Answer:

Yes, there is lots of data, collected over the past 20—30 years.

Published course registration deadlines almost always hold down or reduce your registration potential. 
We do not recommend published course registration deadlines.

You will have more registrations if you eliminate published course registration deadlines.

There’s at least two reasons why fewer people register than would otherwise:

1.People do not appreciate negative incentives. 
Negative incentives rarely, and in our business almost never, motivate people. 
Instead, more people are negatively incentivized, perceive deadlines as onerous, or just use a deadline as an excuse for inertia.

2.Our instant 21st century world increases later registrations. 
People have always registered later than they make the decision to attend.

The classic study was done by the Kansas Bar Association, which found that even for in-state (no airplane travel needed) seminars, 
people made the decision much earlier (often months) before they registered. So even before online registration and “just in time” a portion of people registered close to the event. 
But now with instant registration online, more people register closer to the even than ever. This will continue.

For our online courses for the public, for example, we know that 15% of our registrations come after the online course has started. So we take registrations through the first week (a quarter of the way through the monthlong courses). Even then, occasionally we get a registration from someone who wants to sign up in the second week, almost half way through the course.

Every continuing education organization is reporting people registering closer to the time of their courses/events.

Quite simply, by publishing course registration deadlines you are turning away a lot of money.

Now here’s what you will want to do to manage your courses, because some staff do indeed raise legitimate concerns that need to be addressed.

A.Publish an Early Registration Deadline. Never have a “late registration” fee. Simply call your existing fee the “Early Registraton Fee” and raise your current fee and call it your regular fee. Early Registration Deadlines almost always incentivize some people and get people to register by that deadline.

So you get as many registrations in as possible without turning away people and without bruising some of your members’ feelings and attitude to ASQ.

B.Call the Early Registration Deadline a “Guarantee” on meals, etc. Some events involve ordering meals, and caterers want deadlines. So state in writing that registering by a certain date “guarantees” the meal or reception or whatever you need F&B-wise. It may not mean other people don’t get a meal, as caterers often have a 5% or 10% ability at the last minute, but your attendees are notified and they will not resent or have a complaint if you are not able to deliver on a meal (call Subway). Same with a manual or handouts.

C.Cancellation decisions. Yes, you have to make cancellation decisions. You keep a track record of when registrations come in, have a historical record, use the percentages of history to make your decisions, and figure out a fudge or hedge number to keep your wrong-guesses within a financial range. This actually maximizes your income. It does not detract from it. One of our LERN members has an automated algorithm that makes the decisions for them far better than staff person judgment.

D.Set price to cover added costs. If you have to overnight an extra manual, or print another name tag, take that into consideration when setting your “regular” price. At all times, a) take the money; and b) set fees to cover any additional expense for last minute registrations.

Finally, remember retention, loyalty and repeat business. A last minute customer might be your best future customer.

Thanks for asking Jason. Let me know other concerns or questions related to your question,.

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