Respond to Study Invitation

When someone invites you to join their study class, you’ll receive an invitation that you can accept or decline. This guide covers how to respond to invitations and what happens in each scenario.

Prerequisites

This guide assumes you already have a BookFellows account. If you don’t have one, join BookFellows to create your account.

Receive an Invitation

Invitations arrive in two ways:

Email Notification

You’ll receive an email with:

Study title and description
Class name and details
Inviter’s name
Your suggested role (Member or Leader)
Personal message from the inviter (if included)
Link to open BookFellows and respond

Once you have opened BookFellows (which may include a joining process), you can respond to the invitation alert from the Home page.

In-App Notification

When you log in to BookFellows or navigate to the Home page, you will see an invitation alert banner at the top of the Home page.

You can now respond to the invitation alert from the Home page.

Open Invitation and Prepare to Respond

Before responding, review the complete invitation:

Click on the invitation to see its details on a new page
Review the invitation information:
- Study: Title, description, creator, and edition
- Inviter: Who sent the invitation
- Your Suggested Role: Member or Leader
Review the tabs to help you decide:
- Class tab (default): Review the class you’re being invited to join
  - Class name and description
  - When it was created and who manages it
  - Current number of members
  - List of participants with their roles
- Lessons tab: Preview the lessons by clicking on them to drill down and see the content
- Attachments tab: Preview any attachments that may be available to support the study
- Respond to Invitation tab: Review the personal message from the inviter and a note from BookFellows about your engagement status
Assess whether this study is right for you

Accept an Invitation

To join the class and begin studying:

Select the Respond to Invitation tab
Click Accept at the bottom of the tab
Confirm your acceptance
Your study instance is created immediately and the inviter is notified of your acceptance by email

What Happens When You Accept?

There are three alternative scenarios:

If this is a new study for you: (most common)

BookFellows creates your personal study instance
You join the class with your assigned role
You can access the study on the Studies page
You can begin working through lessons immediately

If you’re already engaged with this study solo:

Your existing study is reassigned to the class
All your answers and notes move with you
You continue your personal study as before
Your solo study becomes a class study
You can now choose to share answers with your fellow class members and leaders

If you’re in another class for this study:

You’ll be asked to confirm switching classes
Your existing study is reassigned to the new class
All your answers and notes move with you
You leave your previous class automatically
Your previous class members will no longer see your shared answers
If you were sharing answers before, sharing will be turned off for this new class
You can now share your answers with the new class if you choose to

After Accepting

Once you’ve accepted, you can Participate in Personal Study to begin your study work and Participate in Class Discussion to engage with your class.

Your role in the class determines your type of participation:

As a Member:

Work through lessons at your own pace
Answer questions and make notes
Optionally share answers with members and leaders in the class
View shared answers from others
Participate in discussion sessions

As a Leader:

All the responsibilities of a Member, plus:
Help guide class discussions
Collaborate with the class manager (if you are not the class manager yourself)
Support other class members
Facilitate learning conversations

Decline an Invitation

If the class is not for you for any reason:

Select the Respond to Invitation tab
Click Decline
Confirm your decision
The inviter is notified of your decision by email

What Happens When You Decline

If you’re not currently engaged in this study:

The invitation is removed
The inviter receives a notification
No study instance is created
You can still access the study from the Library if you like

If you’re already studying this solo:

The invitation is declined
You continue your solo study as before
Your answers and notes remain as they were
The inviter receives a notification

If you’re in another class for this study:

The invitation is declined
You remain in your current class
Your current answers and notes remain as they were
The inviter receives a notification

After Declining

You can still:

Start a solo study of the same content from the Library
Accept future invitations to other classes
Start your own class for the study
Join different studies

Best Practices

Before Responding:

Read the full invitation details including study information
Review the Class tab to see who you’ll be studying with
Preview lessons in the Lessons tab if you’re not familiar with the study
Check the Attachments tab for supporting materials
Check your schedule and capacity
Consider your interest level
Contact the inviter (outside BookFellows) if you have any questions

When Accepting:

Respond promptly so the class manager can plan
Note the class meeting details
Check your assigned role
Be ready to engage with the content
Plan when you’ll start studying

When Declining:

Respond in a timely manner
Contact the inviter (outside BookFellows) to thank them for the invitation

Managing Multiple Studies:

Don’t overcommit yourself
Consider your available time
Quality over quantity
It’s okay to say no
You can always join future classes

Next Steps

Choose your path forward:

Participate in Personal Study Learn how to work through lessons and answer questions

Participate in Class Discussions Engage with your class and learn from others

Need help? Contact support at rich@bookfellows.net