This article is for schools and districts who use the following rostering methods:
Google Classroom
Google add-code rostering
Manual rostering
ℹ️ Heads up! If your district uses Clever or ClassLink, you’re all set — sessions and licenses are managed automatically.
What are sessions?
InnerOrbit uses sessions to organize students by time period, such as Semester 1 and Semester 2.
Only students in active sessions count toward your license. Students in archived sessions do not.
What happens to previous sessions?
Sessions are automatically archived after the session end month has passed.
Example:
If a session runs from July 2025–November 2025, it will be archived on December 1, 2025.
When a session is archived:
Students no longer appear in the "Rosters" tab
Archived students are not counted toward your license count
ℹ️ At this time, users cannot manually archive rosters. If you see a roster that needs to be archived, please reach out to chat support.
Understanding the Student Limit Message
If you see a message like “You already have ___ students and your student limit is ___” while adding students, it could mean students from a previous semester are still in an active session and are being counted towards your school/district student licenses.
This can happen when:
A previous session's roster hasn’t been archived yet
The maximum number of licenses for your school or district has been reached
If you see this message, please double-check that you’ve selected the correct session (semester), or click "View your licenses" to see how many student licenses have been used.
What to do when starting a new session (semester)
Option 1: Create a new roster
If you are needing to create new rosters with new students make sure all previous rosters you no longer need for the semester are archived.
Follow this help article for step-by-step guidance on creating a new roster.
When creating a new roster, you can choose an existing session window or create a customized session window.
ℹ️ When creating a new roster, choose the session window that best matches how your class is set up.
For example:
If you have a new group of students each semester, select a semester session window
(e.g., Fall Semester: August 2025 – December 2025)If you teach the same students all year, select a full school year session window
(e.g., School Year: August 2025 – June 2026)
Option 2: Reuse an archived roster
If you are wanting to use an archived rosters, you can reactivate the roster by completing the following steps:
Step 1: Click on the "Rosters" tab.
Step 2: Click on "Copy Another Roster".
Step 3: Find the roster you would like to copy and click on "Copy this roster".
Step 4: You will see the copied roster listed on the "Rosters" tab. Click the pencil icon to edit/update the session (semester).
ℹ️ When copying a roster, you can only choose from existing sessions in the drop-down menu and cannot create a customized session.
How to view data from a previous session
In the Reports tab, you can view data from previous sessions. Use the session drop-down menu in the Assignment Report, Dimensions Report, and Gradebook to select a previous session.
For the Performance Expectation Report, adjust the date range filter to include the time period you want to review.
For district admin
If you’re reviewing data at the district level, it helps when schools use the same session start and end dates. When session windows are aligned, school data shows up together in the district session drop-down menu, making it much easier to review and compare data across schools.
For example, you might ask all schools to use semester-based session windows if rosters change between semesters:
Fall semester: August 2025 – December 2025
Spring semester: January 2026 – June 2026
If rosters stay the same for the entire year, schools may instead use a full school year session window, such as:
School year: August 2025 – June 2026
To keep things running smoothly, it’s a good idea to communicate the correct session windows with schools before teachers create their rosters.
Need more help? For additional assistance, click on "Send us a message" in the site chat or email us support@innerorbit.com