We’re introducing a more flexible way to manage appointment booking rules: Configuration-Style Appointment Booking Settings. This update gives administrators significantly more control over how and when students can book appointments.
This article explains what’s changing, how the system works, and what to expect during the transition.
*Note: Still on Legacy Settings? You can find more details on that configuration here. we’re preparing to deprecate several legacy features—Research Tools, Legacy Appointment Settings, and Legacy Outcome Site Settings—on July 1, 2026. Learn how to make the switch below!
Sections
- What are Configuration-Style Appointment Settings?
- Creating a Configuration
- Editing Appointment Booking Configurations
- Searching Appointment Configurations
- How Multiple Booking Rules Apply to Students
- Appointment Block Eligibility vs. Appointment Booking Settings
- Legacy vs. New Appointment Settings: How the Transition Works
- Frequently Asked Questions
What are Configuration-Style Appointment Settings?
Previously, appointment rules were applied broadly and managed in a more rigid structure. The new model introduces configurations, which let you define booking rules based on combinations of:
Student Group,
College, and/or
Appointment Type.
This unlocks powerful new use cases, including:
Applying different rules to first-year vs. second-year students
Customizing rules by college (e.g., Business vs. Arts)
Restricting durations and booking rules for specific targeted groups
Managing all appointment booking rules from a single interface
It is important to note that Appointment Booking Settings do NOT replace eligibility, Configurations should be thought of as restrictions. If a student group or college does not have a configuration for a specific appointment type then they have no restrictions on when they can book that appointment type. More detail on this below.
Creating a Configuration
Navigate to the Appointments site settings page under Site Management > Site Settings > Appointments and select the "+ New" button in the Appointment Booking Settings section to create a new configuration.
If no configurations exist yet, you’ll see the message:
No configurations found. Use the “New” button above to create your first configuration!
From there a window will slide-out on the side of the page allowing you to configure the Booking Settings:
Editing Appointment Booking Configurations
There are several options to specify who the rules apply to (via Student Group, College, and Appointment Type) and what those restrictions are (Booking Start, Cutoff, Limits, etc).
Configuration Scope (Who it Applies to)
When building a configuration you can select one or more of the following attributes:
Student Group(s)
College(s) (if enabled for your platform)
Appointment Type(s)
Each of these attributes is optional and supports multi-select, but at least one value must be selected from at least one attribute in order to save a configuration - you cannot create a configuration that applies to no one. Finally, it is not possible to create duplicate configurations, if an exact match already exists, you’ll see an error:
“A configuration for this exact combination already exists.”
Booking Rules (What is Restricted)
Each configuration includes required booking rules:
-
Booking Start (Days Before)
- Controls how far in advance students can book.
Example: Set to 7 to prevent booking more than one week ahead.
- Controls how far in advance students can book.
-
Booking Cutoff (Hours Before)
Controls how close to the appointment start time students can book.
Example: Set to 12 to prevent same-day bookings.
-
Cancellation Cutoff (Hours Before)
Controls how close to the appointment start time students can cancel.
Example: Set to 24 to prevent cancellations within 24 hours.
-
Booking Limit Frequency
Defines how many upcoming appointments a student can hold at once.
Combines number of appointments + frequency
Example: “2 / All the time” prevents students from holding more than two upcoming appointments at once.
*Note: Booking Start and Booking Limit rules only consider appointments with an Active status.
Duration by Appointment Type (Optional)
If appointment types are included in the configuration it is possible to specify what durations are available for students the configuration applies to for each appointment type that was selected above. Currently 12twenty Supports durations of 15, 20, 30, 40, 45, 60, and 90 minutes. This makes it easy to enforce rules like:
“First-year students can only book a 60-minute Intake Appointment.”
*Note: selecting a duration is optional, if no duration is checked and all are left blank then students can book for all durations.
All configurations are displayed as cards within the Appointment Booking Settings section, similar to other configuration-style settings across the platform.
Card Content
Each card displays the configuration's scope:
Student Group(s)
College(s)
Appointment Type(s)
Values are shown as comma-separated lists for quick scanning.
Card Actions
Edit – Opens the configuration modal for expanded viewing/updates
Delete – Opens a confirmation modal to prevent accidental removal
Searching Appointment Configurations
As your number of configurations grows built-in filters make it easy to find and validate the rules you’ve created.
At the top of the Appointment Booking Settings section, admins can filter configurations by Student Group, College, and Appointment Type.These filters are applied using an AND relationship so that only configurations matching all selected filters are returned.
Using two or more categories of filters in combination uses an OR relationship,students must meet at least one requirement from all included filters.
In the example below the settings will only apply if a student is BOTH a First Year FTMBA AND in the College of Engineering OR the College of Business:
This works the same for all filters, if we add Second Year FTMBA in the Student Group filter in addition to First Year, any combination of students from at least one of those Student Groups and Colleges would meet the criteria for those settings.
How Multiple Booking Rules Apply to Students
It is now possible to have multiple Appointment Booking Configurations apply to the same student. When a student attempts to book an appointment the system evaluates all configurations to determine which rules apply based on two core factors:
The Student Group(s) and/or College(s) defined on the configuration
The student’s assigned student groups and colleges, and the appointment type they are attempting to book
Step One: Most Specific Configuration → Least Restrictive Configuration
It’s common for multiple configurations to apply to a single student. When that happens, the system starts by reviewing who the settings apply to. Configurations with more matching attributes take priority over broader configurations.
