To get the most out of Apricot’s Program Enrollments feature, it’s important that your Programs in Apricot reflect your actual programs in practice. These are the programs participants are actively enrolled in and receiving services from.
This guide will help you assess and align your Programs so that enrolling participants is simple, accurate, and useful for reporting.
Why does this matter?
When you use Program Enrollments in Apricot, staff will be prompted to select a Program from a dropdown list. That list is pulled from your existing Programs.
If that list doesn’t reflect the real services your organization offers (or is too vague or incomplete) enrollment becomes confusing or unusable. Participants might get enrolled in the wrong place or not at all.
On the other hand, when Programs are structured intentionally:
Staff can quickly and confidently enroll participants
Reporting becomes more consistent across the org
Program outcomes can be tracked more effectively
You avoid workarounds with custom Tier 1/2 forms
What qualifies as a “Program”?
A well-structured Program is something a participant can enter, receive services from, and exit. That’s what makes it enrollable. When reviewing or setting up your Program list, ask yourself:
Would a staff member recognize this as something enroll participants into?
Does this Program represent an offering or engagement with a clear start and end?
Are goals or outcomes tied to this Program?
Is this something a funder expects reporting on?
If the answer is yes, it belongs in your Program list.
If the answer is no, it might make more sense as a field or data point on a form rather than its own Program.
Let’s take a look at this example database: Helping Hands Organization. Here’s how their Programs might be structured in Apricot:
Emergency Assistance
Mental Health Counseling
Adult Education
Food Pantry
Advocacy / Legal
Workforce Development
Housing Services
This structure is clear to staff, easy to report on, and compatible with the Program Enrollments feature. We recommend avoiding overly generic Programs (like “Client Services”) or overly specific ones (like “GED Class - Week 2”) unless they’re truly meaningful areas of service delivery.
What if my current Programs don’t match?
That’s okay! You can update your Program list at any time. Learn how with the following articles:
If you’re updating your structure, be sure to move existing data to the appropriate new Programs so it remains accessible. You can register for the training below or watch the recorded webinar to learn how to do this safely.
Once your Program list is aligned with how you operate, you’re ready to start enrolling participants.