All/cancellation/children/cribs/dates/dining/disabled/elevators/errors/family discount/food; diet; special diet/high school/infants/lodge/part-time/payment/personal information/pets/refunds/registration/responsible party/rooming options/roommates/special needs/suite/suitemates/

A1: The preferred way of registering is through the internet using the online registration form, which you can reach from the “Registration” menu of https://www.rpiconference.org/. When you register online your information is automatically checked and added to the registrars’ database without retyping. (And we don’t have to try to read your handwriting!)

If for some reason you cannot or do not wish to register online, paper forms are available. They are being distributed to all RPCNA congregations, or are available for download from the website, or you may request one from the registrars.

A2: Planned dates are as follow:

  • December 2023: Registration opens. Watch this site and elsewhere for specifics.
  • May 15, 2024: Registration closes. If all the rooms fill before that date we may make restrictions, though we expect to have plenty of space for everyone.
  • June 1, 2024: All registrants must be paid in full, and this is the final day for refunds from cancellations.
  • June 25, 2024 (Tuesday): Conference begins with dinner followed by an evening all-conference gathering on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Check-In opens at 1:00 p.m. that afternoon.
  • July 1, 2024 (Monday): Everyone must depart campus. Dorm Checkout is from 7:00 – 10:00 am. No meals are provided on Monday. The conference is officially closed at 10:00 a.m that day.

A3: June 1, 2024, is the last day you may cancel your registration and obtain a full refund minus the nonrefundable deposit of $50 and any applicable fees if you paid online.

Cancel by emailing the registrars at registrar@rpiconference.org or sending a letter to Kim Backensto, 3303 7th Ave, Beaver Falls, PA 15010, and providing your name, address, and Registration ID.

The registrars will confirm your cancellation to you, so if you do not receive this confirmation please follow-up with them.

A4: The family discount is built in to the rooming fees being charged.

The family discount was established by the state of Indiana and Indiana Wesleyan University as a way to limit the lodging costs of families, which they define as people with the same physical mailing address. It is the reason we offer the various “suite” rates. However, these rates apply only to people with the same physical mailing address; if you mix in someone with a different mailing address – even if they’re a family member (e.g., a grandparent or grown child) we need to charge the people from the different address at the dorm room shared rate – even if there was room in your suite.

If you aren’t sure if you qualify for the suite rate, please ask the registrars.

A5: Yes. Please email our Operations folks (operations@rpiconference.org) and they will put you in touch with the appropriate people at IWU.

A6: Anyone under the age of 18 who is attending without a parent must have a responsible party designated. This responsible party must agree to their role, which (in the event you have problems during the conference) could include providing you early transportation home. The responsible party must be in attendance at the conference for the entire time you are in attendance, and must be age 21 or older.

To register, you or your parents should fill in the registration form, either online or on paper. The financially responsible party (for example, your parents) is listed as the “contact person.” The responsible party attending the conference is listed in the appropriate blank. Your information is provided as “Person 1.”

Note: The responsible party must be registered before you (the minor) can register.

A7: No early arrivals or late departures can be accommodated. There are a variety of hotels and motels in the Marion, Indiana, area. Check the Internet or with your travel agent if you need to arrange for accommodations before or after the conference.

Sometimes people discover travel arrangements would be easier (or less expensive) if they came a day (or more) in advance (or stayed a day or more after the conference ends) and ask if they can help with set-up and clean-up. In general, the conference staff can’t help with this.

If you’re a minor, the conference will not provide supervision outside the days your responsible person is in attendance. Your responsible person must be in attendance the entire time you attend.

A8: Yes; please make this as a comment in the “Special Needs” area of your registration form. Explain why you’re asking. Also, note that some of the dorms at Indiana Wesleyan University are equipped with elevators.

If you need special equipment (such as a rented scooter) mention the special room requirements on your registration form (the registrars need to know), but also be sure to email our Operations folks (operations@rpiconference.org) and discuss this with them.

