# Manage program lifecycle

> PositiveForm guide · Programs and schedules · PROG-003
> Canonical page: https://positiveform.com/guides/programs/manage-program-lifecycle/
> This Markdown: https://positiveform.com/guides/programs/manage-program-lifecycle.md

**Summary:** Activate, update, or end a program deliberately. The program status and settings persist and the UI explains roster effects.  
**Who can do this:** Organization owners, Managers, Staff  
**Required access:** `members.change`  
**Where in PositiveForm:** `/programs/:slug/settings`  
**Status:** Verified on 2026-07-29 against PositiveForm build `40f78fa`.

## Who this is for

This guide is for **desk staff, managers, and owners** deciding what a program
is called, when it runs, whether it is currently offered, and which belt system
it feeds.

The thing worth knowing before you change anything: **an inactive program keeps
its roster**. Members can even be planned into one. Making a program inactive
stops it being offered; it does not unenroll anybody.

You need the `members.change` permission.

## Before you begin

- Know the difference between ending a program and making it inactive. Ending
  is a date; inactive is a status. Neither removes members.
- If you are changing the **URL slug**, know that it is what the program's
  address is built from, so existing links stop working.

## Steps

1. Open the program and click the **Settings** tab.
2. Edit **Program name**.
3. Check the **URL slug**. It is used in the friendly program URL and must be
   unique within your organization.
4. Use **Description (optional)** for context staff need.
5. Add **Program tags (optional)** from your reusable tag list, for example
   `Summer Camp` or `Homeschool Group`. The page says what they are for: they
   are staff labels and **do not limit who can join** the program.
6. Set **Status**, for example **Active**.
7. Set **Starts on (optional)** and **Ends on (optional)** if the program runs
   for a defined period.
8. Choose an **Advancement progression (optional)** to link the belt or level
   system this program feeds. A progression can be reused by several programs,
   and rank changes stay auditable testing work rather than happening silently
   here.
9. Save the settings.

## Expected outcome

The settings persist and the program workspace header reflects them: the name,
the status, the location, and the member and schedule counts.

Changing status changes what is offered, not who is enrolled. An inactive
program keeps its roster and still appears in the programs list with its member
count. Members can be planned into an inactive program, which is how you set up
next term before it opens.

Setting a progression links the program to that belt system without promoting
anybody. Rank changes remain testing work with their own record.

To see who is enrolled after a lifecycle change, use the enrollment queue; see
[Manage the enrollment queue](https://positiveform.com/guides/enrollment/manage-enrollment-queue/).

## Screenshots

![Program settings, with the name, slug, tags, status, dates, and advancement progression](https://positiveform.com/guides/media/PROG-003/20260729T041500Z/001-program-settings.webp)

## Recovery

If the slug is refused, another program in this organization already uses it.
Slugs are unique per organization; pick a different one.

If saving fails, PositiveForm shows the reason and your edits stay on screen.

If you changed the slug and links now break, change it back. The address is built
from the slug, so an old bookmark or a link you sent a colleague points at the
previous one.

If you made a program inactive expecting the roster to clear, it has not, and
that is deliberate. Change the enrollments themselves in
[Manage the enrollment queue](https://positiveform.com/guides/enrollment/manage-enrollment-queue/).

If tags are not narrowing who can enrol, they are not meant to. The page says so:
tags are reusable staff labels.

## Related guides

- [Manage program schedules](https://positiveform.com/guides/programs/manage-program-schedule/) — set or change when the program meets.
- [Manage the enrollment queue](https://positiveform.com/guides/enrollment/manage-enrollment-queue/) — change who is on the
  roster, which a status change does not do.

---

Source: PositiveForm customer guides, https://positiveform.com/guides/. 
Every guide as one file for AI assistants: https://positiveform.com/llms-full.txt. 
Guide index: https://positiveform.com/llms.txt.