Admissions & enrolment

Choose an intake route

Use the route that matches where the information is coming from.

All three routes create the same kind of student record. Automatic admission numbers can therefore be used consistently whichever route you choose.

Set up the application form

Open Admin → Applications → Application form. Before sharing the form:

1. Add the reply-to address your admissions team reads. Makatib.App sends application emails on your behalf, but applicant replies need to reach your own inbox.
2. Add an optional intake name, welcome message and message for periods when applications are closed.
3. Decide whether the form should ask for health information. Enable this only when you need it and have an appropriate reason to collect it.
4. Add any questions or guidance of your own under the Questions tab. The next section explains each item type and how to test it.
5. Turn on Accept applications from families and, if appropriate, set an inclusive closing date.
6. Copy the application link or download its QR code and share it with applicants.

The public form does not require an account. The date of birth determines which contact route appears. For an under-18 applicant, it collects a parent or guardian. For an adult, it requires the applicant's own email and phone and does not require a guardian. Both routes can collect home address, prior learning and emergency-contact information. After a valid submission, the applicant receives a reference to keep for enquiries.

Turning the form off does not alter applications already received. Generating a new link invalidates the previous public link, but existing submissions remain in the queue.

Embed the form on your website

Embedding lets families complete your Makatib application form inside your madrassa's own website. You will need management access to Makatib and permission to edit your website, or help from the person who maintains it. Your website must use HTTPS and allow embedded forms. You can always share the direct application link instead.

Set it up

1. Check your application form is ready, including its questions, reply-to address and intake window. Open the direct application link to check it first.
2. Go to Applications → Application form → Embed on your website and enable embedding.
3. Add up to five HTTPS website addresses, one per line, such as https://www.example.org. Enter the website address, not the admissions page's full URL. Paths, ports, wildcards and query strings are not accepted. If families use both www.example.org and example.org, add both HTTPS addresses separately. Only add websites you intend to use.
4. Save your settings and copy the recommended embed code into an HTML or custom code block on your website. Pasting it into a normal text block may display the code instead of the form. Publish the page when ready.
5. Test the published page on a phone and a computer, including a test submission. Confirm that the application appears in your Makatib queue before sharing the page with families. Use fictional applicant details for testing.

Choose the right embed code

The recommended code includes a small script that adjusts the form's height as its content changes. The basic iframe code uses a fixed height with scrolling and is useful when your website builder restricts scripts. Keep the included Open application form link visible so families can open the form separately if embedding does not work for them.

Common problems and things to check

• The form is blank or refuses to load. Check embedding is enabled and the website address in the browser matches a saved allowed address. A redirect may change the address, for example from the non-www to the www version. Also check that the direct application link still works.
• It works on the published website but not in the editor. Website-builder previews can use a different address or place the page inside another frame. Test the published page first; ask your website provider about preview restrictions.
• The form is cut off or does not resize. Your website may have removed or blocked the resizing script, or its layout may limit the form's height. Ask your website provider to check the custom code block, or try the basic iframe with scrolling.
• The security check or submission fails. Try the direct application link. Website security settings, consent tools, browser extensions or an iframe sandbox can interfere with scripts and forms. Your website provider should check these settings; avoid removing security protections across your whole website just to enable an embed.
• The form looks different from your website. The embedded form keeps its Makatib styling and your madrassa's configured identity. Your website's fonts and styles do not automatically change the form inside the iframe.

For your website developer: a Content Security Policy on the external website must allow the origin in the supplied embed code in frame-src. The recommended version also needs its helper script permitted by script-src. Preserve the snippet's sizing styles. Additional sandbox restrictions need testing with scripts, form submission and CAPTCHA. With nested frames, every ancestor must be permitted by the form's embedding policy.

When you change your form or website

Questions and form settings update automatically, and applications arrive in your usual queue. Closing applications displays your closed message. Disabling embedding leaves your direct application link working. Generating a new application link also means replacing the embed code on your website. If your website address changes, update the allowed addresses and remove any you no longer use. Permission changes take effect on subsequent loads; they do not remove a form already open in someone's browser. Private links requesting more information from an applicant should be opened separately, not embedded.

Who handles setup and support?

Makatib.App provides the application form, embedding settings and embed code. Your madrassa or website provider is responsible for installing that code and managing the external website's hosting, layout, security settings and website-builder configuration. External website setup and maintenance are not included in Makatib.App support, and we cannot guarantee compatibility with every website builder, theme or plugin.

If the direct application link works but the embedded version does not, first ask your website provider to check the installation and website settings. If the direct link also fails, or you suspect a problem with Makatib's form or embed code, contact Makatib support. Include the affected page address, browser and any error message, and say whether the direct link works. Do not include passwords or applicants' personal information in screenshots.

Add your own questions and guidance

Open Admin → Applications → Questions and choose Add an item. You can add up to twelve active items in total. They appear together at the end of the public application form, in the order shown on this screen.

Write an item that is easy to answer

1. Choose the item type first. Its answer type cannot be changed later; replace the item if you need a different type.
2. Write one question at a time. Use the optional Hint for families for examples, definitions or the format you expect.
3. For Choose one or Choose any, add distinct options that cover the answers you expect. Avoid overlapping choices such as “Sometimes” and “Occasionally”.
4. Mark a question required only when the admissions team genuinely cannot review an application without it. Content blocks cannot be required because they do not collect an answer.
5. Save the item, then use the arrows to put all items in the intended reading order.

Use a content block immediately before the questions it explains. For example, add a short note about transport arrangements, followed by “Will you use the madrassa minibus?” as Yes or no and “Which pickup point?” as Choose one.

For terms or policies, put the clickable link in a content block and follow it with a Required agreement item such as “I have read and accept the terms and conditions.” For the clearest retained record, include the named link in the agreement wording too. Every submitted application containing that item records the wording and link as accepted; unticked agreements cannot be submitted.

Know where the answers go

Answers appear on the application review screen and in the applications download. They help a person review the application; they do not place a student in a class, affect fees or reporting, or carry onto the student record after enrolment.

Do not use custom questions for health, medical or safeguarding information. Health belongs in the form's Health section, which stays hidden behind a reveal on the review screen. Safeguarding is deliberately outside Makatib.App.

Rewording a question changes the form for future applicants. Existing answers retain the wording the family saw. Switching an item off removes it from new forms but keeps it available to switch on again. Deleting also removes it from new forms; answers already submitted remain on their applications.

Test before you share the form

1. Open the public application link in a private or signed-out browser window.
2. Read the custom section on a phone-sized screen and check its order and wording.
3. Try to continue without each required answer and confirm the form explains what is missing.
4. Submit a test application using recognisable test details.
5. Open it under Admin → Applications and confirm every answer is clear to the person who will review it. Remove the test application from the live queue when the check is complete.

Review and decide applications

Open Admin → Applications. Filter the queue by applications needing review, waiting on an applicant or already decided, and search by the student's name or application reference.

Open an application and check:

• the student's identity, date of birth, requested track and prior experience;
• the adult applicant's own contact, or the primary and additional guardians;
• whether the applicant or family already has a student on the roster;
• whether a student with the same name and date of birth may already be enrolled;
• health or additional-needs information, where your form collects it.

Choose the decision that describes what should happen next:

• Request more information creates a private link for the applicant to update the application. It is emailed when application email is configured; otherwise copy the returned link into your usual communication. The link expires after 14 days and stops working once used.
• Accept and enrol opens the enrolment form with the family's answers already filled in. Adult contact details remain the student's own details and are not converted into a guardian record. Nothing is enrolled merely by opening it.
• Reject records that a place is not being offered and requires a reason.
• Withdraw is for a duplicate, spam submission or a family who no longer wants the place.

Add an internal note when useful. The history at the bottom of the application shows submissions, information requests, applicant replies, notes and the final decision.

Accept and enrol a student

Acceptance is the handover from admissions to the live student roster. Review the prefilled enrolment form before saving, especially the:

• name, preferred name, date of birth and gender;
• Quran track, year group and class;
• enrolment date and initial status;
• home address and either adult learner contact or guardian details;
• emergency contact, health information and additional needs;
• admission number.

Saving creates the student and any guardian contacts, then marks the application as accepted. Where a guardian's email already belongs to an account in this madrassa, the new child is linked to that existing account rather than creating a duplicate identity. For an adult applicant, their own email prepares the Student Portal account instead.

Accepting a public application does not email portal access immediately. Guardian and adult learner invitations are queued because the address came from a public form. Review them in Admin → Guardians, then send each invitation when you are ready.

Configure automatic admission numbers

Go to Admin → Settings → Enrolment and turn on Allocate admission numbers automatically. Configure:

• a prefix, such as MKT-;
• the next numeric value, such as 1001;
• the minimum number of digits, which adds leading zeroes where required.

For example, prefix MKT-, next number 7 and four digits produces MKT-0007. The preview shows the sequence before you save it.

A number is allocated only when enrolment is saved and the admission-number field was left automatic or blank. If the candidate is already in use, Makatib.App moves safely to the next available value. Two admins enrolling at the same time cannot receive the same number.

Use Enter a different number for a deliberate exception. Explicit numbers from a CSV are also preserved. Changing or disabling the sequence never renumbers existing students; it affects future enrolments only.

Use manual enrolment or CSV import

Manual enrolment

From Admin → Students, choose Enrol student. This bypasses the application queue and creates the roster record directly. If you request a portal signup from this office-entered form, the invitation is sent immediately; check the email address first. An adult student requires their own Student Portal email and does not require a guardian.

CSV import

Download the template from the Students area and keep its header names unchanged. An admission number already on the roster, or repeated earlier in the same file, is skipped rather than imported twice. With automatic numbering enabled, a blank admission_number receives the next available value.

Imports save every valid row even when other rows fail. Use self_portal_email for an adult learner; it must be blank for an under-18 student. Adult and guardian portal invitations are queued for review rather than sent during the upload.

Complete the post-enrolment checks

1. Confirm the student appears in the correct class, year group and Quran track. Use Admin → Classes when several new starters need placing together.
2. Review adult contact or guardians, primary-contact status and messaging permission.
3. Send Student or Parent Portal invitations from the Guardians area when ready.
4. Add the student to the correct fee household and plan where fees are in use.
5. Check sensitive health information is necessary, accurate and visible only as needed.

Troubleshooting

The family cannot submit

Check that the application form is open and its closing date has not passed. If the public link was regenerated, make sure the family has the new link.

Replies are not reaching the admissions team

Add or correct the reply-to address under Applications → Application form.

A custom question does not appear

Open Applications → Questions and check the item is switched on. Then reload the public form. A family who already had the form open may need to refresh before a newly added item appears.

I need to change a custom question's answer type

Switch the old item off and add a new one with the correct type. Existing submissions keep the old wording and answer, which prevents their record from changing after the family submitted it.

The review warns that the child may already exist

Search the student roster before accepting. Withdraw the new application if it is a duplicate; do not create a second student record simply to clear the queue.

The allocated number is higher than the preview

The earlier value was already in use or another enrolment completed first. Allocation advances rather than reusing an identifier.

Continue with student and guardian management, class rosters and rollover, the Student & Parent Portal or fees and households. For how application and student information is retained, see the privacy policy.