Deferrals
A deferral is what happens when a student can't attend the class they registered for and there isn't a replacement class to move them into yet. Their registration is closed out, their payments are held as credit, and they go onto a waiting list. The Deferrals page is where you track that list and re-register students once a suitable class is scheduled.
How a Deferral Is Created
Deferrals reach this page in one of three ways:
| Source | Who Does It |
|---|---|
| Defer Registration | An admin, from the registration drawer on a class roster or a student's class history |
| The student's own class details | A student, from Defer Registration in their My Classes drawer |
| A class reminder email | A student, using the secure defer link included in reminder emails when that option is on |
There is no approve or decline step. By the time a deferral appears in this list it has already been granted — your job is to re-register the student, not to review the request.
Deferrals created by the student themselves are marked with a Student Deferred chip so you can tell them apart from ones an admin recorded.
Navigating the Deferrals List
When you open Admin > Deferrals, three summary cards sit above the table.
| Card | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Total Deferred | How many students are currently on the waiting list |
| Waiting 90+ Days | How many have been waiting more than three months — shown in red |
| Pending Credit | The total value of payments being held as credit across all active deferrals |
Tabs
| Tab | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Active | Students still waiting to be re-registered. This is the default. |
| Resolved | Students who have been re-registered into a class |
| Cancelled | Deferrals that were cancelled rather than resolved |
What Each Column Shows
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Student / Course | The student's name, with the course they deferred from underneath. A Student Deferred chip appears when the student deferred themselves. |
| Reason | Why they deferred |
| Notes | Any context recorded at the time, or a dash if none |
| Expected Return | When the student said they expect to come back. Shown in red once that date has passed. |
| Days Deferred | How long they've been waiting — "Today" on day one, then "42d". Turns red once past the expected return. |
The list is sorted oldest first, so the students who've been waiting longest are at the top.
Deferral Reasons
| Reason | Typical Use |
|---|---|
| Medical | Illness or injury |
| Financial | The student can't cover the cost right now |
| Scheduling Conflict | Work or personal commitments clash with the class dates |
| Personal | Anything else the student chooses not to detail |
| Other | Use the note field to explain |
Re-Registering a Student
This is the main thing you'll do from this page. Choose Re-Register from a row's three-dot menu.
- The drawer opens with the student's name and a reminder of why and when they deferred — e.g. "Medical · deferred 12 days ago".
- Pick a class in the Re-register into field. Only classes starting today or later are listed.
- Check the seat line beneath the picker before you commit:
| Seat Line | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 3 seats open / 1 seat open | There's room |
| Unlimited seats | The class has no capacity limit |
| Full — re-registering exceeds capacity | You'd be putting the class over its limit |
- Review the Balance Preview. It shows the new registration and either a Balance due to collect at re-registration, or No payment required when the held credit covers it.
- Click Re-register.
The student automatically receives a standard registration confirmation email for the new class. You don't need to send one separately.
If the class is full, the button changes to Re-register anyway — you can still proceed, but you're knowingly going over capacity.
Managing a Deferral
Choose Manage Deferral to update the details of a deferral that's still on the waiting list.
| Field | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reason | Yes | Medical, Financial, Scheduling Conflict, Personal, or Other |
| Note (optional) | No | Free text — useful for recording conversations about when the student plans to return |
| Expected return (optional) | No | Drives the Expected Return and Days Deferred columns, including the red overdue highlighting |
Save Changes stays disabled until you actually change something. If you close the drawer with unsaved edits, you'll be asked to confirm.
Cancelling a Deferral
Choose Cancel Deferral when a student isn't coming back at all. You'll be asked to confirm:
Are you sure you want to cancel this deferral? This action cannot be undone.
The buttons are Cancel Deferral and Keep. The record moves to the Cancelled tab.
Actions & Menus
The three-dot menu on each row offers:
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| View Student | Opens the student's profile in a new tab |
| Re-Register | Opens the re-register drawer to move them into a future class |
| Manage Deferral | Opens the edit drawer for reason, notes, and expected return |
| Cancel Deferral | Closes out the deferral without re-registering the student |
Deferrals on a Student's Profile
The same information appears on an individual student's page whenever they have an active deferral, listed by Course / Code rather than by student. The three actions are the same, so you can re-register a student without coming back to this page.
When Things Are Disabled
| What's Disabled | Why |
|---|---|
| Re-register button | No class has been selected yet. Pick one from Re-register into first. |
| Classes missing from the class picker | Only classes starting today or later can be used. Past classes aren't offered. |
| Save Changes on Manage Deferral | Nothing has changed yet. |
| Actions on Resolved or Cancelled rows | Those deferrals are closed — re-registering applies to the Active list. |
| Held credit rows in the Balance Preview | Some credit detail isn't shown yet. The Balance due figure is what to collect. |
Icons on This Page
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active / Resolved / Cancelled chips | Where the deferral sits |
| Student Deferred chip | The student deferred themselves from a reminder email |
| Red bold date | Overdue — the student has waited longer than expected |
| N needs action chip | How many of that student's deferrals are overdue |
| Amber warning triangle | Excess funds paid |
→ Full list: Icons & Statuses
Key Relationships
- Registrations: Deferring closes the original registration and creates the deferral record. Re-registering creates a brand new registration in the chosen class.
- Payments: Payments made against the original registration are held as credit and carried over when the student is re-registered — nothing needs refunding and re-collecting.
- Classes: A deferral isn't tied to a future class until you re-register the student, which is what makes it different from a transfer.
- Class reminders: Turning on the Defer link in a class's Reminder Settings lets students defer themselves straight from a reminder email. Those requests appear here.
Tips & Notes
- Work the list top-down. It's sorted oldest first, so the students at the top have been waiting longest and should get first refusal on a new class.
- Watch the red dates. A red Expected Return or Days Deferred means the student expected to be back by now — those are the calls to make first.
- Use Transfer instead when a class already exists. Deferral is for when there's nothing to move the student into. If you know the class, transfer the registration directly from the registration drawer.
- "Waiting 90+ Days" is your problem list. If that number is climbing, either classes aren't being scheduled often enough or nobody is working the queue.
- Record what the student told you. The note field is the only place that context lives. Six weeks later, "call back after surgery in April" is worth far more than a bare reason code.
- Pending Credit is real money. It's tuition you've collected for training you haven't delivered — worth reviewing regularly alongside your outstanding balances.
- Let students defer themselves. Turning on the defer link in class reminders means fewer no-shows and fewer phone calls, and the request arrives here with the reason already filled in.