A9: No; if a child can’t sleep in a bed or doesn’t have a bed assigned, you’ll need to bring whatever they’ll sleep in, such as a portable crib or a sleeping bag.

A10: A married couple can register two ways.

The lower cost option is for both of you to select “Dorm Room Shared Occupancy.” If you select that option you’ll be together in one half of a suite, and share the bathroom with whomever is on the other side. (Typically they’re very nice people.)

For more privacy (at higher cost), you may also both select “Dorm Room Single Occupancy.” In this way you’d each be reserving a room, so you would receive a two-bedroom dorm suite and would not share the bathroom with anyone else.

A11: Yes, you may; just fill it into the “Comments (roommate requests, suitemate requests)” area on the registration form. Please discuss this with the other couple in advance, and also have them fill out their registration form requesting you as suitemates.

Note that the family discount and suite rates only apply to people with the same physical address, so in the case of two couples sharing, the most economical rate will be for all of you to register as “dorm room shared.”

A12: Yes, you may! It’s not guaranteed, but the registrars will try. Just fill the name into the “Comments (roommate requests, suitemate requests)” area of the registration form. If there are more than two of you who want to share a suite, pick each other as roommates and tell us who you’d like.

Please make sure you arrange this with the other people in advance and have them request you as well.

We have numerous members of our extended family coming to the conference, and it would be great if we could all be near one another – a family reunion! Can we do that?

A13: This is great, but it requires advance planning and communication. Please coordinate among yourselves, register for the conference as early as possible, and send an email to the registrars explaining what you want to do.

Key points to remember are:

  • Start the process early.
  • Communicate with the registrars. Email, write a letter – communicate!
  • Be sure everyone involved registers for the conference early. Trying to add someone after groups of rooms have already been blocked out may not be possible.
  • Be flexible! If the registrars are putting several families together, they may not be able to accommodate requests such as family discounts, first-floor rooms, and single occupancies. Feel free to ask but realize that there are limits.
  • Be aware that if a large family requests a three-bedroom lodge suite and would like to be near their extended families who are mostly couples, you will probably not all be together. The lodge is expected to be used for larger families and is some distance from the dorms.

A14: Ask the registrars! We’ll try. Enter your request into the “Comments” area on the registration form, either online or on paper. Please discuss this with the other family in advance and have them fill out their registration form similarly.

If you have a complicated request involving multiple families, everyone involved needs to register as early as possible, and provide as much detail as possible to the registrars.

We want to be roomed near another family, but one of us is asking to be in the lodge, and the other is asking to be in the dorm. Will that work – will we be near each other?

A15: The lodges and the dorms are separate buildings, and in some cases across campus, so you may not be particularly close to each other.

A16: No. There are simply too many constraints to allow this to happen. The dorms are all nice, all air conditioned, and the registrars will do their best to match people with appropriate housing.

You are welcome to use the “Comments” area on your registration form to make requests such as: “Please room us near family ____.” The registrars will try to accommodate such requests.

If I stay in a lodge suite, may I make snacks?

A17: You may. Note that no dishes, cookware, or utensils are provided. Also, you must leave the kitchen clean – nothing may be left in the refrigerator and all spills must be cleaned.

A18: No. Everyone staying on campus must pay for meals.

A101: No. The language in our contract states that pets are not allowed:
“Alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, firearms, weapons, ammunition, fireworks, explosives, highly flammable materials, and pets are not allowed in any University building or on University properties.”

The university may make exceptions for service animals (please let Operations@rpiconference.org know) but no pets of any kind are allowed on campus.

A19: Please email the registrars to discuss. Please don’t submit a second registration form unless they ask you to; it’s usually easier to fix the first form than to deal with duplicates.

The registrars will be reviewing and confirming every registration to be sure nothing is out of place, and they will email you to confirm the cost and your room types. Do the best you can to make housing choices, and write us a note on the registration form or email the registrars if you have specific uncertainties.

