How can we help you?

Your SIS sends graduate records to GradFare over a secure HTTPS API — GradFare never needs access to your PeopleSoft system.

• Graduate roster: new graduates are created and existing ones updated (name, email, phone, degree, department, honors, ticket allowance).
• Eligibility: degree-checkout status (for example PeopleSoft DEGR_CHKOUT_STAT values AW, EG, AG, AP, PN) marks who is eligible. Ineligible graduates are skipped by bulk notifications.
• CSV drop: if a scheduled file export is easier than an API call, the SIS can upload a CSV instead.

PeopleSoft and Banner field names (such as EMPLID, FIRST_NAME, EMAIL_ADDR) are recognised as they are, so no data mapping is needed in most cases. Send the SIS integration guide request to support@gradfare.com and we'll join a call with your SIS team.

1. As an admin, go to Settings → 🔗 SIS Integration.
2. Click Generate API Key (or Rotate API Key if one exists).
3. Copy the key right away — it starts with gf_live_ and is shown only once. Give it to your SIS team through a secure channel.

Rotating immediately disables the old key. The page shows the key's first characters, the last sync time and how many graduates were synced, so you can confirm the connection is working.

Each sync names the ceremony by its Event ID, shown at the top of the event's page.

The portal opens from the graduate's personal link — no account, password or app. It shows the ceremony date, venue and a countdown, plus 📅 Add to Calendar.

• My Info: RSVP (✓ Yes, attending / ✕ Cannot attend), accessibility needs and the photo/video release.
• 🎟 Guests: add guests and share their tickets.
• 🎙 Name: record how to say their name.
• 🖼 Slide: photo, degree, honors and a personal quote for the venue screen.
• 🎫 Stage Pass: the QR code scanned as they cross the stage.
• 🎓 Regalia: cap, gown, stole and other items, with pickup or shipping.
• 📋 Waitlist: ask for extra guest tickets.

1. Make sure they're opening the most recent link and the whole address was copied (links break when an email wraps them).
2. Find them on the Students page and click ✉ Send to email a fresh copy, or 📋 Copy and send it yourself.
3. If it still fails, have them try another browser or turn off private/incognito mode.

Portal links don't expire. If the graduate can't be found on the Students page, they may not have been imported yet or may be attached to a different ceremony. Still stuck? Submit a ticket with their student ID.

1. In the portal, open 🎟 Guests. It shows how many guest tickets remain.
2. Type the guest's name and click Add Guest. Each guest gets their own ticket and QR code.
3. Click Share Ticket to copy the link, send it by email, or send it by text from the graduate's phone.

A guest who can't come can be removed with Cancel (not after they've checked in); the ticket goes back to the graduate's allowance. If your ceremony uses guest seating, the seat number appears next to each guest as soon as it's assigned.

Graduates answer ✓ Yes, attending or ✕ Cannot attend in the My Info card and can change their answer until the ceremony.

The ADA / Accessibility Needs box lets them describe what they or their guests need. Guests with an accessibility need are seated in your accessible guest sections first, and requests appear on the graduate's reader card for your stage team.

1. In the portal, open 🎙 Name.
2. Allow microphone access, record their name clearly, listen back, then click Submit Recording.

The status shows pending until an admin reviews it under Pronunciation. If a recording is rejected, the graduate gets an email and can record again. On ceremony day the recording plays on the Venue Display when their stage pass is scanned.

No microphone? Any phone works — the portal link opens on the graduate's phone.

• 🖼 Slide: upload a photo (JPG or PNG under 4 MB) and enter degree/program (required), department, honors and an optional quote, then Submit Slide. Admins approve it before it can appear on the Venue Display.
• 🎓 Regalia: choose items and sizes, then pickup on campus or shipping. Your regalia team tracks each order from pending to picked up or shipped.
• 📋 Waitlist: request 1–10 extra guest tickets with an optional reason. If the college grants the request, the extra tickets appear in the 🎟 Guests tab ready to add.

Each guest gets a personal ticket page (the link the graduate shares). It shows the ceremony, date and time, venue, the graduate they're with, their seat if assigned, and the QR code staff scan at the door. The page is branded with your college's logo, campus photo and colors.

