Contents 

• Overview
• Adding an Award Cycle 
• Step-By-Step Instructions
  • Access All Award Cycles
  • Add a New Award Cycle 
    • Name the Cycle
    • Add a Cycle Description
• 📌Good to Know
• Related Articles

Overview

This step-by-step guide shows administrators how to add a new, blank award cycle in Next.
 

Adding an Award Cycle

When you create a program, a default award cycle is automatically created in that program. Administrators must set up that cycle’s forms and workflow before it can be used.

• When does it make sense to add a new award cycle?

  • Typically, a new award cycle is needed when the forms, eligibility, or workflow will be different from existing cycle(s).
    
    📌 Note: If the new cycle will be mostly the same as an existing one (same forms, workflow, or only minor edits), it’s usually faster to duplicate an award cycle instead of creating a new one. For more help, see ➡️Duplicate (Copy) an Award Cycle.

• Who can add award cycles? 
  • Organization Owners
  • Program Owners 
  • Program Managers
• What needs to be set up in the new cycle?
  • Because this is a brand-new, blank cycle, all forms and workflows must be set up from scratch. 

💡Related Articles

• If you're looking for help creating a new program, please see ➡️Set Up a Program.
   

Step-By-Step Instructions

Add a New Award Cycle

1.  On the Program page, click Create New Cycle at the bottom of the left-hand menu. 

2. In the confirmation pop-up, click Add New Cycle.

3. A notification briefly appears in the bottom-left of the screen confirming the new cycle. The new cycle appears on the All Award Cycles page.

4. Click the gear icon to access the cycle's settings.

Name the Cycle 

When you create a new cycle, it's given a default name. You can rename the cycle at any time. 

To rename a cycle: 

1. In Cycle Settings > Cycle Info > Cycle Details, click in the cycle name text box and update the cycle name. 

2. As soon as you update the cycle name the save button will appear. Click Save Changes to save your new cycle name.

3. A notification briefly appears in the bottom-left of the screen confirming your save

Add a Cycle Description

For each cycle within a program, a cycle description can be included, but it's not required. The description is only visible to administrators.

To add a cycle description: 

1.  In Cycle Settings > Cycle Info > Cycle Details,  enter your desired content in the "Add a short description for this cycle" textbox,

2. As soon as you update the cycle description the save button will appear. Click on the save button to save your new cycle description.

📌Good to Know 

Keep these points in mind about award cycles:

• You can have multiple cycles in Test Mode at the same time.
• Only one cycle per program can be published (live) at a time.  To publish a new cycle, you must close the currently published cycle first. 
   

Related Articles 

• Please see additional Program Setup articles that cover setting up the cycle, if needed ➡️Program Settings.
• Helpful articles about award cycles: 
  • ➡️Duplicate (Copy) an Award Cycle
  • ➡️Delete an Award Cycle

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