RYLA and Young RYLA Registration Details
Updated on 5/3/2008

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Here is a list of the RYLA Registration tasks in the order you will use them. Click any link to go a detailed explanation below. Then click your back button to return to here:

Basic Info
Logging into the RYLA Club Area

Request slots
Pay for Slots
Receive Slot Confirmation

Finding Applicants
Direct the Students to Fill Out Applications on the Web
Using the Applicant List
View applicants on the web site
Applicant Status

Interview applicants
Finalize Selected Applicants
Fax Applicant Paperwork to the Registrar
Refunds or Alternates

Students Receive Confirmation
Final Notes
Contact the Registrar with Questions

Basic Info

You will manage both RYLA and Young RYLA through this web site. As of 2008, the RYLA Conference for upcoming High School Juniors and Seniors has a capacity of 240 people, and the Young RYLA camp for upcoming 8th graders holds 120. Rocky Mountain RYLA registration has evolved to become the most highly automated and sophisticated registration process in Rotary, which has also enabled us to handle 360 new RYLA'rians each year with a continually changing staff of over 50.

We have over 110 Rotary Clubs in districts 5440 and 5450 that provide immense support to the RYLA program (thank you)! As you will see, the automation is also designed to help you through the RYLA registration process. This document shows how to perform the tasks of finding, registering and managing your RYLA applicants, but you'll also receive e-mails reminding you where you stand in the process, what needs to happen next, and e-mails will also show you how to perform these tasks more easily.

Please occasionally check the deadlines and dates in the registration process in the RYLA Calendar, which is connected to the Club Information page on www.rmRYLA.org. The RYLA Calendar link on most pages of the web site shows a brief version of the dates.

The most important criteria for a student are to:
- show up physically and mentally
- be there from Sunday afternoon through Friday noon - NO EXCEPTIONS.
It does not work any other way so be sure to get that absolute commitment.

This page adds more details on the items in the RYLA Registration Cliff Notes. These pages have numerous links to other pages on this web site (such as the Cliff Notes). Feel free to click the links as you please, then use your browser's Back button to return here!


As a RYLA Representative for your Rotary Club, you will be able to log in to the RYLA web site, request slots at RYLA and/or Young RYLA, and view the applications and pictures submitted by applicants. You can also earmark applicants for your club to interview, after which you can then "Finalize" them on the web site.

Once you are registered as a RYLA Representative for your club, you will receive regular e-mails from the registrars with step-by-step information on everything you need to do. Most of that information is here, but you will have regular reminders in your inbox.

The web site can hold multiple RYLA Representatives for a Rotary Club. Here are some of the possibilities for you:
- Divide the roles, such as having one person handle RYLA and someone else handle Young RYLA.
- Include additional Reps simply so they can stay informed throughout the process.
- Nobody needs to be removed, even if they are no longer an active RYLA Rep. They can stay on as advisors to new Reps, receiving the same e-mails to remain aware and ready to assist.

Logging In

As a RYLA Representative you will receive frequent e-mails from the Registrar, and every one of these e-mails shows your Login Name and Password.


To log in from the main www.rmRYLA.org web site, click the Club Area link in the upper right corner of most pages on the web site:

That takes you to the RYLA Reps page with further instructions. They're worth reading, after which you will look for the RYLA or Young RYLA links toward the middle of the page. That starts you working with either RYLA or Young RYLA, depending on which you selected. When requesting slots, you must go back to the Club Area page to switch between RYLA and Young RYLA. Here's the page you see when you click on the RYLA or Young RYLA link:



If you have difficulties logging in, go back to your e-mail from the Registrar and check your Login Name and Password. If it still won't let you in, please reply to that e-mail from the Registrar specifying exactly what you are using for Login Name and Password.

Remember that Internet Explorer works best, but if you must use Apple Safari, click here:

Request Slots

After your club has decided upon the numbers of slots in RYLA and Young RYLA that you would like to have, come to this section. Feb 15 is the best time to have this done, but Feb 28 is the absolute latest.

To request slots, log from the Club Area page as described just above. You are taken to your contact information page, similar to this:
























Be sure that contact information is correct. Change anything you need and click the Save button.