A20: For adults, this is very useful information for the registrars when we are assigning rooms. Without a birth date we can’t tell whether a person is college-aged or elderly.

We will not publish information about ages of adults, share it with anyone else, or use it beyond what we need for rooming and associated conference matters, unless we first obtain permission. (That’s only ever happened for the oldest person at the conference).

Personal information is held in confidence and only used for specific needs related to planning and managing the conference

Is it OK if two singles share a form? Or several generations (grandparents, parents, children)?

A21: The “contact person” on the registration form is the financially responsible party for everyone on that form; they’ll receive the bills, and they’ll receive communication for the people on the form.

In general use one form for mailing address.

If you have a question, use multiple forms. Two adult singles who have different permanent addresses should fill out two forms.

If you are taking financial responsibility for someone – for example, if you are going to pay the fees for your adult child – fill out a separate form for them, under your name as the primary (billing) contact.

Note that registering on the same form does not automatically make you eligible for the family discount; that applies only to family members sharing the same permanent address.

A22: We project Indiana Wesleyan University to have adequate housing for our group, but it is possible all rooms will fill before the announced registration date, in which case the staff would restrict registration earlier.

Special housing choices, such as lodge suites and four-bedroom dorm suites, are limited availability, and your registration date will be considered in assigning those, although that’s not the sole factor; the registrars will also consider the needs of families to be housed together.

A23: The primary contact person on the registration form will be notified about any special requests after we are able to finalize room assignments. The registrars like to communicate, so you can count on hearing from them.

A24: If we can’t accommodate your request we’ll notify you by email, letting you know what options you have or where we have assigned you. We will include costs for any options and work with you to find the best solution. You’ll have plenty of time to adjust your budgetary expectations, particularly if you register early.

A102: Part-time attendees are limited to housing in the dorm rooms, unless there are family members attending full-time with room in their suite. While we want to accommodate a variety of attendance needs, suites are a relatively scarce commodity, and it’s better to get full-time use out of them.

I have several small children; may I put them all on the floor in sleeping bags to save money?

A25: Generally, people aged four and over must have a bed. That’s not inflexible – if doing so would place a young child in a room by themselves the registrars will work with you to find the best solution. There are some suites that can accommodate large families by adding portable cribs or sleeping bags in the living room (or even the closets, which are extraordinary). Check with the registrars if you need to explore these options.

A26: This is perfectly acceptable as long as you have permission from the child’s parents or legal guardians, take responsibility for the child you bring, and note all this in the comments section of your registration form.

Your family will still qualify for the family rate on your suite. However, since they’d have a different permanent address from you, the friend that you bring will be charged an individual housing fee plus the appropriate meal and program fees.

You need to let the registrars know the child is not a member of your immediate family. Write about this in the “comments” field of the registration form (either online or paper).

A27: Because he or she has a different permanent address than you, and so doesn’t qualify for the state of Indiana and Indiana Wesleyan University’s family discount policy.

A28: This practice doesn’t meet Indiana and Indiana Wesleyan University’s criteria for the family discount, so those who are mixed will be housed at the individual rate; in general you’ll pay more than you would with immediate families all together.

A29: The registrars will be reporting room assignments, on an individual room basis, to Indiana Wesleyan University, and we are required by contract to do so. Moving children around would mean those lists were incorrect, and it could create confusion in event of an emergency such as a fire.

It is against conference policy to change room assignments without arranging it in advance with the registrars.

We have several young children, so they’ll be staying in our suite. May we stay in a three-bedroom lodge and have my parents stay in one of those bedrooms, sharing the suite with us? That way they could help with child care.

A30: You may do this, but your parents would incur an additional rooming cost, assuming they have a different permanent address. They would not be included in the price of the suite, and would each be billed at the “Dorm Room Shared Occupancy” rate. They (or you on their behalf) should fill out a separate registration form, and indicate their desire to be roomed in your suite in the comments section.

I just compared what we’re paying with a friend who has a similar family size, and I’m paying a different amount than they are. How can that be?

