add, check out the daily schedule grids that are linked from the top of the "My Classes" page. Classes that have sold out are indicated by a red border on the class on the schedule grid. Refresh the class schedule page to see the latest sold-out status. There are many sources to use in preparing your class choices: the online schedule, the on-site model menu, or the printed schedules available at the Information Desk in Hospitality.
You can add or remove classes at any time, right up to the beginning of classes. If you are not going to take a class, please remove it from your schedule, so that it opens up a spot that someone else might fill. If you want to replace one class with another, remove the first class before adding the second; the system will not allow adding a class that conflicts with another class on your schedule, your own teaching, or your own volunteering.
Priority Ticketing
Priority Ticketing is designed to compensate teachers and other volunteers who have donated hours that could otherwise be used to attend classes. That means you must be volunteering or teaching:
- During class hours (10 am–12 noon, 2 pm–5 pm), and
- On a day when you are registered to attend classes.
As in years past, special priority will be given to teachers and volunteers who work during class time. Teacher/volunteer priority is taken into account during the online class assignment. Note that you must have registered to teach and must have signed up for specific volunteering time slots in order to receive priority ticketing consideration.
If you teach and/or volunteer one hour during class time on a day when you are attending with classes, you are eligible for priority consideration for three classes on any day on which you are attending with classes.
If you teach and/or volunteer two hours or more during class time on days you are attending with classes, you are eligible for priority consideration for six classes on any day on which you are attending with classes.
Please be aware of these important new deadlines for participation in priority ticketing:
- Teachers must have entered their teaching forms before the closing date for teaching form entry.
- Volunteers must have signed up for their volunteer hours before the class requests period ends.
These (and other) key dates can be seen here.
Please note that only a limited number of priority tickets for each class will be available. Teachers/volunteers requesting this priority will have their requests filled in order based on their ticketing sequence number. No class will be allowed to sell out by priority ticketing before the regular ticketing process begins, so it is important to enter many choices during online class registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
- No standing in line each morning of PCOC if you've preregistered.
- You know what classes you'll be taking well in advance of PCOC.
- You can take your time in choosing what classes you want to take. You'll have a week to decide and make your choices.
- The new system is far more equitable than the old system.
In the new system, there's still priority numbers, but now classes are assigned round-robin, like the NFL draft. Priority number 1 gets ONE class; then number 2 gets ONE class; and so on, all the way to the person with the lowest priority number. Only then does priority number 1 get their second class pick. And so on, and so forth. This makes the class assignment process far more equitable than before.