References
Ask applicants to name people who will vouch for them, email each person one shared reference form, and track invitation status from the profile and portal.
Ask applicants to name people who will vouch for them. Each person they name is emailed a short form to fill out. You track who was invited, who replied, and whether a message bounced, without waiting on the reference to finish before the applicant continues.
How it works
- On the application form Settings, turn on Ask for References? and pick one Reference Form.
- The applicant names each reference (first name, last name, email) on the application.
- Campium emails each person a link to that shared form.
- Staff review status on the applicant's profile Forms tab. Applicants can check progress on My References on the portal.
Everyone the applicant names fills out the same reference form. You no longer link two separate forms for two references.
Applicants are not held up waiting for references to reply. References Required only controls how many people they must name before they can continue.
Turn on references for a form
Open Forms in the left navigation, open the application form, then open the Settings tab.
Ask for references
Set Ask for References? to Yes. Helper text explains that applicants name people who will vouch for them and each person is emailed a short form.
Pick the Reference Form
Under Reference Form, choose the form each reference fills out. The first option is -- Choose a form --. Pick an existing form (for example a recommendation questionnaire). Forms from another season show (different season) after the name.
Saving Ask for References? as No clears the reference form and turns the feature off for this application.
Set how many are required
Under References Required, choose Optional (0) or 1 through 10. This is how many people the applicant must name before they can submit. It does not wait for those people to reply.
Choose where the block appears
Under Where References Appear, choose:
- At the top of the form
- At the bottom of the form
- After a section (then pick the section; the block goes directly after it)
If you choose After a section and the form has no sections yet, the block goes at the bottom.
Add instructions (optional)
Use Reference Instructions for copy shown above the reference questions, such as who counts as a good reference.
Set reminders (optional)
Under Remind References After, choose Do not send reminders, or a number of days from 1 to 90 to nudge someone who has not replied.
Save
Click Save Settings.
Older two-form setup
If a form still uses the older Reference One Form / Reference Two Form setup, Settings shows a yellow notice:
Action needed: this form uses the older reference setup.
Applications already submitted still show their references, and any link already emailed still opens. This form will not send any new reference requests until you choose a Reference Form above. Pick one form for everyone to fill out (or combine the two into a single form), then save.
What the applicant sees
On the application, a References section appears where you placed it.
- Required count intro: Please give us one reference (or N references), with a note that you will email each person a short form and the applicant can carry on while they wait.
- Optional intro when none are required: they can still add a reference if they want.
- Each row is labeled Reference 1, Reference 2, and so on, with First name, Last name, and Email address.
- Add another reference adds a row. Remove deletes one (with a confirm if that person may already have been emailed).
- As they type, a live line confirms: we will email that address asking that person to complete a reference.
- Self-references and duplicate emails are refused. A reference has to be someone else on a different address.
After an invitation goes out, the row shows status such as Invitation sent, Reminder sent, Completed, We could not deliver to this address, or Not sent yet. Invitation and reminder badges can include the send date.
My References on the portal
Applicants (and others who named references) can open My References at /references/ on your portal.
- The page lists each request grouped by form, with status and Sent / Completed dates.
- Send again resends the invitation when allowed.
- During a cooldown, the button is disabled with You can send again in N minutes (or minutes wording for the remaining wait).
- After the self-send cap is reached, the page tells them to ask the camp to send it again.
- Change email address opens a small form to correct a typo. Existing emailed links keep working; the new address is used the next time the invitation is sent.
There is no separate top-nav label for this page yet. Share the portal path or bookmark when families need it. Staff remove a reference from the profile card, not from this page.
Track references on a profile
Open the person's profile → Forms tab. When references exist, a References card appears above the forms list.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Reference | Name |
| Address on the invitation | |
| Status | Same plain-language status the applicant sees |
| Sent | How many times the invitation was sent |
| Last sent | Most recent send |
Row menu actions:
- Resend invitation
- Change email address
- Remove (confirm if they may already have been emailed; their link stops working)
Reference-form submissions on the same Forms tab can show a Reference badge on the row.
Access follows the Forms tab permission. There is no separate references permission.
Reference Request email
Campium seeds a Reference Request email template the first time your camp sends a reference invite. Edit it under Communication → Emails (template name Reference Request).
The default subject names the applicant. The body includes a Complete the reference link for the recipient.
Tips
- Build the reference questionnaire as its own form first, then select it under Reference Form on the application.
- Keep References Required at the number you actually need. Higher counts add more outbound email and follow-up.
- If a family says a code or invitation failed, check status on the profile References card for We could not deliver to this address before resending.
- Cloning a form for a new season copies these reference settings. Confirm Reference Form still points at the form you want for the new season.