Manage cohorts
Create, update, and archive continuing-education cohorts under a program version with intake dates and a linked curriculum version when Has Cohorts is enabled.
A cohort in continuing education is a named group of participants who start and progress together under one program version. They share an intake window and follow one assigned curriculum version. Creating a cohort turns a flexible professional offering into an operational wave — the container that drives membership, study plans, and day-to-day targeting.
Create cohorts only when Has Cohorts is enabled on the continuing-education program. If that setting is off, participants enroll under the program without cohort groups — see Enroll participants and Create a continuing-education program.
Why it matters
Professional and certificate offerings often still need clear intake groups: a funded company cohort, a semester-start wave, or a partner-sponsored group with shared dates. Without cohorts, staff cannot reliably answer: Who started in this wave? Which curriculum do they follow? Who should receive this announcement?
In FuxamCMS, continuing-education cohorts:
- Define the intake period (start and end) used in enrollment timing and reporting
- Pin participants to a curriculum version, which becomes the blueprint for each user’s study plan
- Provide a stable audience for Info Hub targeting, calendar appointments, and related operations
- Keep successive waves independent when program rules or curricula change across program versions
Getting the name, dates, and curriculum right at creation saves disruptive curriculum changes later.
How it fits
A cohort always belongs to exactly one program version. The typical setup order is: create the continuing-education program (with Has Cohorts on) → ensure the correct program version is selected → prepare the curriculum version → create the cohort → enroll participants.
| Related area | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Continuing education | Section overview and when cohorts are optional |
| Create a continuing-education program | Enables Has Cohorts on the parent program |
| Manage program versions | Confirm you create the cohort under the right version |
| Enroll participants | Add and remove members once the cohort exists |
| Create a cohort | Parallel degree-program cohort creation patterns |
| Manage cohort curriculum | Change or disconnect curriculum after creation |
| Apply | Admissions intakes often map onto CMS cohorts downstream |
Key concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cohort | Intake group under one program version with shared dates and curriculum |
| Program version | Snapshot of offering rules; cohorts stay on the version they were created under |
| Curriculum version | Academic blueprint (modules, terms, electives) cloned into participant study plans |
| Intake period | The cohort Start Date and End Date — not the same as individual course session dates |
| Member | A user enrolled in the cohort |
| Archived cohort | Soft-retired intake that remains in history but is treated as inactive for current operations |
Before you start
- Confirm the continuing-education program has Has Cohorts enabled.
- Select the correct program version in the version selector — the new cohort is linked to the version currently selected (or to the program’s default version when none is specified).
- Have a curriculum and curriculum version ready in the Database. Assignment at creation is required.
- Agree on a naming pattern (for example, certificate short name + season + year) so staff can find waves quickly across Programs, Info Hub, and Apply-related reporting.
- Plan Start Date and End Date so the start is strictly before the end (dates are compared to the minute — they cannot fall in the same minute).
How to create a cohort
Open the create form
Go to OrgHub → Management → Programs, open the Continuing Education tab, and open the program.
Use the version selector to choose the program version the cohort should belong to.
Open the Cohorts tab.
Select Cohort to open the Create Cohort panel.
Fill in the form
Enter the cohort Name — the display name for this wave (for example, “Data Science Certificate Spring 2026”).
Set Duration — choose a Start Date and End Date for the intake period. The start must be before the end; the two timestamps cannot be identical at minute precision.
Under Curriculum, select a curriculum from the Database, then choose a Curriculum Version.
Review optional term mappings if your institution links curriculum terms to organization terms.
Select Create to save the cohort.
Reference — cohort fields
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Display label for the wave in lists and targeting |
| Start Date | Yes | Intake start; must be strictly before end at minute precision |
| End Date | Yes | Intake end; must be strictly after start |
| Curriculum version | Yes | Blueprint that drives study plans for members |
| Program version | Defaults | Defaults to the program’s default/selected version when not overridden |
| Archived | No | Marks the cohort inactive without deleting it |
How to edit a cohort
Name and dates are the routine edit path. Curriculum changes are higher stakes because they can affect enrolled participants’ study plans.
Open the continuing-education program, select the correct program version, and go to the Cohorts tab.
Open the row actions menu for the cohort and select Edit.
Update the display name and Duration (start and end dates) as needed.
Select Save.
To change the assigned curriculum version, use Change Curriculum from the cohort actions — follow the patterns in Manage cohort curriculum and Edit a cohort. Treat curriculum edits as controlled academic-operations decisions when members already exist.
Archive or delete a cohort
| Action | Effect | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Archive | Marks the cohort inactive; history and membership remain available for reference | Wave is finished but must stay auditable |
| Unarchive | Returns an archived cohort to active visibility | Wave was archived by mistake or reopens |
| Delete | Permanently removes the cohort | Only when the intake was created in error and institutional policy allows deletion |
Best practices
- Name cohorts for the wave staff and partners will search for — include season or year.
- Always create the cohort under the program version that matches that wave’s rules.
- Finalize the curriculum version before large enrollments.
- Keep start and end dates realistic for the certificate length; avoid same-day or same-minute ranges.
- Prefer archiving finished waves over deleting them.
- Align cohort names with Apply intake labels when admissions feed membership.
Common pitfalls
| Pitfall | Why it hurts | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Looking for Cohorts when Has Cohorts is off | Tab/workflows for intakes are not the enrollment path | Enroll under Users, or enable Has Cohorts first |
| Creating under the wrong program version | Participants follow the wrong edition | Switch the version selector before creating |
| Invalid start/end dates | Save fails when start is not before end at minute precision | Adjust times so start is clearly earlier |
| Changing curriculum after many enrollments | Study plans may need propagation or review | Prefer a new cohort under a new version for major blueprint changes |
| Using user groups instead of cohorts | Groups do not generate study plans | Use cohort membership for academic enrollment |
FAQ
Do I need cohorts for every continuing-education program?
No. Has Cohorts defaults to off. Use cohorts when participants should share an intake window and curriculum version; otherwise enroll directly under the program.
Can I change a cohort's program version later?
Cohorts remain on the version they were created under. Create the next wave under the correct version instead of moving the old cohort.
What happens if start and end are the same time?
The cohort cannot be saved. Start must be strictly before end when compared to the minute (matching the dashboard).
Are continuing-education cohorts different from study-program cohorts?
They use the same structural ideas — name, dates, curriculum version, members — under continuing-education programs. Degree-program guidance in Create a cohort applies as a parallel pattern.