InstitutionKit Admin Menu Navigation Guide

Last Updated: 2026-05-27 | Applies to: IK v1.2+ | Role: All Administrators

Overview

When you activate InstitutionKit, a new menu item appears in your WordPress admin sidebar labeled "InstitutionKit" with a building icon (🏛️). This is your central hub for all school management functions.

Main Menu Structure

The IK menu is organized into 13 primary sections, each designed for a specific management area:

#	Menu Item	Who Uses It	What It Does
1	📊 Dashboard	All admins	Overview of school statistics, quick actions
2	📚 Student Management	Admins, Teachers	Student records, admissions, attendance, gradebook
3	👨‍🏫 Teacher Management	Admins, Campus Heads	Staff records, attendance, meeting slots
4	💰 Fee Management	Admins, Accountants	Fee types, structures, invoices, payments
5	👨‍👩‍👧 Parent Management	Admins	Parent accounts, meeting bookings
6	🏫 Classes Management	Admins	Classes, sections, subjects
7	📝 Exams	Admins, Teachers	Exam types, schedules, results, report cards
8	💵 Payroll & Expenses	Admins, Finance	Staff payroll, expenses, budgets, P&L reports
9	🏛️ Campuses	Super Admins	Multi-campus setup and management
10	⚙️ Settings	Admins	Global plugin configuration
11	🛠️ Setup	Admins (initial)	First-time configuration wizard
12	💾 Backup & Restore	Admins	Database backup and restoration
13	💬 Support	All users	Fast support ticketing system

Card-Based Navigation System

Each main menu section opens a dashboard-style page with visual cards linking to sub-features. For example, clicking "📚 Student Management" shows:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  📚 Student Management                              │
│  Access all student-related tools from one place.   │
├─────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────┤
│  👥 All Students │  ➕ Add Student  │  📝 New Admission│
│  View & search   │  Enroll new     │  Process         │
│  all students    │  student        │  applications    │
├─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│  📚 Homework     │  📋 Attendance   │  📊 Gradebook    │
│  Manage          │  Track daily    │  Enter student   │
│  assignments     │  attendance     │  grades          │
├─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│  🔄 Transfer     │  📤 Promotion     │  📅 Periods      │
│  Campus          │  Promote to next │  Grading         │
│  transfer        │  class          │  periods         │
└─────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────┘

Hidden Sub-Pages (Contextual Access)

Many features have dedicated sub-pages that are hidden from the main menu but accessible via the dashboard cards:

Student Management sub-pages:

ik-students → All Students list
ik-add-student → Add New Student form
ik-new-admission → Admission processing
ik-attendance → Student attendance
ik-gradebook → Grade entry
ik-campus-transfer → Campus transfers
ik-student-promotion → Class promotion
ik-certificates → Certificate generation

Payroll & Expenses sub-pages:

ik-payroll-dashboard → Financial overview
ik-expenses → Expense ledger
ik-payroll → Payroll processing
ik-budgets → Budget management
ik-approvals → Pending approvals
ik-profit-loss → P&L statement

Menu Highlighting Logic

The system intelligently highlights the correct parent menu when you're on sub-pages. For example:

When viewing Fee Types → "💰 Fee Management" stays highlighted
When entering Exam Results → "📝 Exams" stays highlighted
When processing Payroll → "💵 Payroll & Expenses" stays highlighted

Role-Based Menu Visibility

Teachers see a simplified menu:

Student Management (limited to gradebook, attendance, homework)
Exams (limited to result entry, report cards)

Campus Admins see:

Student Management (campus only)
Teacher Management (campus staff only)
Fee Management (campus finances)
No "Campuses" menu (restricted to assigned campus)

Quick Search Tips

Find a student fast: Student Management → All Students → Use search bar
Process payroll: Payroll & Expenses → Payroll → Select month → Generate
Create invoice: Fee Management → Invoices → Generate New Invoice
Mark attendance: Student Management → Attendance → Select class → Mark

Keyboard Shortcuts (Pro Tip)

While on any IK page, use these URL shortcuts:

/admin.php?page=ik-dashboard        → Main Dashboard
/admin.php?page=ik-students          → Student List
/admin.php?page=ik-invoices          → Invoice Management
/admin.php?page=ik-payroll-dashboard → Financial Dashboard