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An admissions cycle is the container that holds everything related to a specific intake period — its applicants, invitations, submissions, reviews, and decisions. Before you can add applicants or send invitations, you need at least one cycle in place. This page explains how to create a new cycle, configure its settings, manage it through its active life, and archive it once the intake period is over.

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What is an admissions cycle?

A cycle represents a single intake cohort: for example, 2025 Undergraduate Intake or Postgraduate Entry — January 2026. Every applicant belongs to exactly one cycle, and each cycle has its own independent settings for dates, email templates, and reviewer assignments. This separation keeps your cohorts clean and makes it easy to compare activity across intake periods.
You can run multiple cycles at the same time. If your institution manages undergraduate and postgraduate admissions simultaneously, or runs multiple entry points in a year, simply create a separate cycle for each.

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Creating a new cycle

1

Open the Cycles section

From the left-hand navigation menu, select Cycles. You’ll see a list of all existing cycles — active, closed, and archived. Click New Cycle in the top-right corner to open the cycle creation form.
2

Name the cycle and set the intake year

Give your cycle a clear, descriptive name that your team will recognise immediately — for example, 2025 Undergraduate Intake or MSc Programmes — September 2026. Select the intake year from the dropdown. The intake year is used for reporting and filtering and does not affect the cycle’s operational dates.
Use a consistent naming convention across your institution. Including the year and intake level (undergraduate/postgraduate) in the name makes it easy to identify cycles at a glance in lists and reports.
3

Configure the cycle dates

Set the opening date and closing date for the cycle. These dates define the window during which the cycle is active and applicants can write and submit their personal statements.
  • Opening date — the date the cycle becomes active. Invitations can be sent once the cycle is open.
  • Closing date — the deadline by which applicants must submit. After this date, the writing environment for applicants in this cycle closes automatically.
Applicants who have not submitted by the closing date will be locked out of the writing environment. Ensure your closing date gives applicants enough time after receiving their invitation.
4

Add an optional description

Use the description field to record any internal notes about the cycle — such as the programmes it covers, specific intake criteria, or contacts within your admissions team. Descriptions are visible only to your internal users and do not appear in any applicant-facing communications.
5

Save and review the cycle

Click Create Cycle to save. The cycle is created with a Draft status — it is not yet open for applicants. Review the summary screen to confirm that the name, dates, and description are all correct before proceeding.You can edit any of these details while the cycle is in Draft or Open status. Once a cycle is closed, its dates and name become read-only.

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Configuring cycle settings

After creating a cycle, you can configure additional settings specific to that cohort. Navigate to the cycle and select Settings.
Each cycle can use the institution-default email templates or customised templates specific to that cycle. Override the defaults here if, for example, you want the invitation email for your postgraduate cycle to mention different deadlines or programme-specific information. See Email Templates for full details.
You can pre-assign reviewers to a cycle so that Admissions Officers can allocate submissions to the right people. Go to Cycle Settings → Reviewers and add the relevant reviewer accounts. Reviewers must already have a Reviewer account in the system — see Account Setup if you need to add them first.
Configure automated reminder emails to prompt applicants who haven’t yet submitted as the closing date approaches. Set the number of days before the closing date at which each reminder is sent. You can configure up to three automated reminders per cycle.

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Opening and closing a cycle

To open a cycle, navigate to the cycle and click Open Cycle. This transitions the cycle from Draft to Open status and makes it possible to send invitations to applicants. You can still add applicants and adjust settings after opening. To close a cycle, click Close Cycle. Closing a cycle:
  • Locks the writing environment for all applicants in that cycle who have not yet submitted.
  • Prevents new invitations from being sent.
  • Marks the cycle status as Closed.
Reviews can still be completed and decisions recorded on a closed cycle.
Closing a cycle is irreversible. Applicants who have not submitted will no longer be able to access their writing environment. Before closing, check the applicant list for anyone still In Progress and consider sending a final reminder.

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Archiving old cycles

Once you have finished reviewing and recording decisions for a closed cycle, archive it to keep your Cycles list tidy. Navigate to the closed cycle and select Archive Cycle. Archived cycles:
  • Remain fully accessible — all applicant records, submissions, writing process evidence, and decisions are preserved.
  • Are hidden from the default Cycles view. Use the Archived filter to find them.
  • Cannot be reopened or made active again.
Archiving is a display convenience, not a deletion action. Applicant data in archived cycles is retained in accordance with your institution’s data retention policy. See Security and Privacy for details.

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Running multiple concurrent cycles

If your institution runs more than one intake simultaneously, create a separate cycle for each cohort. Each cycle is fully independent — its own applicants, settings, email templates, reviewer assignments, and audit log. Admissions Officers and Reviewers assigned to multiple cycles can switch between them using the cycle selector in the navigation menu.