Graduation Years and Graduation Terms control various aspects of the platform for Students and Alumni as well as playing a large role in Standard Reporting for MBA CSEA, ABA, NALP, NACE, and more.
Sections:
- Where to update Graduation Dates
- Graduation Dates Explained
- Determining the Graduation Year and Term
- How to Determine an Academic Year
- When Users are Given "Alumni" Access
- Frequently Asked Questions
Where to update Graduation Dates
To configure Graduation dates, you can navigate to Site Management > Site Settings > Graduation Dates > Edit. If can click "Add Additional Graduation Years" to add Graduation Years at the top or the bottom of the list.
Graduation Dates Explained
The configuring Graduation Dates is dependent on three values
- Academic Year
The year in which a student is graduating. 12twenty defines an Academic Year like "2022" to be the 2021-2022 Academic Year. - Term Name
The name of a Term. This is usually defined as Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. - Specific Graduation Date
A specific graduation date is required to be placed at the intersection of the Academic Year row and a Term Column. While you may be unsure about a Specific Graduation Date for students graduating at a much later date, we recommend inserting your initial best guess and updating the value later.
As you can see in the image above, the x-axis (Academic Year) and the y-axis (Term Name) intersect at a cell. Each cell contains a Specific Graduation Date that determines when a student assigned to a particular Graduation Term has graduated from their program.
Determining the Graduation Year and Term
Example 1
In the example below, the Academic Year "2023" and the Grad Term "Spring" intersect on 05/15/2023 (May 15, 2023).
- Academic Year = "2023"
- Term Name = "Spring"
- Specific Graduation Date = "05/15/2023"
- Grad Term = "Spring 2023"
As you can see, we have introduced a new keyword, "Grad Term," which is defined as the Term Name and the Year of the Specific Graduation Date. In this case, we will combine:
- Term Name = "Spring"
- Specific Graduation Date = "05/15/2023"
Which will give us "Spring 2023"
Example 2
In the example below, the Academic Year "2023" and the Grad Term "Fall" intersect on 12/01/2022 (December 1, 2022).
- Academic Year = "2023"
- Term Name = "Fall"
- Specific Graduation Date = "12/01/2022"
- Grad Term = "Fall 2022"
Since Grad Term is defined as the Term Name and the Year of the Specific Graduation Date we will combine:
- Term Name = "Fall"
- Specific Graduation Date = "12/01/2022"
Which will give us "Fall 2022"
Example 1 & 2 Review
Now that you have an understanding of how a Graduation Term is calculated, let's take a look at the Academic Year for both Fall 2022 and Spring 2023.
Both Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 would belong to the 2022-2023 Academic Year, which, on 12twenty, would be defined as "2023." Therefore, in our example, the 2023 Academic Year is comprised of Fall 2022 and Spring 2023.
Use the "Edit" button in the far-right column to change the Specific Graduation Date for each Grad Term within an Academic Year.
How to Determine an Academic Year
It is common for many 12twenty partners to determine an Academic Year by graduation dates that occur between July 1st and June 30th of the following year.
For example, the Academic Year of 2040 would be July 1, 2039 through June 30, 2040.
When Users are Given "Alumni" Access
Student users are converted to Alumni Access on May 31st of the year following their graduation unless otherwise stipulated by the 12twenty Team for a specific site. This is calculated based on the "Graduation Year" assigned to the Student's "Graduation Term" per the Graduation Dates configured in Site Settings.
Examples:
- A Student who graduates on May 15, 2022 with a "Spring 2022" Graduation Term and assigned a "2022" Graduation Year would convert to Alumni Access on May 31, 2023.
- A Student who graduates on August 15, 2022 with a "Summer 2022" Graduation Term and assigned a "2023" Graduation Year would convert to Alumni Access on May 31, 2024.
- A Student who graduates on December 5, 2023 with a "Fall 2023" Graduation Term and assigned a "2024" Graduation Year would convert to Alumni Access on May 31 2024.
FAQ
I want my Graduation Term to say something else. How can I do that?
Unfortunately, that is not possible. The platform takes the Term Name + the year from the Specific Graduation date to come up with a Graduation Term. For example, with this configuration:
- Academic Year = 2022
- Term Name = Winter
- Specific Graduation Date = 01/15/2022
The Grad Term will be "Winter 2022." You could not have a Graduation Term that is "Winter 2021," because the Term Name is "Winter" and the year from the Specific Graduation Date is "2022."
I have many Term Names that I need to use. How do I add them?
Please reach out to your Implementation manager or the Support Team with your request. Please include the Term Name(s) you would like to have added.
I don't want Student users to convert to Alumni Access, can I stop that?
Yes, Alumni Access can include full access to the entire platform. This access is not normally included for all sites. Please reach out to the 12twenty Support Team to determine if your site is eligible.
How do I handle a student on a leave of absence (LOA) who does not have a known graduation date?
To handle a student on a leave of absence (LOA) who does not have a known graduation date, you can assign them to a new student group and set their Graduation Year to a future date, such as 2028. This will allow you to keep their account active and provide them with resources, even though LOA is not an option in the 'Graduation Term' picklist. You can find more information on creating and managing student groups in the 'Student Group Creation and Management' article.
Can I upload students without a graduation term?
At this time, students cannot be uploaded without a Graduation Term because Graduation Term is an essential attribute for the platform and acts as a controller throughout the site. Instead, you can select a "default" Graduation Year + Term to upload all of the students into. For example, you can upload all students with Graduation Term = "Spring 2027" and Graduation Year = "2027". Graduation Year and Terms can be updated at any point.
To keep this information updated, you create a custom attribute "Anticipated Graduation Term" and set it up for students to fill out upon login. Alternatively, you can add an announcement to the homepage with a message such as "Do you need us to update your graduation term? Please reach out to the career center so that we can make this change for you!"
Please note: Using a "default" Graduation Term is a temporary solution. As soon as you are aware of the actual Graduation Term for a student, the attribute should be updated so that students are included in the correct Standard Reports.