--- title: Academic Sessions slug: academic-sessions createdAt: 2025-03-17T13:31:36.156Z --- Academic Sessions help organize your courses into specific time periods, such as a calendar year or term. While **Programs** are not tied to a specific Academic Session, **Courses** must be linked to a single session and cannot span multiple sessions. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/dHtevpxiL9nPwWhbvuc2A_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-93919-am.png) Accurate Academic Session dates are essential for organizing courses in the **Transcript Generator**, so be sure to set them correctly to maintain accurate student records. The structure of your Academic Sessions depends on how your institution organizes its courses: - **Year-long courses** → Create **one** Academic Session for the entire year. - **Term-based courses** → Create **separate** Academic Sessions for each term (e.g., Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall). This setup ensures courses and student progress are properly tracked within their respective timeframes. Every ampEducator account includes a **Continuous Enrollment** Academic Session by default. This session is designed for courses without set start and end dates, allowing students to begin at any time. If your institution offers self-paced or rolling admission courses, this built-in option provides flexibility without needing to create new sessions. ## Adding a New Academic Session To create a new Academic Session, go to **Institution Config / Academic Sessions** and click **Add Academic Session**. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/aMTgjNALOV91T2XzsPxPT_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-94219-am.png) In the modal, enter the **Session Name**, select the **Start** and **End** dates, and check **Make Default** if you want this session to be automatically selected when adding new courses. Click **Add**, and the new Academic Session will appear in the list, where you can edit and customize it as needed. ## Customizing an Academic Session To edit an existing Academic Session, click the **Edit Academic Session** icon next to the session in the list. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/YL9qxH2QCxndM1zY3Xhu2_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-94945-am.png) This opens the **Academic Session Profile** page, where you can customize various aspects of the session, including details, fees, program intakes, holidays, and the calendar. Each section allows you to configure specific settings, which we'll go through next. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/j388JYwneG-6aPTOLnDuA_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-95055-am.png) ### Details The **Details** section of the Academic Session Profile defines key settings for session structure, registration, and both academic and attendance performance requirements. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/ycz3NJynkq4RrLsqJepzE_image.png) - **Current Session** – Indicates if this is the current academic session. - **Status** – Choose **Active** for ongoing sessions or **Completed** for sessions that have ended. - **Session Name** – Enter the name of the session (e.g., *Fall 2025*). - **Session Start** and **Session End** – Define the start and end dates of the academic session. - **Registration Start** and **Registration End** – Specify when students can begin and stop registering for courses. - **Academic Threshold** – The minimum session average a student must maintain for good academic standing. - **Academic Marginal** – Students with a session average between this value and the threshold are considered marginal. Students whose average falls **below the marginal value** will be placed in **review** standing. - **Attendance Status** – Controls how a student’s attendance performance is evaluated for this session. - **Override Defaults** – Allows you to override the institution’s default attendance settings configured under [Institution Config / Students / Attend](docId\:fEz7DwoTDFFlN5BNyAIFc). - If **unchecked**, the system automatically applies those institution-wide default values. - If **checked**, you can customize the attendance thresholds, marginal/review limits, and calculation method specifically for this session. - **Marginal Attendance %** – The minimum attendance rate that will still be considered marginal. Anything below this and above the review rate is marginal. - **Review Attendance %** – The minimum attendance rate before a student is considered in review status. - **Marginal Attend Courses >\*** – The number of courses in the session that can have marginal attendance before the student’s **overall attendance status** changes to *marginal*. - **Review Attend Courses >\*** – The number of courses in the session that can have review-level attendance before the student’s **overall attendance status** changes to *review*. - In this example, the session allows up to **2 marginal courses** or **1 review course** before the session attendance status changes to Review. - **Attendance Average Calc** – Choose how attendance averages are calculated for the session: - **Weighted Equally by Course** – Each course contributes equally to the overall attendance average. - **Weighted by Course Credits** – Attendance averages are weighted based on each course’s credit value. - **Weighted by Course Completed Hours** – Attendance averages are weighted according to the total completed hours per course. - **Distinction Group** – An optional field to categorize sessions based on institutional criteria. - **Notes** – An optional text area for additional session information. These settings provide flexible options for managing academic sessions. You can either use the institution’s default attendance configuration or override them per session, define percentage thresholds, limit how many courses can be marginal or review, and control how attendance averages are calculated. ### Fees If your institution has fees associated with an Academic Session, you can add them in the Fees section. To add a new fee, click **New Fee**. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/fkveVRl9pcYNXtoQt1tC9_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-101714-am.png) - **Description** – Enter a name or brief description of the fee. - **Revenue Account** – Select where the fee revenue should be categorized. Options include **Tuition, Registration, Materials,** and **Other**. - **Fee Class** – Choose a fee class based on the ones your institution has set up (e.g., Domestic or International). - **Amount** – Enter the fee amount. - **Taxes** – If applicable, select a [pre-configured tax](docId\:d19vog1uSfxNu8p8YMB2Z). Once added, the fee will appear in the list, where you can edit or delete it as needed. ### Program Intakes The **Program Intakes** section allows you to organize students into defined groups based on their start date. When enrolling a student into a program, you’ll select an intake, which helps track different cohorts and ensures consistency in start and expected end dates. To add a new intake, click **New Intake.** ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/r4adKZN5Ja2X5DGQma5L6_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-102921-am.png) - **Intake Code** – A short identifier for the intake (e.g., "WIN2025" for Winter 2025). - **Intake** – The name of the intake (e.g., "Winter 2025 Cohort"). - **Intake Date** – The start date for students in this intake. - **Expected End Date** – The anticipated completion date for students in this group. Click **Add Intake** to save. The intake will now appear in the list, where you can edit or remove it if needed. ### Holidays The **Holidays** section allows you to add scheduled breaks where there will be no school. When setting up courses for the session, you can choose to **automatically skip these holidays**, ensuring no classes are scheduled on those days. To add a holiday, click **New Holiday** and enter the following details: ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/GeyidyffXL3DfSoHFfXZG_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-103217-am.png) - **Holiday** – Enter the name of the holiday (e.g., "Winter Break" or "Labor Day"). - **Start Date** – Select the first day of the holiday. - **End Date (Optional)** – If the holiday spans multiple days, enter the last day of the break. If it's a single-day holiday, leave this field blank. Once added, the holiday is applied to the session, ensuring no classes are scheduled on those days. You can edit or delete a holiday at any time using the icons next to it in the list. There is no limit to the number of holidays you can add. ### Calendar The **Calendar** section provides a unique URL that can be used with any application supporting the iCalendar (iCal) format, such as Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar. This calendar includes all course events for the academic session, making it easy to stay updated on important dates. Each academic session has its own **Calendar URL**, which can be copied and added to an external calendar application for real-time access to course schedules. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/zULeXAZV5EfYK8cnJwr_a_screen-shot-2025-03-17-at-103612-am.png) ## Setting a Default Academic Session Setting a default Academic Session is important, as it is required in several parts of the application, including course setup, program enrollment, and student registration. To set a default Academic Session, go to **Institution Config** / **Academic Sessions**. In the Academic Sessions list, find the session you want to make the default and click the **checkmark icon** under the **Default** column. ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/dAaYdF15xm67t_NLKoQQv/xEVaFmn5pjSLIkBERAuMd_image.png) Once selected, it will show **Yes** to confirm it is now the system default. ## Video Walkthrough: Adding an Academic Session ::Iframely{originalUrl="https://scribehow.com/embed/Adding_an_Academic_Session__EIlOwY6sQAiVBAN9UCgNmg?as=video" embedUrl="https://scribehow.com/embed/Adding_an_Academic_Session__EIlOwY6sQAiVBAN9UCgNmg?as=video" title="Scribe | Embed Adding_an_Academic_Session__EIlOwY6sQAiVBAN9UCgNmg" html="
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