What it does
When creating an event, you choose its audience — by role, by group, or by naming individual people — and that audience controls who sees the event on their calendar. Invitees on RSVP events respond with Going, Maybe, or No directly from the event's detail panel.
Who it's for
Event organizers (program administrators, coordinators, program directors) decide the audience. Learners, faculty, and anyone else invited to an event see it on their calendar and respond when a response is requested.
How it works
On the event form's Audience section, pick any combination of:
Roles — everyone holding that role through an active program membership (for example, all PGY-2 residents).
Groups — members of a platform group.
Individuals — specific people from the program roster, added as named participants.
Leaving the audience empty makes the event generally available within its program or institution scope rather than targeted.
Visibility. An event is visible on your calendar when any of these apply: you created it, you're a named participant, one of your active roles or groups was invited, you manage the calendar for one of the event's programs (or its institution), or the event is public and you belong to the institution it's shared with.
RSVP. Events marked as requiring a response show an RSVP section in the detail panel with three choices — Going, Maybe, and No. Your response saves to the event's participant list and can be changed any time before the event ends.
Before you start
Only the event's organizer sets or changes the audience — invitees can't add themselves to an invite-only event.
RSVP only appears on events marked as requiring a response; other events show no response buttons.
Do this
Select an event on your calendar → the event's detail panel opens.
In the detail panel, look for the RSVP Required section → you should see Going, Maybe, and No buttons if a response is expected.
Select the button that matches your plans → confirm the button you chose is now highlighted.
To change your answer, reopen the event and select a different button → confirm the new choice replaces the old one.
You're done when
✓ Your chosen response (Going, Maybe, or No) is highlighted in the event's detail panel.
✓ The organizer's participant list reflects your response.
✓ You can still change your answer any time before the event ends.
Boundaries and limits
RSVP applies only to events created on the platform calendar. Rotations, shifts, sessions, and other read-only schedule items have no RSVP.
On invite-only events, only people already on the invitation can respond; others cannot add themselves.
RSVP closes once the event has ended — past events no longer accept responses.
There is no "pending" response state. Until someone responds, they simply have no recorded answer.
Responding No records the decline but does not remove the person from the event or its expected-attendee list.
Role-based invitations reach people through active program memberships; someone whose membership has ended does not see the event through that role.
An event cannot be public and invite-only at the same time.
Invitations appear on invitees' platform calendars; creating an event does not send email invitations from the calendar.
Common questions
Q: Can someone forward an invite-only event to a colleague? A: No. Only the event's organizer can change the audience. People not on the invitation cannot respond, and the event does not appear on their calendar unless it is public or they manage the program's calendar.
Q: Can I change my RSVP? A: Yes, any time until the event ends. Pick a different response in the event panel and it replaces your previous one.
Q: I invited a role — who exactly sees the event? A: Everyone with an active program membership in that role at the time they view the calendar. New people who join the role later see it too; people who leave the role stop seeing it.
Q: Does declining hide the event from my calendar? A: No. The event stays visible with your No recorded, so you can revisit and change your response if plans change.
Related articles