These settings live under Admin > Camper Setup > Module Settings. They're easy to miss during initial setup, but the choices you make here flow through session rules, forms, reports, and division assignments. Make this decision carefully and with your full team — it's best not to change it once campers are in the system.
What you'll learn:
The difference between "grade completed" and "grade entering" and which fits your camp
How Campminder calculates camper ages and which setting to use
How to configure lead reminder and note defaults to match your workflow
Video Walkthrough
Set Your Grade Definition
Navigate to Admin > Camper Setup > Module Settings.
Under Camper Grade, select the radio button that matches how your camp thinks about grade:
Grade Completed — the camper's record shows the grade they just finished. If it's July, a camper who finished 4th grade is recorded as a 4th grader.
Grade Entering — the camper's record shows the grade they're going into after summer. That same camper would be recorded as a 5th grader. This is the more common choice.
📋 Note: This setting affects reports, session rules, division assignments, and more. Once you've set it and campers are in the system, changing it will not update existing records — only new data going forward. Choose once and commit.
💡 Tip: Most camps use Grade Entering because it aligns with how families think about their child — a kid who just finished 4th grade is already "going into 5th."
🎯 Try it now: Go to Admin > Camper Setup > Module Settings and confirm which grade definition fits your camp. Set it, then come back.
Set Your Age Calculation Method
Under Camper Ages, select the radio button for how Campminder should compute a camper's age.
💡 Tip: Use Start of child camp season so Campminder calculates the camper's age as of opening day — not the date a parent fills out the application months earlier. This keeps your age-based rules accurate.
📋 Note: If you use Current date, a camper whose birthday falls after the application date will show the wrong age until their birthday arrives. This can cause issues with session eligibility and division rules.
Set Lead Reminder and Note Defaults
Under Lead Reminders, set your default reminder actions for when leads are manually added. You can always adjust these case by case, but setting a sensible default saves time.
Under Note Preferences, set your default settings for new notes — seasonality and person vs. household association. These defaults apply every time you add a note, so choose what you do most often.
📖 Related: Set Up Note Categories
Making edits to grade settings
If you ever update the grade definition after campers are already in the system, existing records won't change automatically. New calculations apply going forward only.
To manage the transition cleanly:
Add a note at the top of your application prompting families to double-check and update their child's grade.
Use a user report to manually update grades for returning campers before applications open.
Before you move on, check yourself:
Have you chosen between grade completed and grade entering — and do you know why that choice matters?
Do you know how Campminder will calculate camper ages under your current setting?
Have you set note and lead reminder defaults that match your typical workflow?
Ready for the next step?
Set Up Note Categories — define the note types your team will use across camper and staff records
Configure Grade Labels, Lead Sources, and Mailing Settings — customize the terminology and defaults that appear on applications and communications