Academy Cohorts Frequently Asked Questions

Below, you'll find a list of our most frequently asked questions about Academy cohorts.

• General Questions
• Permissions and Visibility
• Cohort Dates, Deadlines, and Time Zones
• Membership and Enrollment Behavior
• Archiving, Content Changes, and Completion

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General Questions

Do the Academy In-App reports have new columns for Cohorts?

Academy In-app reports in Degreed now include new columns with cohort details across three reports. 

Will Automations be set at the Academy or Cohort level?

Cohorts are not a supported object in Automations, so automation rules cannot be built based on cohort data.

Do all cohorts have the same branding?

Yes. Branding, like the Academy steps, applies to the Academy level. 

If I create cohorts, can I still change the steps in the Academy, or only the due dates?

You can continue to modify the steps in an Academy, and those changes will apply to all associated cohorts. If steps are added or removed after a cohort has started, the updates will apply to learners in that cohort as well. 

Permissions and Visibility

Are permissions set at the Academy or Cohort level?

There are separate permissions for editing all cohorts, as well as specific permissions to review projects and view reports for individual cohorts.

Will participants see only members of their cohort in the People tab, or everyone in the Academy?

Participants will only see other users in their assigned cohort. 

Cohort Dates, Deadlines, and Time Zones

What start and end dates will be set for a migrated cohort?

Migrated cohorts will not have start or end dates set by default. Users with the Edit Academy permission can manually set these dates; however, the start date cannot be set in the past.

What are the impacts of the 12:00 AM UTC due date to learners?

All Academy and cohort due dates are set to 12:00 AM UTC to ensure consistent behavior across cohorts.

This means:

• The due date may appear at a different local time depending on the learner’s time zone
• All learners receive the same amount of time to complete content, regardless of location
• Learners cannot change their time zone within Academies at this time
• Due dates are labeled in the product as 12:00 AM (UTC) to reduce confusion

Using a fixed UTC time allows Degreed to:

• Keep cohort timelines consistent across regions
• Ensure reminders, automation, and reporting behave predictably
• Avoid issues caused by daylight savings or regional time zone changes
• Support global cohorts with a single, unambiguous deadline

Example

A company runs monthly onboarding and expects all new hires to complete the Academy within the same timeframe. The cohort ends on March 31 at 12:00 AM (UTC).

• Learners in all time zones see the same UTC deadline
• Everyone has the same amount of time to complete onboarding
• New hires complete onboarding together, regardless of location

This approach supports global programs while keeping timelines aligned and expectations clear.

Membership and Enrollment Behavior

Why does it matter whether a user is added to a cohort individually or through a group?

How a user is added determines how their cohort membership is managed and when they may be removed.

Individual adds reflect a deliberate admin action and are preserved even if a related group is later removed. Group-based adds are tied directly to the group and are removed if the group is removed or no longer eligible. 

Degreed tracks a membership source for each user to determine whether they were added individually or through a group. This ensures admin intent is respected and users are not removed unintentionally.

Examples

• If a user is added individually and later added through a group within the same cohort, their membership source remains Individual. 
• If a user is added individually to one cohort and later added to a different cohort through a group, a new membership is created. The user is removed from the original cohort, and the membership source in the new cohort is set to Group.

Archiving, Content Changes, and Completion

What happens when you archive a cohort?

When you archive a cohort, the academy becomes view-only for all members of that cohort. Learners can no longer submit or participate in assigned content or activities, but they can still access and view all content in the academy. Archived cohorts are preserved for reporting and record-keeping purposes and remain visible in the Cohorts list for admins to review at any time.

Can learners still access content in an archived cohort?

Yes. Learners can continue to view all academy content, but they cannot complete activities, submit assignments, or make progress.

Does newly added content affect archived or ended cohorts?

No. New content added to an academy applies only to new cohorts. Archived or ended cohorts do not receive the new content, and it does not appear to learners in those cohorts.

Can I replace content with a new version for a new cohort?

Yes. You can replace or update content for future cohorts. Content updates apply only forward and do not affect cohorts that have already ended or been archived.

Does new or updated content affect completion percentages for archived cohorts?

No. Completion percentages for archived or ended cohorts are not impacted by newly added or updated content.

How does new content impact completion percentages in reporting?

In the Academies reports, cohorts are not currently supported so completion data will not be accurate if new content is added.

Although the Degreed in-app reports for Academies include cohort-related columns, the underlying completion percentage calculations do not yet account for cohorts.