Before families can register, Campminder needs to know what they're registering for. Session groups, sessions, and programs form the backbone of your enrollment setup. Because they're non-seasonal, you build them once and reuse them every year — just update dates and activate each season.
If you haven't yet set up your user groups and divisions, do that before building your session structure.
What you'll learn:
How session groups, sessions, and programs relate to each other — and what parents see on the application
How to define each component in the correct order
Which components are required and which are optional for your camp type
Video Walkthrough
Understand the Structure Before You Build
Before you touch anything in Campminder, take a moment to map out your structure on paper.
The three concepts work like this:
Session Groups — the bold headers on the application. They act like folders that organize your sessions into categories (Resident Camp, Day Camp, Specialty Camps). Every camp needs at least one.
Sessions — the timeframes campers can attend (Full Summer, Session 1, Week 3). These live inside session groups.
Programs — optional secondary selections within a session (Basketball, Theater, Horseback Riding). Only use programs if parents need to make an additional choice beyond the session itself.
📋 Note: Session groups and sessions are required. Programs are optional — only create them if your camp structure needs that second level of selection. A parent can only choose one program per session.
💡 Tip: Think through your entire structure before creating anything in Campminder. A residential camp with a single full summer session needs a very different setup than a day camp offering weekly sessions with half-day options.
Define Your Session Groups
Session groups are broad categories that organize your sessions. They act like folders for different types of camp experiences.
Navigate to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings. Hover over Definitions in the upper right and click Session Groups.
Click the green Define New button.
Enter a Session Group Name and an optional description. The description appears on the application and is a good place to briefly describe what's in the group.
Set the state to Active.
Click Save to create one group, or Save + Add to create more.
When finished, click Close.
To reorder how groups appear on the application, click the Arrange button and drag them into your preferred order. Save your changes.
💡 Tip: Don't include dates in your session group names. These are templates that carry forward year to year — names like "Resident Camp" and "Day Camp" age better than "Summer 2024 Resident Camp."
📋 Note: Every camp needs at least one session group. If you only have one type of camp, a single group named "Summer Camp" works fine. Session groups are also tied to pricing rules in Financial Administration, so even a single-group setup still needs one defined.
🎯 Try it now: Go to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings > Definitions > Session Groups and create your first session group with a real name you'd use. Set it to Active and save. Come back when you've done it.
Define Your Sessions
In Campminder, sessions represent the time campers attend camp. They're non-seasonal, so you can reuse them each year, and update or add new ones anytime.
Navigate to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings, hover over Definitions and click Sessions
Click the green Define New button.
Enter a Session Name and an optional internal code. If you supply a code, reports and filters will reference it instead of the full name — useful for shorthand in internal records.
Select the session type: Residential, Day, or Both. This affects how the session appears in transportation settings.
Enter a Description and optionally upload an image. The description appears on the application; the image appears on your Dates & Rates page only.
💡Tip: click on the image below to enlarge
Under Increment Years at Camp, select Yes if completing this session should count toward a camper's total years at camp. Select No for shorter introductory sessions like a Rookie Weekend.
Select which information to display on your Dates & Rates page: the session itself, total cost, deposit amount, and/or spaces remaining.
Set the state to Active and click Save or Save + Add.
When finished, click Close.
💡 Tip: Use timeless names like "Session 1," "Full Summer," or "August Camp" instead of names with years. You'll reuse these definitions every season.
📋 Note: Sessions must fit within defined timeframes. You'll set actual dates each season in the Sessions Tab — not here in Definitions.
🎯 Try it now: Go to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings > Definitions > Sessions and define at least one real session for your camp. Set the type, add a description, and save. Come back when you're done.
Define Your Programs (Optional)
Only complete this section if your camp offers secondary selections within a session. If parents simply choose a session and move on, skip this entirely.
Navigatge to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings, hover over Definitions and click Programs.
Click the green Define New button.
Enter a Program Name, an optional internal code, and a Description. The description appears on the application.
💡Tip: click on the image below to enlarge
Optionally upload an image — this appears on your Dates & Rates page, not on the application.
Select which information to display on your Dates & Rates page.
Set the state to Active and click Save or Save + Add.
When finished, click Close.
📋 Note: Campers can only select one program per session. If you want parents to make multiple selections, consider using Additional Options instead.
💡 Tip: After defining programs, you'll attach them to specific sessions in the Sessions Tab — that's covered in the next article.
🎯 Try it now: If your camp uses programs, go to Admin > Camper Setup > Season Settings > Definitions > Programs and define at least one. If you don't need programs, move on.
Tips & Examples
💡 Tip: A day camp offering weekly sessions with no specialty focus needs: one session group (Day Camp), five or six sessions (Week 1 through Week 6), and no programs. Simple and clean.
💡 Tip: A residential camp offering specialty tracks needs: one session group (Resident Camp), sessions for each timeframe (Full Summer, July Camp, August Camp), and programs for each track (Traditional, Horseback Riding, CIT). Parents choose the session first, then pick their program.
💡 Tip: If you upgraded to enhanced registration from an older version of Campminder, your previous definitions were automatically migrated. Review them before adding new ones.
Session Group Example:
Each session group appears as a bold header on the camper application. Parents expand a group to view its available sessions.
Before you move on, check yourself:
Can you explain the difference between a session group, a session, and a program — and what each one looks like to a parent on the application?
Have you defined at least one session group and one session?
Do you know whether your camp needs programs, and why?
Ready for the next step?
Configure Your Season Settings — set auto-enroll rules, capacity type, waitlist behavior, and hold timers for each session group
Activate and Set Up Sessions for the Season — connect your definitions to this season and set dates, grades, and capacity