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Overview
To use Microsoft Bookings, sign into Microsoft 365, find the Bookings app, set up your business info and staff, create "Meeting Types" (services) with details like location (Teams or physical) and duration, customize availability with buffers and lead times, then share the generated booking page link so customers/clients can self-schedule appointments, which syncs to your Outlook calendar automatically.
Step by Step Guide
1. First, find the Bookings app in your list of Microsoft 365 apps and click it. Go to my.blinn.edu, click the Office 365 icon. From the apps page, click the Bookings app. If you do not see it, click “All apps ->” for an alphabetical list. If you still don’t see it, put in a Help Desk ticket asking for your Office 365 license to be upgraded.
2. You will go to the onboarding page discussing Bookings the first time you click it. Either choose the first “Get it now” button or scroll to the bottom and click the “Get it now” button.
3. You will be asked to choose your Booking calendar. If you are a professor setting Bookings up for office appointments, you will likely want to create your own. If you are working with a department, you should check and see if your department already has a Bookings calendar available.
4. If adding your own Booking calendar, click “Add a booking calendar.” On the first window, Bookings will ask about your business. For the “Business name,” put in enough information so that students can easily identify you. Usually this is your first name or initial, last name and the department in which you teach.
If you have a name that is shared by other professors, please take steps to distinguish yourself so that students do not get confused.
5. You must add your personal calendar from Outlook first so that you don’t get double booked. To add your Outlook calendar, you will need to add yourself as “staff.” Click the Staff icon along the left side menu. Then click “+Add staff” along the top menu.
6. Add yourself as staff. Uncheck “Use business hours” if you will be meeting with students in the evening.
7. From the left side menu, create your booking page. This is where professors would send students to book office appointments, for instance.
8. Restrict access to your booking page to Blinn people and keep it private. Click the check boxes for the first two access control options.
9. Decide your scheduling policy. Do you want students to book time in half hour increments, quarter hour, etc.?
10. Check the email notification boxes so that both you and students get emails about the appointments.
11. When you’re happy with your selections, click “Save and publish” on the top menu bar.
12. You can share your Bookings page in D2L, your syllabus and elsewhere. Copy the URL in the “Share your page” box.
13. The default service for people to book from your page is “Initial Consult,” and it is for one hour. You can change this by clicking on the Services tab in the left menu, then the “+Add a service” button on the top menu.
14. You can add a service called “Online Office Visit.” Click the “Add online meeting” toggle to “on” for the recipient to receive a Teams link.
15. Set the default duration of the virtual office visit and any buffering if desired. When you’re satisfied, click Save at the top.
16. You can delete the Initial Consult service by hovering over it and clicking the trashcan icon on the right.
17. Both you and the student will receive an email notification of the booking. It will appear on your personal calendar in Outlook and on theirs. You both will receive a link to a Microsoft Teams meeting if you set things up for virtual meetings in Step 15.
18. If you need Bookings to be used within your department, you would simply add multiple staff members and their calendars. Students would get a choice as to which staff member they desire to meet with, or they can request first available.
Meetings can be virtual or online. Meetings can be set for within office hours, 8 am to 5 pm, or not. Buffer times between meetings can be set so they do not overlap.
Additional Information
Need additional information or assistance? Call the IT Help Desk at 979-830-4357 (HELP) or contact the IT Help Desk Chat Line.