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Create an academic year and term

Academic years and terms form the temporal foundation for all school operations. This guide covers creating, configuring, and managing academic periods.

Overview​

The academic calendar hierarchy in Makronexus Education:

Tenant (Organization)
└── Academic Year (e.g., "2026 Academic Year")
    ├── Term 1 (Jan - Apr)
    ├── Term 2 (May - Aug)
    └── Term 3 (Sep - Dec)

Why this matters:

  • Student enrollments are linked to academic years
  • Fees and billing runs are organized by term
  • Reports and analytics filter by academic period
  • Attendance and grades are recorded within terms

Prerequisites​

Before creating academic years:

RequirementHow to verify
Admin or School Manager roleCheck your role in Foundation → Identity & Access
School selectedVerify school name in top navigation bar
Foundation accessCan open Foundation → Schools in sidebar

Create an academic year​

Navigation: Foundation → Schools → Academic Years

Step 1: Open the academic years page​

  1. Click Foundation in the sidebar
  2. Expand Schools
  3. Click Academic Years

You'll see a table of existing academic years (if any) with columns for name, status, dates, and enrollment counts.

Step 2: Create new academic year​

  1. Click the Create academic year button (top right)
  2. A dialog or form opens

Step 3: Fill in academic year details​

FieldRequiredDescriptionExample
Name✅Descriptive name for the year"2026 Academic Year"
Start date✅First day of the academic year2026-01-13
End date✅Last day of the academic year2026-12-11
DescriptionOptionalAdditional notes"Full school calendar including all terms"
StatusAutoSet automatically based on datesPlanning / Active / Completed
Is activeOptionalWhether enrollments can occurUsually checked
Date selection
  • Start date should be the first day students attend (not teacher preparation days)
  • End date should be the last day of the final term
  • Dates can span calendar years if needed (e.g., July 2026 to June 2027)

Step 4: Save the academic year​

Click Save or Create. The academic year appears in the table.

Step 5: Set as current year​

After creation, you need to designate which year is "current" for active operations:

  1. Find the academic year in the table
  2. Click the ⋮ menu (three dots) on the row
  3. Select Set as current
  4. Confirm the action
Only one current year

Only one academic year can be current at a time. Setting a new year as current automatically un-sets the previous one.

Add terms to the academic year​

Step 1: Open the academic year​

  1. Click on the academic year row to open the detail view
  2. Or click View from the row menu
  3. Navigate to the Terms tab

Step 2: Add a term​

  1. Click Add term
  2. Fill in the term details:
FieldRequiredDescriptionExample
Name✅Term name"Term 1" or "First Term"
Start date✅First day of term2026-01-13
End date✅Last day of term2026-04-10
Is currentOptionalMark as the active termCheck for current term
Term numberOptionalSequence number1, 2, 3

Step 3: Repeat for all terms​

TermTypical startTypical endDuration
Term 1Early JanuaryEarly April~12 weeks
Term 2Early MayEarly August~12 weeks
Term 3Early SeptemberEarly December~12 weeks

Between terms are school holidays (typically 3-4 weeks).

Step 4: Set the current term​

  1. Find the term that's currently in session
  2. Click the ⋮ menu on that term row
  3. Select Set as current

The current term affects:

  • Which period appears in reports by default
  • Which term fees apply to new billing runs
  • Which attendance registers are active
  • Which term appears in gradebooks

Academic year lifecycle​

Academic years progress through several statuses:

graph LR
    A[Planning] --> B[Active]
    B --> C[Completed]
    C --> D[Archived]
StatusDescriptionWhat you can do
PlanningYear is set up but hasn't startedConfigure structure, create terms, set up classes
ActiveYear is in progressFull operations: enrollment, attendance, grading, billing
CompletedYear has endedView reports, generate transcripts, no new data entry
ArchivedHistorical recordRead-only access, used for audits and historical reports

Transitioning between statuses​

The system automatically updates status based on dates, but you can also:

  1. Manually complete a year:

    • Open the academic year
    • Click Complete year in the actions
    • Confirm all grades are finalized

  2. Archive a year:

    • Year must be completed first
    • Click Archive from the actions menu
    • Archived years move to a separate view

Clone year structure​

To quickly set up a new year based on an existing one:

  1. Open the source academic year
  2. Click Clone structure from the actions menu
  3. Configure the clone:
    • New year name and dates
    • What to include: terms, grade levels, class divisions
    • Whether to copy fee structures
  4. Click Clone

This creates a new academic year with the same structure, saving significant setup time.

Managing multiple academic years​

When you need multiple active years​

Some scenarios require overlapping academic years:

  • School transition: Some students in the old year, new students in the new year
  • Multi-track calendar: Different programs on different schedules
  • Year-round school: Rolling admissions with staggered terms

Best practices​

  1. Clear naming: Use descriptive names like "2026 Academic Year" not just "2026"
  2. Consistent terms: Use the same term names across years for reporting consistency
  3. Mark current: Always have exactly one current year and one current term
  4. Archive old years: Archive completed years to keep the active list clean

Troubleshooting​

"No current academic year" errors​

Cause: No academic year is marked as current.

Solution:

  1. Go to Foundation → Schools → Academic Years
  2. Click the menu on your active year
  3. Select "Set as current"

"No current term" in reports​

Cause: No term is marked as current within the current year.

Solution:

  1. Open the current academic year
  2. Go to the Terms tab
  3. Set the active term as current

Terms overlap warning​

Cause: Term dates overlap with another term.

Solution:

  • Ensure end date of Term 1 is before start date of Term 2
  • Include one day gap between terms if needed
  • Holiday periods should fall between terms

Can't edit completed year​

Cause: Academic year is in Completed or Archived status.

Solution:

  • Completed years have limited editability for audit purposes
  • If corrections needed, contact your administrator
  • For Archived years, no edits are allowed

Impact on other modules​

Creating academic years and terms affects multiple modules:

ModuleImpact
EnrollmentsStudents can be enrolled in specific academic years
Class divisionsClasses are associated with academic years
Billing runsInvoices generated per term
AttendanceRegisters organized by term
GradebooksGrading periods aligned with terms
ReportsTerm reports generated per academic period
AnalyticsKPIs and trends compared across years/terms