Now, do you see the "Reps" on the left side of the brownish section? Hover your mouse over that (no need to click), and a menu drops down:

                                     

Click on Club Slots. Once in the Club Slots page, you can enter a number in the Request Quantity field and click the Save button to make it official. You can always come back and change this if you'd like. Notice that the Event window at the top shows which RYLA you are requesting slots for (RYLA or Young RYLA):

Some time after saving your requests for RYLA and Young RYLA, you will receive an e-mail from the Registrar specifying the amount needed to pay for these slots. If you wish to switch from slot requests for RYLA to Young RYLA or vise-versa, you must use your browser's back button to go past the login page and select the appropriate link from the Club Area page.

Pay for Slots

Mail your payment (you can write one check that includes both RYLA and Young RYLA, if you prefer). This payment must reach me by March 15. Send the payment to the address shown on the Contacts page. Payment must be received in order for slots to be confirmed! You will receive e-mails regarding the numbers of slots, payment amount, amount owed, etc.

Receive Slot Confirmation

The RYLA committee will review the number of PAID reservations received using these guidelines:
      - RYLA can accept 240 students, and the max for Young RYLA is 120.
      - Every club can send at least two students to RYLA, and at least one to Young RYLA.
      - Where possible, each club can send the same number of students this year as they sent last year.

We will notify each club via e-mail by April 1 as to the total number of slots allocated to the club. For those who have not paid, slots may be reallocated to other clubs wanting more spots.

Finding Applicants

First, ensure that your fellow Rotarians are aware of RYLA and what it can do for their children, grandchildren, children of friends, and so on. They are a wonderful source for outstanding applicants!

Next, talk with school counselors and students.
      - You can use the brightly colored RYLA PDF Flyer or the Young RYLA PDF Flyer (these are on the Club Information page) to attract attention.
      - View or download the Word version of the Letter to Schools,
         which explains RYLA to your local high school(s).
      - Then use the Club RYLA Flyer to give the specific instructions
         (download the Word document and personalize for your club).

If you don’t find enough applicants, check with nearby Rotary Clubs. Many clubs will set aside alternates because they have more good applicants than slots. Contact the Registrar if you need assistance finding nearby clubs.

Remember, RYLA is great for just about any student, particularly those with leadership potential that may not be readily apparent.

The most important criteria for a student are to:
- show up physically and mentally
- and be there from Sunday afternon through Friday noon - NO EXCEPTIONS.
It does not work any other way so be sure to get that absolute commitment.

Direct the Students to Fill Out Applications on the Web

Direct your students to the www.rmRYLA.org web site.

From the main page, have the high-school Sophomores and Juniors click on the About RYLA link toward the upper left corner. 7th graders (or parents/teachers) will click on the About Young RYLA link. These pages give them more information about the RYLA Conference and Young RYLA Camp, and they'll find a link to their on-line application form. The applications also instruct the student as to what they need to write and bring to the interview.

The final page of the application process shows their completed application with lines for signatures at the bottom. If they click the "Email to Me" button, his same completed application (with signature lines) is also automatically sent to the e-mail address they entered.

The student should print the completed application (from the web or from the e-mail), and start gathering signatures.

Using the Applicant List on the web site

Every student applies via the www.rmRYLA.org web site. First, go to the web site, log in, and click Applicants from the dropdown when you hover over Reps.   

That brings up the applicant list (you may need to wait a few seconds for it to load):

The instructions in the View Applicants on the Web section below show how to see an application itself.

All students with New Applicant status are available for you to contact. AS SOON AS you plan to contact a student, or have contacted them, MARK THEM as Contacted on the web site! That's how other clubs know not to contact an applicant, so please connect them with your club name and mark your students as soon as you can. Here's how.

Click directly on their status (which should be New Applicant). This brings up another window showing their status and their current Rotary club. FIRST, verify that the Current Club field on the left is yours. If not, ensure that the New Club dropdown shows your club, and click the Save button in the lower left corner.

