In short, cycle prep is the annual process of making updates to your Slate instance before the next admissions cycle begins. Ideally, between admissions cycles your team experiences a rare occurrence: some flexibility and time. It is imperative to use this opportunity to evaluate your current processes, fix issues, and craft a road map for the cycle ahead. In that road map, you’ll want to include refinements and enhancements to your current Slate processes.

Everyone on your team should be involved in cycle prep. This way, you’ll gain unique perspectives and uncover specific pain points in your Slate processes. Teams can include:

Planners and Strategists
Include your Slate Captain and members of your Operations and Marketing teams. This group will make intentional and strategic decisions, and drive the outcome of your cycle prep.

Stress Testers
Leverage your student workers, counselors, tour guides, admissions representatives, and coaches. They use Slate regularly and will have great ideas on how to improve your Slate configuration. (Seek some Gen Z input here!)

User Experience Tenants
Think of students and parents as stakeholders, too. Their impressions of your Slate environment are key to your success. What changes can you make that will drive value for them?

Cycle prep typically runs summer to early fall. However, your exact timing will vary based on your institution’s unique needs and processes. When planning your cycle prep schedule, weigh what changes are necessary for the upcoming admissions cycle against all wish list items you have in mind for your Slate instance. This will allow your team to focus on necessary updates and projects first, then aim for nonessential improvements as time permits.

Be sure to start small, as small steps will lead to big wins. Here’s a timeline we find helpful:

Start with necessary updates that are crucial to your upcoming cycle. There’s a whole lot to consider, so our team has created a checklist to help you strategize: