Quick Reference Card – Play A.8: Graduate Program Intake Tagging System
Print this page and keep it at your desk.
The Five Tag Commandments
- No tag shall ever be created without a category
- No tag shall ever be created without a clear job
- Every tag’s name shall describe its function
- Tag names shall always start with the category name
- Every tag shall carry a date-time stamp
The Ten Tag Categories
| Category | Purpose | Naming Convention | Example |
| 1. Inquiry | Tracks first signals of interest | Inquiry – Source – Action | Inquiry – Website – Information Request Submitted |
| 2. Application | Tracks application progress | Application – Stage – Status | Application – Documents – Transcripts Missing |
| 3. Learner Profile Discovery | Uncovers knowledge, skills, goals, and gaps | Learner Profile Discovery – Area – Detail | Learner Profile Discovery – Professional Goal – Career Change |
| 4. Admission | Tracks decisions and responses | Admission – Decision – Status | Admission – Response – Accepted Offer |
| 5. Enrollment | Tracks pre-arrival steps | Enrollment – Step – Status | Enrollment – Orientation – Attended |
| 6. Active Learner | Tracks engagement, progress, and growth | Active Learner – Area – Status or Detail | Active Learner – Engagement – At Risk |
| 7. Alumni | Tracks post-graduation relationship | Alumni – Area – Status or Detail | Alumni – Milestone – 3 Year Check In Complete |
| 8. Profile | Documents who the learner is | Profile – Category – Detail | Profile – Persona – Career Advancer |
| 9. Status | Tracks current state in any process | Status – Process – Current State | Status – Enrollment Pipeline – At Risk of Not Starting |
| 10. Temp | Supports short-term operational tasks | Temp – Purpose – Detail | Temp – List Pull – Admitted No Deposit Spring 2025 |
The Three Phases of Implementation
| Phase | Categories | When |
| Phase 1 — Foundation | Status, Inquiry, Application | Start here |
| Phase 2 — Growth | Admission, Enrollment, Learner Profile Discovery | When Phase 1 is running smoothly |
| Phase 3 — Full System | Active Learner, Alumni, Profile, Temp | When Phase 2 is running smoothly |
Your Starting Question
Before creating any tag ask: Can I complete this sentence in one sentence or less? “This tag exists to _______.” If you cannot complete that sentence — do not create the tag.
The Date-Time Stamp Rule
Every tag applied in every category carries a date-time stamp. The stamp is not optional — it is what transforms a collection of tags into a timeline and makes patterns visible over time.
The Temp Tag Rule
Every Temp tag must have a deletion date or deletion trigger assigned at the moment it is created. The person who creates it is responsible for deleting it.
Need Help?
- Full system documentation — refer to the complete play
- Platform compatibility questions — refer to the Platform Compatibility Appendix
- Getting started — refer to the Getting Started Guide and Your First 90 Days
One Final Reminder
This system exists to serve your learners — not the other way around. Every tag you apply, every profile you build, every pattern you discover in your intake data is only valuable if it leads to better decisions, more personalized support, and a program that more fully lives out its purpose.
The goal was never a perfect tagging system. The goal was always a program that truly knows its learners — and uses that knowledge to serve them well. Start there. Start small. Start now.
If you have not done so, subscribe to the Grad Program Intake Playbook Newsletter by clicking the LinkedIn subscribe button.
Play 0.1: Guided Worksheet – Discovering Your Graduate Program’s Purpose Statement is available for download as a Word Doc by clicking here:
Click on this link to view a list of all published plays. https://rgalsup.com/chronological-listing-of-available-grad-program-intake-playbook-plays/
0 Comments