How do I schedule online meetings?

Schedule a single or recurring online meeting with the Online Meetings tool powered by Zoom.

For the best experience hosting or joining online meetings, install the Zoom client (opens new window) on your PC or Mac or add the Zoom app to your mobile device. 

Alternatively, a Zoom web client (opens new window) is available for those who are unable to install the full client.

Go to Online Meetings.

Select the Online Meetings tool from the Tool Menu of your site.

Select the Schedule a New Meeting button.

Enter the meeting topic.

  1. The Topic will default to the site title and should be modified to distinguish it from other meetings, e.g., Week 1 Lecture.
  2. An optional description may also be added.

Set the meeting date, time, duration, and time zone.

  1. By default, the meeting date and time are set to today's date, starting at the next hour. For example, if you start creating a meeting on June 25, 2019 at 12:10 pm, your meeting date and time will default to 06/25/2019 at 1:00 PM.

    To set a different start date and time, edit the date and time in the When fields. The date must be in the format of dd/mm/yyyy and the time in h:mm. Alternatively, you can click on a date in the calendar that pops up when you click in the Date field, or use the drop-down menu to select a Time.
  2. By default, the meeting Duration is set to 1 hr 0 min. Set the desired duration in hours and minutes.
  3. Check that the Time Zone is set to your correct time zone. If it is not, select it from the corresponding menu.

Set meeting recurrence. (Optional)

To schedule a recurring meeting:

  1. Select the Recurring meeting check box.
  2. Set the Recurrence. Options include Daily, Weekly, and Monthly.
  3. From the Repeat every menu, select how often the meeting will be held.
  4. For a weekly or monthly meeting, select the day(s) of the week or month when the meeting Occurs.
  5. Set the End date for the meeting either By a specific date or After a specific number of occurrences.

Require registration. (Optional)

If Registration is Required, attendees must register for the meeting with their name and email address. After saving your meeting, a registration link will be available for you to provide to potential attendees.

Note: The Registration option is not recommended for meetings that will only include participants in your UVACollab site.

Set meeting security settings.

  1. Required: Set a passcode for your Zoom meeting. You can choose to use the generated passcode or create your own by typing in this field.
  2. Optional: Enable a waiting room that will require you to admit participants into a meeting.

Note: UVA Zoom requires a passcode for all newly created meetings. Passcodes are automatically added to new meetings and embedded into meeting links.

Set video and audio options.

  1. By default, the Video settings for both the Host and Participants are turned off. Turning on video will cause a host's or participant's webcam to turn on automatically when they join the meeting.
  2. The Audio settings indicate how attendees can access the meeting audio, by Telephone, Computer Audio, or Both.  It is recommended to leave the default setting of Both to allow participants to call in via telephone for audio.

Tip: For online classes and large meetings, the default video setting of off is recommended for participants, as having many participants' cameras on at once may affect meeting performance, causing delays.

Enable preferred meeting options.

Meeting Options allow you to control participant entry to a meeting, and enable automatic recording.

  1. Enable join before host is selected by default. This option allows attendees to access the meeting before the host joins or when the host cannot attend the meeting.
  2. Mute participants upon entry will mute all participants' microphones as they join the meeting.
  3. Use Personal Meeting ID will open the meeting in your Personal Meeting Room. For more information about the Personal Meeting ID, see Zoom's FAQ: Personal Meeting ID (opens new window).
  4. Only authenticated users can join will allow you to limit the participants to those with UVA email addresses or require a Zoom log in.
  5. Record the meeting automatically will start recording upon entry of the first person to join the meeting. Enabling this option will prompt you to select whether the recording will be saved on the local computer or in the cloud.

Note: Using your Personal Meeting ID is not recommended when scheduling a meeting for a course, especially if the meeting will be recorded. All recordings made within your personal meeting room will be titled with your name and Personal Meeting Room.

Tips:

  • The setting Mute participants upon entry is recommended for online classes. Muting the microphone of anyone who is not speaking is a best practice to avoid background noise and allow students to stay focused on the lecture or discussion.
  • If a meeting is recorded in the cloud, you and other participants in your UVACollab site will be able to access it via the site. For more information, see How do I access a recording of an online meeting?
  • Please see the ITS Zoom Security Recommendations (opens new window) for other recommended settings.

Add alternative hosts. (Optional)

You may designate Alternative Hosts to your meeting by entering their UVA email address.

An alternative host must be a Zoom Pro user under the UVA account with Zoom. Preferably, alternative hosts should be participants in your UVACollab site.

Save your meeting.

Select the Save button to schedule your meeting.

Get additional help.

Questions about scheduling, joining, or accessing recordings via the Online Meetings tool in UVACollab can be addressed to [email protected].

For online tutorials and help with features in Zoom, visit the Zoom Help Center (opens new window).