A31: The family discount depends upon how many people with the same permanent address can be roomed in a single suite. There are several different suite sizes, generally distributed according to family needs and with consideration of your registration date. Thus, a variation in your families’ ages, or the date you registered, can make a difference in your housing cost.

Of course, if you think there’s a mistake in your charges, please email the registrars to inquire.

My spouse and I have one high-school student and one younger child. We could save money if the high school student was in the suite with the rest of us. May we do that?

A32: Generally, no. The conference houses high school students together, with counselors, because we think that’s an important part of the experience. However, if a high-school aged child has special needs or other circumstances apply, please let the registrars know so they can help you make the best rooming choices.

And do we need to pay the meal and program fee?

A33: Yes, everyone who has been born by the beginning of the conference will need to be registered. We need to account for everyone, both young and old. The program fee for that age group has been set low, and does need to be paid.

It’s your choice whether to include unborn children at the time you register or add them later. If you choose to include them on your form, you may use the name “Baby” and estimate their birth date. Either way, please email the registrars with the baby’s name, gender, and date of birth when you know the details.

And congratulations!

A34: If you registered online, this number was included in the confirmation email you should have received.

If you registered using a paper form, the registrars will provide this number to you.

If you lose your Registration ID number or for some reason don’t have one, email the registrars with your name and address information and we can look it up.

A35: No, you don’t. When you register online you’ll receive an email with a unique identifier, your “Registration ID” number. Once you have that, you can split your payments up into multiple checks or online payments as you like. Do remember that you must pay at least $50 (non-refundable) before your registration will be confirmed, and you must be paid in full before June 1, 2024, or your registration is subject to cancellation.

A36: You may pay either by mailing a check, or online. Both methods are described below.

  • To register online and pay using a check, first register, and then write a check payable to “RP International” and mail it to Kim Backensto, 3303 7th Ave, Beaver Falls, PA 15010. Include the “Registration ID” number that was provided in your confirmation email.
  • To register online and pay online, first register, and then go to the online payment page of the conference site, which will walk you through the process.
    • You can pay online using your bank account. You’ll be charged a non-refundable convenience fee of 1% for this type of payment.
    • You can also pay online using a credit or debit card, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, JCL, or Diners Club. You’ll be charged a non-refundable convenience fee of 3.5% for paying online using a credit card.

The convenience fees represent costs the conference pays for accepting these forms of payments. You can avoid fees by mailing a check or money order to the registrars.

A39: This has nothing to do with the conference, but we were warned about this by the online payment company.

It’s common for banks to set daily limits on debit card transactions, and it’s common for those limits to be similar to the amount of cash you can withdraw from an ATM – perhaps $250 per day. An attempt to spend more than that will result in a rejection, just as if you’d overspent your available cash – even though you have the money in your account.

Your choices are to call your bank in advance and set up a one-time increase, or to break the payment over several days – or to mail a check.

A40: The conference is charged fees for accepting online payments. The online payment option is offered as a convenience, and those who take advantage of that convenience pay the associated “convenience fee.”

When you make an online payment, the registrars will assess – 1% for bank withdrawals, 3.5% for credit cards. Thus, if you want to be credited for paying $50, you’ll need to pay $50.50 with a bank account ($50 + 1% convenience fee) or $51.75 with a credit card ($50 + 3.5% convenience fee.)

In general, convenience fees are not refundable. We’ll try, but we don’t expect to be able to refund them.

A46: We’re not in a position to directly accept currencies other than US dollars. However, you may pay online using a credit or debit card, which will accept all major currencies (including Japanese yen, UK pounds, and Euros) and make the conversion to US dollars. If that’s not practical, please email the registrars to discuss options such as wire transfers.

A50: The Board to Address Disability Concerns would like to provide financial help for any person with disabilities, as well as their caregiver. Please contact Bill Weir by email (weirbnr@gmail.com) or phone (412-872-7123)