The Cohort Lifecycle: Scheduled, Active, and Archived

GroupsUpdated September 24, 2026

Every cohort moves through three statuses over its life: Scheduled, Active, and Archived. Knowing how and when that happens explains a lot of cohort behavior.

The three statuses

  • Scheduled — the cohort exists but its start date hasn't arrived yet.
  • Active — the cohort's start date has passed and its end date hasn't; members are expected to be working through the course now.
  • Archived — the cohort's end date has passed. The roster and history stay intact, but the cohort is no longer live.
Cohorts list showing cohorts in Scheduled, Active, and Archived statusStatus is visible at a glance in the cohorts list, alongside each cohort's date range.

How the status changes

You can advance a cohort's status manually as an admin if you need to start or close it ahead of schedule. Otherwise, a daily background sweep checks every cohort's dates and automatically advances Scheduled cohorts to Active once their start date arrives, and Active cohorts to Archived once their end date passes.

Learner view of their cohorts showing an Active cohortLearners see the same status their cohort has moved to, reflected on their own cohorts view.

Notes

Because the sweep runs daily, there can be up to a day's lag between a cohort's scheduled date and its status actually flipping if you're relying purely on automation. If timing matters for a specific cohort, advance it manually instead of waiting.

What next?

#cohorts#lifecycle#status#automation#scheduling