Help & Getting Started
Everything you need to run a smooth, dignified commencement with GradRecorder. Jump to the section for your role, or read start to finish if you're setting up for the first time.
Who does what
GradRecorder has three built-in roles. Most schools use all three, but a smaller school can have the same person wear multiple hats.
| Role | Can do |
|---|---|
| Admin | Invite other users, import the graduate roster, edit school contact info, run reports, everything below. |
| Staff | Check graduates in on ceremony day, view the roster, export reports. |
| Announcer | Use the Announce screen during the ceremony, rehearse in Practice mode. |
Your first sign-in
Your admin will send you an invite link by email. Clicking it takes you to an Accept invite page where you set a password for your account. If your email is on Google Workspace, you can also skip the password step and use Sign in with Google from the login page.
/login.php.Forgot your password?
Click Forgot password? on the sign-in page, enter your email, and you'll get a password-reset link good for one hour.
Setting up your school (admins)
The first time you sign in, open Setup → School Settings from the top nav and fill in:
- School name — appears on the nav bar, exports, and reminder emails.
- Address, city, phone — used on reports.
- School year — e.g.
2024-2025. - Primary contact and Primary contact email — the person we'll reach out to if we need you.
Importing your graduate list
Open Setup → Import Graduates. Upload a CSV with these six columns in this order, with a header row:
| Column | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
ID | 50075262 | Student ID number. Must be unique. |
Student_Name | Smith, Jordan | Format as Last, First. |
Grade | 12 | Numeric. |
Division | A411 | Homeroom / section / cohort code. |
Division_Teacher | Smith, John | Homeroom teacher or faculty lead. |
SEmail | jsmith@school.edu | Used for reminder emails. |
Sample CSV
Copy-paste this into a file named graduates.csv to test:
ID,Student_Name,Grade,Division,Division_Teacher,SEmail 50075262,"Smith, Jordan",12,A411,"Smith, John",jsmith@school.edu 50075263,"Doe, Jane",12,A411,"Smith, John",jdoe@school.edu
Inviting users
Open Setup → Manage Users. Type the person's email, choose their role, and click Create invite link.
- If email is configured, the invite link is sent automatically.
- Otherwise, copy the one-time link shown in the green banner and paste it into an email yourself.
- The invitee clicks the link, sets a password, and they're in.
- Invite links expire after 7 days. To resend, create a new invite.
Deactivating a user
Click Deactivate next to their name on the Users table. They can't sign in until you click Reactivate. You cannot deactivate yourself.
Student reminders
Once a student is on the roster, GradRecorder automatically emails them a reminder to record their name, up to four times over several days. Reminders stop once they've recorded.
No action required on your side. You can check who's been reminded under Reports → Export Graduates with No Recorded Name.
Using Announce (announcers)
On ceremony day, sign in on any phone or tablet, connect a Bluetooth earpiece, and open Announce. You'll see the first checked-in graduate on screen.
- The graduate's full name, division, and homeroom teacher are displayed.
- Audio of their name in their own voice plays automatically through your earpiece.
- Read the name aloud at your preferred pace.
- Tap Next to advance to the next graduate.
Jumping to a specific graduate
Type their Tag number (the row order) in the Go box at the bottom and press Enter. Useful if a graduate arrives late or the order shifts.
Practice mode
In the days before the ceremony, open Practice from the top nav. Same UI as Announce, but it walks through your entire graduate roster (not just checked-in students), so you can rehearse every name.
Setting up your Bluetooth earpiece
Any Bluetooth earpiece or earbud works. Tested with AirPods, common over-ear headsets, and classic mono earpieces.
iPhone / iPad
- Settings → Bluetooth → turn on Bluetooth.
- Put your earpiece in pairing mode (consult its manual).
- Tap it under "Other devices" to pair.
- In Safari, open GradRecorder. Audio will route to the earpiece automatically.
Android
- Settings → Connected devices → Pair new device.
- Put your earpiece in pairing mode.
- Tap it to connect.
- In Chrome, open GradRecorder. Audio routes through the earpiece.
Install as a home-screen app (recommended)
Installing GradRecorder to your home screen makes audio playback more reliable and gives you a full-screen app-like experience.
- iPhone: Safari → Share icon → Add to Home Screen.
- Android: Chrome → ⋮ menu → Install app.
Checking graduates in (staff)
At the staging area, as each graduate arrives, find them on the Check-in screen and tap the green + button. They move to the announcer's queue.
Finding a graduate fast
Start typing any part of their name in the search box. The list filters as you type. Works on partial last name, first name, or ID.
Removing a check-in
Made a mistake? Open the Checked-in tab. Tap the trash icon next to the graduate's name, confirm, done. They're back on the main Check-in list.
How students record their name
Share these three steps with your graduates. Most schools send them in an email blast alongside the reminder, or post them on a flyer at the senior lunch.
- Call the number your school will provide.
- When asked, enter your school code, followed by #.
- When asked, enter your student ID, followed by #.
- After the beep, say your first and last name clearly. Press # when done.
Exporting reports
Under Reports in the top nav:
- Export Graduate Recorded Name Status — one row per student with date of their recording (if any).
- Export Graduates with No Recorded Name — students who haven't called in yet. Hand this to your senior-class advisor.
- Export Graduates Announced — students checked in at the ceremony, in the order they were announced.
All three download as .csv files you can open in Excel or Google Sheets.
Troubleshooting
A student's recording won't play on mobile
Browser autoplay policies block audio until the user taps the page. On the Announce screen, tap the play icon manually the first time; after that, subsequent graduates autoplay. Installing the app to the home screen (see the Bluetooth section) avoids this.
Bluetooth earpiece isn't playing audio
- Open a YouTube video — does the earpiece play that? If not, the earpiece isn't connected.
- In Settings → Bluetooth, confirm the earpiece is "Connected" (not just "Paired").
- Check the earpiece volume — it has its own independent volume from the phone.
- iPhone: swipe down from the top-right and long-press the volume slider. Confirm the earpiece is selected as the output.
I imported the wrong roster
Re-import with the correct CSV — it replaces the previous upload. (There's no undo, so double-check the file first.)
A user says they never got an invite email
- Ask them to check spam / promotions.
- On the Manage Users page, delete the pending invite and create a new one. Copy-paste the link into an email manually as a backup.
Our ceremony is tomorrow and some students still haven't recorded
Export the No Recorded Name report and send it to homeroom teachers for a final push. On ceremony day, the Announce screen gracefully falls back to text-only for students without recordings — the announcer reads the name from the screen.
Still stuck?
Include your school name and what you were doing when you ran into trouble. Screenshots always help. We reply within one business day.
This guide is for GradRecorder version Phase 3. Last updated April 2026.