NEXT, click the dropdown for New Status, change to Contacted, and click the Save button AGAIN. As you decide which applicants to interview, change their status to Interviewing. This alerts other clubs to your activity with this applicant, and prevents other clubs from changing the status of that applicant.

After the interview and when you have decided whether (or not) to send the applicant to RYLA/Young RYLA, log back into the Club Area to change the status to Finalized or another status. The statuses and their explanations are below in the Applicant Status section.

Close your Status Change window to go back to the Applicant List. You'll have to click the Refresh button to see your changes.

All students with "New Applicant" status are available for you to contact. Also, you cannot finalize (select) students until you have marked them as contacted!

CONTROLLING THE APPLICANT LIST

(Somewhat advanced): you can adjust, sort, group and filter the applicant list to make your life much easier! You cannot mess anything up here - log out and back in to reset everything as it started (and no, sorry, but it doesn't keep your sorts or filters when you log off).

- Rearrange columns: click on a header, such as EMail way over on the right, drag it until you see red arrows indicating where it will land, and drop it! Wait a few seconds, and you have moved that column to a different location.
- Resize a column: Move your mouse around between the column headers and you'll see it turn into a double-arrow. Click and move back and forth to change column widths.
- Sort: Click on any of the headers and wait a few seconds to sort the list by that, such as School, City, State, Org (this is your Rotary Club), Applicant Status.
- Group: this allows you to put applicants in groups, and they will sort WITHIN your group(s) when you click on a column header to sort it. Click on the column you want to group by, such as State or City, drag it up just a bit until you are in the row that says "Drag a column here to group by that column". You'll see red arrows on the far left edge of that row. Drop it, wait a few seconds, and you'll see you applicants grouped together.

This example shows them grouped by City, and sorted by School:

FILTERING

Too many applicants to deal with? You can filter them so you see only the set of applicants you want.

- Event: toward the top of the page, click on the dropdown beside Event and select RYLA or Young RYLA, and wait a few seconds for it to load. This allows you to switch between the RYLA events without going back to the Club Area and the login page (although you still have to go back to the club area to request slots for the other RYLA).
- Organization (Rotary club): Click this dropdown and select your club. Now you can focus on only the applicants who select your club when they applied (or you changed their club when you changed their status).
- Applicant Status: would you like to see all of the applicants still in New Applicant status, or see just those marked Available because you have an extra slot to use? Use the Applicant Status dropdown to restrict the list to just one single status.

The example below shows the list restricted to a single Rotary club. Remember to change Organization or Applicant Status back to -All- to see the whole list again!

View Applicants on the web

As you're looking at the list of applicants on the web, click on an applicant's NAME to see the application they filled out.


If they uploaded a picture, you can see that.


You can review their answers to the starndard questions at the bottom of the page, which can help with your interview and decisions on the applicants you wish to sponsor.


Email to Me button: if you click on that, it sends a copy of the application to the e-mail address listed just above the picture (which is the e-mail address entered by the applicant).

Applicant Status

To CHANGE their Status: Click directly on their status (which should be New Applicant). This brings up another window showing their status and current Rotary club.

After clicking on the Applicant's status, you must FIRST change their Current Club to yours. If your club already displays in the New Club field, click the Save button. If not, click the New Club dropdown, find and click on your Rotary club, and click the Save button in the lower left corner.

After changing the club to yours (and clicking the Save button), you can immediately or later change applicant's status and click the Save button again. After returning to the Applicant List page, you will need to click the Refresh button (just above the list of applicants) in order for your new status to appear.

• New Applicant – this is how an applicant starts – no club has had any contact with them yet (although the applicant may have selected their favorite Rotary Club when they applied – this is in the Org column).
   

• Contacted – you have had contact with the applicant, and have them in this temporary “hold” status. If another club has “contacted” your applicant, please contact their rep to get the whole story (Find Rotary Contacts). Any RYLA Rep can change the club and status at this point. Remember the 4-way test!
   

• Interviewing – you will soon or already did interview the applicant (and will have their paperwork). You now “own” this applicant, and other clubs cannot change the applicant’s club or status. From here, you can either Finalize them, make them Unavailable, make them Available! to other clubs, or change them back to Contacted (still attached to your club). Only Interviewing and Finalized have limits on the number you can have.
   

