When applicants try to start an application, they may occasionally see an “Applications are closed” message instead of being able to access the application form. This usually means that one or more settings associated with the application or the selected programme and class are preventing new applications from being started. In this article, we’ll walk you through the key settings to check in Full Fabric to identify what is causing the message and ensure applicants can access and start their application as expected. 🔦 🕵

No, it isn't a software issue, malfunction or bug. Software issues usually result in blank pages, 404 errors, pages not loading, and other odd behaviours. The message 'applications are closed' is a normal system message, related to system settings, and it can only be presented to an applicant if either the respective application template is closed overall, or is closed specifically for that person.

There are several possible causes for the 'Applications are closed' message. We recommend checking all of the settings outlined below, as your specific case may be caused by just one of them or by a combination of several.

Lets raw list the causes before scanning them deeper:

When you access the settings of an application template that is closed, the system actually lists and shows you the first 3 options as potential causes for it being closed:

For an application template to be open and accessible, the applications start on date and dealine date must be correct. To check this, go to General Settings -> Templates & Documents:

On the list of templates, select the one in question. In the Details tab, scrol down until you reach the dates highlighted above. Naturally, today's date must fall between the Opens on and the Deadline:

IMPORTANT NOTE: the example and instructions above refer to institution-level application templates. If yours is a class-level application template, then you must go to General Settings -> Products -> Programmes -> (select programme) -> (select class) -> Application templates tab

In the Details tab of an institution-level application template, there's a specific setting to define wether this template must have a product choice field:

If your template has the option 'A specific selection of products' selected, it mandatorily needs to have a Product Choice field to go along with it, in order to show applicants a list of classes they must choose from. Consequently, if the template's schema doesn't contain a Product Choice Field, the template will be closed because there are no products associated to it.

Now navigate through the template's Schema tabs, and make sure there's a Product Choice Field in one of them:

Now having a Product Choice Field alone isn't enough. The field must have, in its settings, at least one class on the state 'applications open'. If it has none, there are no classes available in the product choice field, therefore the application template is closed automatically.

To check this, double click on the Product Choice Field in the schema, and click on Edit Products:

On the window that pops, make sure the correct classes are selected and that at least one of them is on the state 'applications open'. Save those choices and save the field afterwards:

IMPORTANT NOTE: for class-level application templates all of this is non applicable, as they don't have product choice fields, they are by nature linked to one class only.

This brotherly relates to the topic right above. For classes to have the 'applications open' state in the Product Choice Field, that state actually must've been previously set in the class settings.

To access the class settings, visit General Settings -> Products -> Programmes -> (select the Programme) -> (select the class).

Scroll until the Admissions / Schedule, and make sure the dates are properly updated for the class to be in the state 'applications open'. Today's date must be in between the 'applications open on' and 'applications close on' dates. Consequently, the 'class start' date needs to be after the 'applications close on'. After setting the dates correctly, refresh the page and the State automatically updates.

You may come across a situation in which, for the same application template, some applicants report they see the 'applications closed' screen but others can access the application normally. This is happens because the application template is restricted to profiles in specific lifecycle states. If a profile is not in one of the allowed lifecycle states, the template will appear closed to them, while remaining open to profiles that meet the lifecycle state requirements.

To see if the template is restricted to specific lifecycle states, go to General Settings -> Templates & Documents -> Application Templates -> (select the template).

In the template's settings, look for the setting 'Available to applicants in one or more of the following states':

Check the list to see whether the application template is restricted to specific lifecycle states. Next, open the profile of one of the applicants who reported seeing the 'Applications are closed' message and check their current lifecycle state. Most likely, their lifecycle state is not included in the list of states allowed to access the template: