This article will explain tracks in detail, including how to enable/disable tracks andt he role of a track chair.
Tracks must be enabled or disabled before you have real submissions in the platform. You cannot modify this option later.
What do tracks do?
In the system, tracks are used to:
- have different timelines for different submissions
- Example: Track 1 submissions are due on November 1. Track 2 submissions are due on December 15.
- Example: The review on track 1 will start a few weeks before the review on track 2
- have admins who can oversee content on their track(s) only (see below for details)
- Example: Amy can help with submissions on track 1 only, but not track 2. With tracks, you can give track 1 access to Amy. Amy wouldn't be able to see any content on track 2.
- have the ability to lock reviewers to one track only
- Example: You have 4 tracks. Tim should only review content on track 2. Tracks enables you to lock Tim to track 2 only. Note: Reviewers can be available to all tracks or locked to one track only. You cannot lock reviewers to multiple, but not all, tracks.
- open a new track in the future
- Example: After the review, you may realise you need a second Call for Papers to fill the schedule or you may want to collect late breaking news. Using tracks will allow you to send out another call for papers later on.
What should I know before enabling tracks?
Using tracks can result in extra work for admins down the line. This is why it is important to decide if you need tracks or not.
For example, when notifying accepted/rejected authors and using tracks, the notification emails must be sent separately on each track. This takes a little more time than on a single track conference but it is easy to do. Both admins and track chairs can notify authors.
Additionally, track chairs have a lot of power. Check out the next session for full details on this.
What can track chairs do?
You can definitely add in track chairs, but it is very important to understand their power.
Track chairs can:
- add submissions on their track(s)
- email all authors and panel organisers on their track(s)
- see all submissions and panels on their track(s)
- edit all submissions and panels on their track(s)
- delete content on their track(s)
- start the review on their track(s)
- make decisions on their track(s)
- publish decisions on their track(s)
- notify authors on their track(s)
- export data from their track(s)
Track chairs cannot:
- see or change settings that impact other tracks (e.g., the submission workflow)
- schedule content later unless you are also using the session creators feature. Please email support@exordo.com to learn more about this, if interested.
We highly recommend that you communicate exactly what track chairs should and should not do on your platform. For example, you must tell them if you do not want them to allocate on their track.
Enabling tracks:
Tracks can be enabled on step 3 of the Conference Setup Workflow. Check out this article for more information on setting up your conference.