From that page a guest can add the ticket to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, download a PDF, add the ceremony to their calendar, or forward the ticket to someone else in their party.

• iPhone: open the ticket link in Safari and tap Add to Apple Wallet, then Add.
• Android: tap Save to Google Wallet, then Add. The guest may be asked to sign in to Google.
• Anything else: tap Download PDF Ticket and print it or keep it on the phone.

The pass shows your college's logo and colors, the date and time, the guest's name, the graduate, the seat and section, and the QR code.

The ticket page and the QR code always show the latest details, and the QR code on an older pass keeps working — nobody is turned away because of an old pass.

To see a new seat or time on the pass itself:

• Apple Wallet: remove the old pass, open the ticket link again and tap Add to Apple Wallet.
• Google Wallet: open the ticket link again and tap Save to Google Wallet — the saved pass refreshes.

On the ticket page, tap 📅 Add to Calendar and choose Google Calendar, Apple Calendar (.ics) or Outlook. ⬇ Download PDF Ticket produces a printable ticket with the QR code, seat and ceremony details.

Yes — the ticket page has ✉ Send by Email and 💬 Send by Text. Each ticket admits one person, so forwarding is meant for handing a ticket to the right family member. To prevent abuse, a ticket can only be emailed a few times per day; the graduate can always re-share from their portal.

1. Go to Seating and scroll to 🎟 Guest seating.
2. Click + Guest section. Enter the section name, seat letter(s) (for example A gives seats A1, A2, …), the number of seats and, if the section has rows, Seats per row.
3. Add as many sections as your venue needs.
4. Click Seat new guests.

Each graduate's guests are seated side by side (for example A52, A53, A54) and never split across a row. Guests added later are seated next to their party automatically, and cancelled tickets free their seats.

The seat appears on the guest's ticket page, wallet pass, PDF and at check-in.

When adding a guest section, tick Accessible seating. Parties with an accessibility request are placed in accessible sections first, together. If the accessible sections are full, the party is still seated together elsewhere — add accessible seats and click Re-seat everyone to move them.

• Find someone: type a guest's name, a graduate's name or a seat (like A52) in the search box above the seat map. Click any seat to highlight the whole party.
• Change the plan: renaming a section or changing its seat letter updates every ticket in it. Deleting a section frees its seats so you can seat those guests again.
• Start over: Re-seat everyone clears guest seats and assigns them again, grouped by graduate. Do this before tickets go out, not on ceremony day.

Graduate seating (where graduates sit) is managed separately in the same page with + Add Section and + Assign Seat.

No special hardware is needed — any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera.

1. Each door volunteer signs in at app.gradfare.com with a staff account.
2. Open Check-in and tap Scan QR Code. Allow camera access.
3. Point the camera at the guest's QR code on their phone, wallet pass or printout.

A successful scan shows the guest, the graduate and their seat so volunteers can direct them. If a code won't scan, type or paste the ticket code under or enter code manually.

Using an external USB camera? Pick it from the 📷 Camera menu; GradFare remembers the choice on that device.

Yes. Before doors open, in Check-in → Offline Mode, choose the ceremony and click Download Tickets for Offline on each device.

If the connection drops, the status bar switches to Offline mode and scans are checked against the downloaded list and queued. When the connection returns they sync automatically (or tap Sync now).

While offline, a device only knows about tickets scanned on that device — keep each entrance on its own device and reconnect as soon as possible.

• Check-in successful — welcome the guest and direct them to their seat.
• Already checked in — this ticket was used earlier. Each ticket admits one person. Ask for the guest's name and check with the graduate if there's a mix-up.
• Ticket not found / cancelled — the code isn't a valid ticket for your college, or the graduate cancelled it. The graduate can issue a new ticket from their portal in under a minute if they still have tickets available.

The Live Stage puts each graduate's name, photo and recorded pronunciation on the venue screen the moment their stage pass is scanned. Open the ceremony in Events — the LIVE STAGE row has the links you need.

1. Venue Display (screen computer): connect a laptop to the projector or screen by HDMI, open 🖥 Venue Display in Chrome and click Start display — this goes full screen and turns on sound.
2. Stage Scanner (at the stage steps): on a phone, tablet or laptop signed in to GradFare, open 📷 Stage Scanner and tap Connect & Start Scanning.
3. Scan each graduate's Stage Pass QR (in their portal, or the QR printed on their reader card). The screen updates within about a second.