• Finalized – your club is sending this applicant to RYLA, and you faxed the paperwork to the registrar (you cannot finalize more students than your number of approved slots).
   

• Unavailable – this applicant is unable to attend RYLA. Leave them attached to your club in case someone else has questions about them (so they know whom to contact). They do not occupy any of your approved slots.
   

• Available! – You have interviewed this student or know them in some way, but have run out of slots and very much want them to go! This is the signal to other clubs looking for applicants – this applicant is approved and ready, and is attached to your club indicating that other Reps can contact you to ask about the applicant. This is also the status to use for applicants you have selected as ALTERNATES. If another club selects your alternate – wonderful! It doesn’t matter who sponsors the applicant – they get to attend RYLA!

Interview applicants

Use the resources on the Club Information page to help with your interviewing process. These include:
      - PDF and text versions of RYLA flyers
      - A letter to the schools
      - Letters to your students
      - Interview questions
      - Housing Arrangement Permission Slip (get a parent's signature on this!)

You can quickly View any of the documents to see if it is what you need. For the documents that you may want to revise with your club's information, you can Download a Microsoft Word version.

- Do your best to select even numbers of boys and girls.
- Get a commitment from the student to stay for the entire conference!

The clubs will have until May 15th to interview, select students and send the printed registration forms to the RYLA registrar. If the student fails to show for the camp, there will be no refund or credit to the sponsoring club.

Finalize Selected Applicants

This is how you tell the Registrar which students your club will send to RYLA. Only the students you have Finalized will receive further information and instructions about RYLA, along with being placed on a team, given a bed, etc.

When you have decided who your winning applicants are, go to the Club Area and log in using your Login and Password. The instructions in the Using the Applicant List section above show how to change an applicant's status to Finalized.

Fax Applicant Paperwork to the Registrar

Prior to faxing (not mailing) any paperwork to the Registrar, be sure that you have Finalized your applicant(s) on the web site (scroll up a bit to see how to do that). Please follow carefully the items in the checklists you'll find here (there are also links to them on the Club Information page).

Please do not fax any paperwork for an applicant until you have everything for that applicant (no partial paperwork)!

      RYLA Paperwork Checklist

      Young RYLA Paperwork Checklist

Missing or incomplete paperwork on the deadline may result in those slots being lost to the club. The slots are then opened to other clubs that want to send more students.

Refunds or Alternates

Here are the options if you are unable to fill your slots:

       1) Find an Alternate from another club who can fill your slots.
Go to the Applicant List, change the Applicant Status dropdown near the top to Alternate!, wait a few seconds for it to reload, and the system shows you the applicants whom other clubs approved but were unable to sponsor. Click on an applicant's name to view the application, and feel free to ask the other club about the applicant (go to the Find Rotary Contacts link in the gray area on the left side of www.rmRYLA.org to find that club's RYLA Rep). The Registrar can certainly help with this!

       2) Alert the Registrar! This is a good thing to do in any case, and we may have a few ourstanding applicants who were unable to get in.

       3) Request a refund from the registrar before June 15.

Note that funds are committed on June 15, and we cannont refund money for cancellations after June 15. If one of your students cannot come, please alert he Registrar, and you are welcome use one of your alternates (or view alternates from other clubs). There are always more alternates than available slots!

Students Receive Confirmation

I will E-mail the final instructions to all of your Finalized applicants during May and June. For Young RYLA Applicants, the e-mail includes the additional paperwork they must complete. Please stay in touch with your students so you can confirm that they receive it!

You need to be sure that your students have transportation to and from RYLA.

Final Notes

Please remember to take these deadlines seriously. If you miss the deadline, we will make every effort to accommodate your request, but the committee will not be obligated to provide space for your conferees if the RYLA or Young RYLA maximum has been reached. If your requests and payments are not made by March 15, your slots from last year will be allocated to other clubs who want to send more kids than last year and who made the deadline.

Please contact us if you have any questions or if we can be of any help in the registration process.

Sincerely,
Dave Amen, RYLA Registrar
Contact info can be found on the Contacts page