> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.deandesk.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Academic calendar

> Set up your school's academic years, terms, and events.

<Info>
  **School-level feature** — managed within your school portal at `yourschool.deandesk.com`.
</Info>

The academic calendar is the backbone of your school 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.

## Navigate to Calendar Management

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Admin Dashboard">
    From your dashboard, click **Admin Dashboard** in the sidebar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Go to Calendar Management">
    In the Admin Dashboard, click **Calendar Management**. You will see three tabs: **Academic Years**, **Terms**, and **Events**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Academic years

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

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Academic Years tab">
    Click the **Academic Years** tab in Calendar Management.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new academic year">
    Click **Add Academic Year**. Enter a name (for example, `2024–2025`) and set the start and end dates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save**. Repeat to create additional years.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  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.
</Tip>

<Note>
  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.
</Note>

## 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.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Terms tab">
    Click the **Terms** tab in Calendar Management.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the parent academic year">
    Choose the academic year this term belongs to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a term">
    Click **Add Term**. Enter a name (for example, `Fall 2024` or `Q1`) and set the start and end dates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save**. Repeat for each term within the year.
  </Step>
</Steps>

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.

<Tip>
  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.
</Tip>

## 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.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Events tab">
    Click the **Events** tab in Calendar Management.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save**. The event appears on the calendar for all users.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Common events to add when getting started:

| Event type      | Examples                                          |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| **Holiday**     | Winter break, Thanksgiving break, spring break    |
| **Half-day**    | Early release days, professional development days |
| **Conference**  | Parent-teacher conferences, open house nights     |
| **Exam period** | Midterms, finals week, standardized testing days  |

<Note>
  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.
</Note>

## Next steps

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

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Add users" icon="users" href="/setup/users">
    Create instructor and student accounts.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create courses" icon="chalkboard-teacher" href="/setup/courses">
    Build courses and tie them to your terms.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>