Skip to main content
The academic calendar is the backbone of your institution in DeanDesk. Academic years define your overall schedule, terms divide the year into manageable chunks, and events keep students and staff informed of important dates. Set up your calendar before you create courses — courses are tied to terms, so you need at least one term in place first.
1

Open the Admin Dashboard

From your dashboard, click Admin Dashboard in the sidebar.
2

Go to Calendar Management

In the Admin Dashboard, click Calendar Management. You will see three tabs: Academic Years, Terms, and Events.

​
Academic years

An academic year is the top-level container for your institution’s schedule. Terms and events live inside academic years.
1

Open the Academic Years tab

Click the Academic Years tab in Calendar Management.
2

Create a new academic year

Click Add Academic Year. Enter a name (for example, 2024–2025) and set the start and end dates.
3

Save

Click Save. Repeat to create additional years.
Create three academic years at once: the previous year, the current year, and the upcoming year. Having the previous year in the system lets you reference historical courses and records, while the future year lets you plan ahead without disrupting current operations.
You can always edit dates later. If your academic year spans an unexpected break or needs adjustment, return to Calendar Management and update the dates at any time.

​
Terms

Terms divide an academic year into smaller instructional periods — semesters, quarters, trimesters, or any structure that fits your institution. When you create a course, you assign it to a term so students and instructors know exactly when it runs.
1

Open the Terms tab

Click the Terms tab in Calendar Management.
2

Select the parent academic year

Choose the academic year this term belongs to.
3

Create a term

Click Add Term. Enter a name (for example, Fall 2024 or Q1) and set the start and end dates.
4

Save

Click Save. Repeat for each term within the year.
Terms you create here will appear as options when you build courses in the Bulk Course Creator. Tying a course to a term automatically sets its context in the calendar and makes it easier for students to find active courses.
If you run evergreen courses that are not tied to a specific time period, you can leave the Term field blank when creating a course. Term-based and evergreen courses can coexist in the same platform.

​
Events

Events populate your institution’s calendar with important dates that affect the whole community — holidays, half-days, parent-teacher conferences, exams, and anything else your students and staff need to know about.
1

Open the Events tab

Click the Events tab in Calendar Management.
2

Add an event

Click Add Event. Fill in:
  • Name — a short, descriptive title (for example, Thanksgiving Break or Parent-Teacher Conferences)
  • Start date and End date — for multi-day events, set both dates; for a single day, use the same date for both
  • Event type — select from options such as Holiday, Half-Day, or Conference
3

Save

Click Save. The event appears on the calendar for all users.
Common events to add when getting started:
Event typeExamples
HolidayWinter break, Thanksgiving break, spring break
Half-dayEarly release days, professional development days
ConferenceParent-teacher conferences, open house nights
Exam periodMidterms, finals week, standardized testing days
Events are visible to all users on your platform. They appear on the Dashboard calendar widget and help students and staff plan around non-instructional days.

​
Next steps

With your calendar in place, you are ready to add users and build courses.

Add users

Create instructor and student accounts.

Create courses

Build courses and tie them to your terms.