LION Award — Youth Empowerment Academy · Last updated: 11 September 2026
A plain-language history of what has changed on the LION Award platform, newest first.
11 September 2026
Cohort Settings sections can collapse and expand, with a jump-to list at the top so longer pages (for example multi-week programmes) are easier to navigate.
Cohorts can run for longer than two weeks (up to about three months) — coordinators set the length in Programs or Cohort Settings.
On longer programmes, the Guide, summary, and certificate wording say “programme” instead of “week,” and the Log day picker groups days by calendar week so the whole month is easier to navigate.
If upgrading an organization to Standard can’t start, Billing stays on the page and shows a clear message instead of a server error screen.
10 September 2026
Coordinators can rename ranks, change their emojis, edit Guide descriptions, and add or remove ranks (up to eight) for each cohort in Cohort Settings — students see those names on Home, the Guide, and certificates.
9 September 2026
Signing in no longer shows a false “Sign-in failed” message when your password was accepted — you go straight to Home or Admin.
If your account is not in a cohort yet, you can open a join link or enter a join code, claim your roster name, and get into your week (without creating a second account).
3 September 2026
Signing in as a coordinator with many students no longer stalls on “Signing in…” while the Students page loads emails.
Demo organization accounts show a light top banner so walkthroughs are clearly sample data.
Coordinators see Organization (singular) in the admin nav; platform owners still see Organizations.
15 August 2026
On organization Billing, Standard subscribers get clear View invoices and Update card actions (instead of a single Manage billing button). Platform owners can return an organization to Free and disconnect Stripe from that same Billing section.
13 August 2026
Organizations can choose a plan: Free (small limits), Standard (annual license, billed in Admin → Billing), or Enterprise (contact us). A public Plans page explains the differences.
Admin settings for each dated run are now Cohort Settings and Cohort Schedule. Students see “your week” for dates and the lived experience, and the rest of the copy uses US spelling (organize, liters, license).
In Admin, you pick the cohort once in the top header — it applies across Students, Awards, Activities, Spotlight, and Cohort Settings (not on Organizations or Programs).
Inviting an organization admin with an email that already has an admin account links them to that organization (no separate “add existing” step).
Accepting an admin invite email now opens the set-password screen correctly (instead of showing an expired sign-in link).
Organization admin lists show Invite pending until the person chooses a password — not merely after they open the invite email.
After you set a password from an organization admin invite, you land on the admin dashboard (not the student home screen).
Admin uses a single Organizations area (American spelling): platform owners see every organization and open one to manage it; coordinators open their own organization from the same place to invite admins.
When you create a new cohort, you can start with the standard LION activities or copy activities from another week you already run (student logs are not copied).
New organizations get a default program only — add cohorts yourself from Programs (no automatic sandbox week).
You can rename a cohort from Admin → Programs.
Cohorts are grouped under Programs within an organization. Coordinators can add new programs and cohorts from Admin → Programs; the cohort switcher groups weeks by program name.
10 August 2026
Platform owners can set up partner organizations from a new Organizations area in Admin: create an organization, invite its coordinators by email, and manage who can access each organization’s cohorts.
8 August 2026
The admin nav item and settings page title are now “Cohort Settings” (instead of just “Programme”), so it’s clearer what that tab is for.
On a student’s admin profile, each day in Week Log expands and collapses — open by default when that day has logs or is today — so it’s easier to scan the week.
Insights can open a full activity ranking (collapsed by default) that loads only when expanded — every activity with total submissions, total points, and the dates it was available.
On Insights, hover a chart point or day column to see the actual numbers (students logging, day-1 retention, and submissions by area).
Insights renames “Full Pride days” to “All-area log days” — how many student-days included logs in all four core areas — so the metric is easier to read at a glance.
Insights also lists bottom activities (least logged among active activities, including zeros) next to the top five, so quiet activities are easier to spot.
On All Students, Join link & roster is collapsed by default so the main student points table is easier to reach; expand it when you need the join code or claim/release tools. That student table also uses a smaller type size for denser scanning.
On Manual Awards, the student list is alphabetical by roster name. Award and Deduct modes are easier to tell apart — green for awards, red for deductions — including a light tint on the form when each mode is active.
On Manual Awards, Award history is denser and easier to scan: reason text gets more room, student names take less width, and longer lists load in smaller batches with Show more.
5 August 2026
Activities can now include an optional description for students. Admins write a short explanation or instructions and switch on “Show description to students” — it appears under the activity name on the Log page (always visible for that activity, not only after you select it).
The changelog shows recent updates first and lets you load older ones when you want them, so the page stays easier to scan as the history grows.
4 August 2026
Admins can optionally mark activities as “Track participation,” then open Participation at the bottom of the Students tab to pick a day and see who logged those activities — with their written response and proof (photos open larger on click).
Links to the site (including join links) now show a proper LION Award preview card when shared in chat or social apps, with clearer titles and descriptions on public pages.