Example: Most Specific Match
A student belongs to the following student groups and colleges:
Student Groups: Current Students, Honors Society
Colleges: College of Business
Configurations exist as follows:
Configuration 1: Current Students
Configuration 2: Current Students + College of Business
Configuration 3: Current Students + College of Business + Appointment Type: Mock Interview
Configuration 5: Current Students + College of Education
Configuration 6: Current Students + College of Education + Appointment Type: Mock Interview
Configuration 7: Current Students + College of Education + Appointment Type: General Check-In
Then the behavior would depend on what the student tried to book:
-
If the student books Appointment Type: Mock Interview, Configuration 3 applies
This is the most specific configuration that applies to the students, the other configurations that include this Appointment Type are for the College of Education.
-
If the student books Appointment Type: General Check-In, Config 2 applies.
This student is not in the College of Education so Configuration 7 does not apply to them, the next most specific applicable configuration for this student is Configuration 2.
The configuration with the greatest specificity for the given appointment type is always selected first.
Step Two: Least Restrictive Rule Wins (When Specificity Is Equal)
If more than one configuration applies at the same specificity level, the system evaluates individual rules and applies the least restrictive option. This can occur for students who have multiple colleges on their profile and a site is configured with two separate configurations for each college.
Example: Least Restrictive Rule
A student belongs to the following student groups:
Student Groups: Current Students
Colleges: College of Business, College of Education
Configurations exist as follows:
-
Configuration 1: Current Students
No Rules or Limitations
-
Configuration 2: Current Students + College of Business
Limits Appointment Type: General Check-In to 30 minutes
Sets Booking Cutoff to 5 hours
Allows 2 appointments / All the time
-
Configuration 3: Current Students + College of Education
Limits Appointment Type: General Check-In to 45 minutes
Sets Booking Cutoff to 10 hours
Allows 1 appointment / Week
Result:
Students may book either 30 or 45 minutes
The less restrictive 10 hour booking cutoff is enforced; students cannot book within 10 hours of the appointment start time
Students may book 1 appointment per week
In all cases, the system favors the rule that allows greater flexibility for the student.
Appointment Block Eligibility vs. Appointment Booking Settings
Please note that Appointment Booking Settings do not replace Appointment Block Eligibility, students must still be eligible on an Appointment Block in order to book an appointment. You can find details about Appointment Blocks and Eligibility in the Academy Article here.
This also means that if a student is eligible for an appointment block that includes an Appointment Type, students can book for that Appointment Type. This means that students without Appointment Booking Settings configured for a specific appointment type can book that appointment without any restrictions. To prevent a student from booking an appointment type:
- Do not include that student's group/college/etc. on Appointment Blocks that include Appointment Types we do not want them to book
- Create an Appointment Booking Configuration that prevents students from booking that appointment type.
Again, if there is no Appointment Booking Configuration for an Appointment Type and Student combination, those students can book that Appointment Type without any restrictions.
Example: Eligible vs. Restricted
Let's take the same example student from before:
Student Groups: Current Students
Colleges: College of Business
And the same configuration:
-
Configuration: Current Students + College of Business
-
Limits Appointment Type:
General Check-In to 30 minutes
Mock Interview to 45 Minutes
No other Appointment Types are configured
Sets Booking Cutoff to 5 hours
Allows 2 appointments / All the time
-
But now we must also consider the appointment block the student wishes to book:
Appointment Types: General Check-In, Mock Interview, Exit Interview
Eligibility: All Student Groups, All Colleges
Result:
The student can only book 30 or 45 minute appointments for General Check-Ins and Mock Interviews because the student is configured for those appointment types. The other rules apply to these appointment types as well, booking can't be done within 5 hours of the appointment and only 2 future appointment can be booked at any time.
The student can book Exit Interviews appointments on this block without any restrictions because none are configured under Appointment Site Settings. If we did not want these students booking Exit Interviews we would need to remove that Appointment Type from the Appointment Block or configure that Appointment Type so it was impossible for these students to book.
Legacy vs. New Appointment Settings: How the Transition Works
To ensure a smooth rollout, legacy appointment settings are still available. The new configuration style is opt-in and controlled by a simple toggle.
Enabling the New Appointment Booking Settings
Your appointment site settings page now includes a standard toggle labeled Enable New Appointment Settings:
Toggle OFF → Legacy (v1) appointment settings are in effect
Toggle ON → New configuration-style (v2) appointment settings are in effect, legacy settings are hidden
This allows admins to:
Safely test the new settings
Transition on their own timeline
Switch back to legacy settings if needed (with previous settings preserved)
Important: While legacy settings are supported today, all platforms will eventually be migrated to configuration-style settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are students able to book during the cutoff window configured under Site Settings?
This is usually because the student is eligible on an Appointment Block with an Appointment Type that they are not Configured for under Appointment Site Settings. To identify which Appointment Types are causing the issue, try booking an appointment as that student:
In this example our student is still able to book General Career Coaching Appointments, this means we need to configure an Appointment Booking Configuration for this General Career Coaching Appointment Type for this student's Group that prevent them from booking it, you can find these steps above.