Academic Terms

Create the Terms Table with a Migration

Next up is the Terms table, which stores academic terms like Spring 2027 and Fall 2026.

Like before, we'll create it with a timestamped migration. The Terms table has these columns:

• An auto-incrementing primary key
• A required and unique Name column
• StartDate and EndDate columns defining the academic period
• An IsActive boolean (default false) — is this the current term?
• An IsRegistrationOpen boolean (default false) — can students register for courses?

We're using AutoReversingMigration again so the migration can be rolled back cleanly while we develop.

using FluentMigrator;
namespace CourseTutorial.Migrations.DefaultDB;

[DefaultDB, MigrationKey(20250614_1706)]
public class DefaultDB_20250614_1706_Terms : AutoReversingMigration
{
    public override void Up()
    {
        Create.Table("Terms")
            .WithColumn("Id").AsInt32().IdentityKey(this)
            .WithColumn("Name").AsString(50).NotNullable().Unique()
            .WithColumn("StartDate").AsDateTime().NotNullable()
            .WithColumn("EndDate").AsDateTime().NotNullable()
            .WithColumn("IsActive").AsBoolean().NotNullable().WithDefaultValue(false)
            .WithColumn("IsRegistrationOpen").AsBoolean().NotNullable().WithDefaultValue(false);
    }
}

Generate the Code with Sergen

Now let's generate the application code for Terms, just like we did for Department:

• Select the dbo.Terms table
• Enter CourseDB as the module name
• Keep the default All option selected

Once it's done, start the application and Terms will appear under the CourseDB menu.

Add Some Sample Terms

Let's add a couple of terms — enrollments and grades later in the tutorial will reference them.

Open the CourseDB → Terms screen and create:

These are the terms you'll pick from when you register students for courses.

Note: Dates in this tutorial are written in ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) so they're unambiguous regardless of the reader's culture. When you enter dates, Serenity's date editor uses your browser/application culture's format (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY for English/US), so you may need to type them in that culture's format.