CONFIGURATION & CUSTOMIZATION
Your operating model.
Made explicit.
Shape academic structures, forms, workflows and permissions around the way your institution operates.
Collect forms, academic regulations and approval practices. Identify where the written policy differs from daily work.
START WITH THE QUESTION
What should be consistent, and what must be different?
A school year, a university credit model and a vocational competency pathway organize progress differently. Begin with those differences. Separate configurable rules from changes that require product or integration work, then agree how the institution will maintain its choices.
Explore configuration & customization in practice.
Choose a perspective to see what changes.
Define the structure before the timetable
Choose the academic periods, programs and progression units that match how learning is organized.
Enrollment, assessment and reporting use the same academic definitions.
- Structure
- Program → Level → Course
- Period
- Semester
- Progression unit
- Approved course credits
- Policy owner
- Academic registry
WHAT MAKES IT USEFUL
Fit the workflow without losing shared definitions.
Configuration with a reason
Tie each field, rule and status to a real decision. Record why it exists and who owns it so a future administrator can maintain it.
Extensions with clear scope
Distinguish standard configuration from new development, integrations or unusual reporting requirements. Agree acceptance criteria and ongoing ownership before committing.
Changes that can be reviewed
Use representative scenarios to test a proposed change. Plan how users will learn about it and how affected records will be checked afterward.
FROM DISCUSSION TO DAILY WORK
Turn an institutional rule into a tested configuration.
- 1
Capture the real policy
Collect forms, academic regulations and approval practices. Identify where the written policy differs from daily work.
- 2
Model and demonstrate
Walk through a typical case and an exception with the responsible team. Resolve ambiguous definitions before rollout.
- 3
Approve and maintain
Name the configuration owner, review cycle and change process. Include support and training in the acceptance plan.
Configuration & customizationCapture the real policy → Approve and maintainSEE HOW THE WORK CONNECTS
Configuration & customization
What should be consistent, and what must be different?
- 01
Capture the real policy
Collect forms, academic regulations and approval practices. Identify where the written policy differs from daily work.
- 02
Model and demonstrate
Walk through a typical case and an exception with the responsible team. Resolve ambiguous definitions before rollout.
- 03
Approve and maintain
Name the configuration owner, review cycle and change process. Include support and training in the acceptance plan.
Illustrative workflow · Shape the details around your institution.
CONFIGURE WITH INTENTION
Document what can vary and who approves it.
- Academic periods, levels, programs and grading conventions
- Forms, field requirements and institutional terminology
- Statuses, routing, approval limits and escalation rules
- Campus variations and a controlled change register
QUESTIONS TO RESOLVE
Questions about configuration & customization.
Use these questions to make the evaluation specific to your institution.
Does customization mean building a separate product?
Start with configuration of the agreed operating model. Requirements outside that scope should be identified and estimated separately, including their effect on upgrades, testing, support and long-term maintenance.
Can different campuses use different rules?
Campus variation should be intentional. Decide which policies are shared centrally and which can vary, then test reporting and cross-campus transfers against those differences.
Who should approve a configuration change?
The process owner should approve the business behavior, with technical, privacy or finance review where relevant. Keep a record of the decision and communicate changes to the people whose daily work is affected.
YOUR INSTITUTION. YOUR CONTEXT.
Bring a policy that needs to work in practice.
Start with a real workflow, the people involved and the outcome you need.