Streaming the ceremony? 📺 Livestream Overlay gives a transparent name banner to add as a browser source in OBS or similar software.

Do a full test with two or three graduates the day before.

Go to Settings → 🖥 Venue Display for your college's default look, or use 🎨 Customize display on a ceremony to change just that ceremony.

• Look: campus background photo, logo, background, accent and text colors, font and a waiting-screen message.
• Timing: how long each name stays up, or keep each name until the next scan. Names are never cut off mid-pronunciation unless you choose otherwise.
• On screen: choose whether to show the photo, phonetic spelling, degree, honors and quote.

Changes appear on connected screens immediately. Your logo, photo and colors are also used on guest ticket pages and wallet passes.

1. Is the scanner connected? The Stage Scanner should show the ceremony and a connected status. If not, tap ✕ Disconnect and connect again.
2. Is it the right QR? The stage scanner reads the graduate's Stage Pass, not a guest ticket.
3. Refresh the display: press F5 on the screen computer, then click Start display again. It reconnects on its own after short network drops.
4. No sound? Sound only starts after Start display is clicked; check the laptop's volume and the HDMI audio output.
5. No photo? Only approved slides are shown — check Slides.

Still stuck during a ceremony? Call (703) 898-3835 — application-down issues are answered within 15 minutes, 24/7.

• Slides: filter by status, then ✓ Approve or ✕ Reject. When rejecting, tick what needs fixing (photo, degree, honors…) and the graduate is emailed. ✓ Bulk Approve Pending clears the queue in one step.
• Pronunciation: press ▶ Play, then approve or reject. A rejected recording is removed and the graduate is asked to record again.

1. Go to Notifications and choose ✉ Email or 💬 SMS.
2. Pick the ceremony and a template — Portal Link, Ticket Confirm, Reminder (and Pronunciation Reminder for SMS) — or write your own.
3. Personalise with {first_name}, {event_name}, {event_date}, {venue} and {portal_url}, then send.

Messages go to eligible graduates of that ceremony; guests receive their tickets from the graduate. Recent Sends shows what went out and any failures.

Open Waitlist. For each request you can Grant (the graduate's allowance goes up and they add the guests themselves) or Deny.

More requests than seats? Click 🎲 Run Lottery and enter how many extra tickets are available. GradFare picks winners at random and marks the rest as not selected. Let graduates know the outcome with a message from Notifications.

• Event overview: ⬇ Export Students Excel and ⬇ Export Tickets Excel (tickets include seat and section).
• Analytics: Attendance CSV and Students CSV, plus attendance and readiness figures.

Files open in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.

Open the ceremony and click 🖨 Print All Reader Cards (or use the Reader Cards tab). You get a PDF with one 4×6-inch card per graduate, sorted by last name.

Each card shows the name to announce, pronouns, a SAY: phonetic line, degree, honors, any accessibility note and the graduate's stage QR code. Print them a day ahead so corrections can be made.

• Location: GradFare runs on Amazon Web Services in the US East (N. Virginia) region. Data stays in the United States.
• Separation: each college's data is kept separate from every other college's, and that separation is checked on every request.
• In transit: all traffic uses HTTPS.
• Use: student data is used only to run your commencement. It is never sold or used for advertising.

GradFare is built to support your FERPA obligations; we sign your institution's data-protection agreement on request.

• Passwords are at least 8 characters; password-reset links expire after 1 hour.
• Signing out ends the session on the server; resetting a password signs the account out everywhere.
• Inactive sessions end after 30 minutes. Repeated wrong passwords pause sign-in for that account.
• Staff only see the tools their role allows.

Campus single sign-on (SAML or CAS): admins can submit their identity-provider details under Settings → 🔐 Campus SSO. Our team then completes and tests the connection with your IT department.

Before the contract ends you can export your graduates, tickets and attendance at any time (see How do I export students, tickets or attendance?). On your written request we provide a full export and then delete your college's data within 30 days, and confirm the deletion in writing.