Reason codes help schools clearly and consistently explain why a student is marked absent, late, or out of class. They add essential context to attendance records and play a key role in how attendance rates, dashboards, and reports are calculated in Orah.
This article explains what reason codes are, where they’re used, and how to manage them correctly.
What Are Reason Codes?
Reason codes are predefined labels used to describe attendance-related events. For example, they may indicate that a student was absent due to illness, late without explanation, attending an approved activity, or not expected to be in class.
Each reason code has a reason type, which determines how it is counted in attendance calculations and reporting.
The three reason types are:
Excused
Approved by the school (e.g. illness, medical appointment)Unexcused
Not approved (e.g. truancy, oversleeping)Not Expected
The student was not meant to be in class (e.g. school trip, exam block)
Reason types are mandatory and are used by Orah to calculate attendance rates and power dashboards and reports.
Where Are Reason Codes Used?
Reason codes appear throughout Orah, including:
Roll Calls
Staff select a reason code when marking students absent or late.Passes and Leave Requests
Reasons can be required when creating passes or submitting leave.Attendance Reports & Dashboards
Reason types determine how absences are counted and displayed.Exports and SIS Integrations
Reason codes are included when syncing or exporting attendance data to external systems.
Managing Reason Codes
Administrators can create and manage reason codes to align with their school’s attendance policies and reporting needs.
Creating a Reason Code
Go to Location → Attendance → Attendance settings → Reasons
Select Add Reason (It will be below exisiting reasons)
Enter a name and optional description
Assign a reason type:
Excused
Unexcused
Not Expected
(Optional) Restrict which staff roles can use this reason
(Optional) Map the reason to your SIS reason code if using an integration
Save your changes
📸 Screenshot:
Location → Attendance → Attendance settings → Reasons
Editing a Reason Code
Existing reason codes can be updated if policies or naming conventions change.
Navigate to Location → Attendance → Attendance settings → Reasons
Select the reason you want to update
Make your changes and save
Changes to reason names or settings apply going forward.
If you change a reason’s type (for example, from Excused to Unexcused), this may affect how historical data is calculated in dashboards and reports, even though the original attendance records remain unchanged.
Removing a Reason Code
If a reason code is no longer required, it can be removed.
Removed reasons cannot be selected for new attendance entries
Historical records that used the reason remain unchanged
This allows schools to clean up unused reasons without impacting past data.
Best Practice Tips
Assign the correct reason type based on your attendance policy
Keep reason names short and clear (e.g. Illness, Late – Unexcused)
Use access controls to limit sensitive reasons (such as truancy) to senior staff
Avoid creating multiple reasons with the same meaning
Review and clean up reason codes periodically
Ensure reasons are correctly mapped to SIS codes to keep exports consistent
Below are examples of commonly used reason codes. These are illustrative only—schools should configure reason names, codes, and types according to their own attendance policy.
Name | Code | Purpose |
Absent Excused | AE | Student absent with valid excuse |
Absent Unexcused | AU | Student absent without excuse |
Tardy Excused | TE | Student late with valid excuse |
Tardy Unexcused | TU | Student late without excuse |
Dean Approved | DA | Absence approved by dean |
Health Center | HC | Student at health center |
Medically Excused | ME | Medical absence |
Parent Approved Absence | PAA | Parent-approved absence |
School Counselling | SC | Student in counselling |
School Approved Activity | SAA | School-sanctioned activity |
Attendance Officer Approved | AOA | Approved by attendance officer |
IT Approved | ITA | Approved by IT department |
Truant Not Excused | TNE | Unexcused truancy |
Weather Event | WE | Weather-related absence |
Family Bereavement | FB | Bereave |
What’s Next?
Once your reason codes are set up, you can control how they’re automatically applied across Orah.
➡️ Next article: Assigning Default Reason Codes