What it does

Academic periods are named date ranges — academic years, semesters, terms — that scheduling, evaluations, and reporting run against. Org admins define periods once and apply them across every institution; institutions and programs can add their own when policy allows. You can lock a period to freeze its dates, and archive it when it's no longer needed.

Who it's for

Org admins manage the shared academic calendar, institution or program admins maintain periods at their own level when custom periods are allowed, and Medtrics platform admins can load institution periods through platform import during setup.

How it works

The periods list. The Academic Periods page lists each period with its type, start and end dates, a status (current, upcoming, or past) based on today's date, and the institutions it covers.

Org-level creation. Creating a period at the org level writes one copy per active institution, all sharing a common code. A later edit or archive applies across every institution at once. You can add periods one at a time or generate a whole set.

Locking. Locking a period blocks edits to its dates and details until someone unlocks it. A locked period opens read-only, with an explicit unlock step before you can edit it.

Custom periods. When org policy turns on Allow custom periods, institutions and programs can create their own periods alongside the org-managed ones. A program's calendar combines its own periods with the org-managed ones, and the "current" period favors a program-scoped period when both apply.

Overlap checks. New and edited periods are checked so their dates can't overlap another period in the same scope — the save is rejected with a clear message instead of silently creating a conflict.

Platform import. A Medtrics platform admin can stage periods for an institution and approve them in a review queue, even when institutions can't create their own periods. Each row needs a name and start and end dates; an optional program code must match a program at that institution or the row fails. Import only creates new periods — it never updates existing ones. Rolling back an import removes the rows it created, as a reversible archive.

Before you start

You need organization-management permission to create or edit org-level periods.
Know the period's name, type, and start and end dates before you begin.

Do this

Open the /organization/academic-periods page → the periods list loads with an Add Periods button.
Select the Add Periods button → the "Add Academic Periods" sheet opens on the Add one period mode.
Fill in the Period name, Period type, Start date, and End date fields → each field keeps your entry.
Check the Applies to institutions dropdown → it defaults to every active institution; adjust it if you want fewer.
Select the submit button at the bottom of the sheet (labeled Create 1 period across N institutions) → the sheet closes and the new period appears in the list.

You're done when

✓ The new period shows in the periods list with the right type, dates, and status.
✓ The institutions popover on that row lists the institutions you selected.
✓ The period's status badge reads Current, Upcoming, or Past, matching today's date against its start and end dates.

Boundaries and limits

Managing org-level periods needs organization-management permission. Institution-scoped periods need institution-management permission, and program-scoped periods need program-management permission.
Locked periods can't be edited or deleted until unlocked.
Two periods in the same scope can't have overlapping dates — the platform blocks the save.
Period status (current, upcoming, past) comes from dates automatically. There is no manual override.
Archiving an org-managed period removes it across all institutions at once and takes it out of scheduling and evaluations. Archiving is reversible — a restore brings it back.
When Allow custom periods is off, institutions and programs use only org-defined periods, though a Medtrics platform admin can still load institution periods through platform import.
Platform import creates new periods only; it never edits or replaces existing ones. A program code on an import row must match a program at the destination institution or that row is rejected.

Common questions

Q: Why does one period show several institutions? A: Org-managed periods are written once per institution, under a shared code. The list groups them, and the institutions popover shows exactly which ones are covered.

Q: Can I edit a period after the year has started? A: Yes, unless it's locked. Edits to an org-managed period apply to every institution that shares it, and the new dates still can't overlap another period.

Q: What makes a period "current"? A: Only its dates. A period is current when today falls between its start and end date. No one sets this manually.

Q: We archived a period by mistake. Is it gone? A: No. Archiving is a soft removal, and you can restore it, bringing the period back across all its institutions.

Q: Can periods be loaded if institutions can't create their own? A: Yes, by a Medtrics platform admin through platform import. Institution and program admins still can't create periods themselves when Allow custom periods is off.

Academic Periods and Calendars