# Custom Fields

> Academium SMS Help › School Settings
> For: School Owner, School Admin
> Web page: https://helpcenter.academium.com.ng/academium-sms/article/sms-custom-fields
> Last updated: 2026-10-06

Academium's forms for students, parents and staff can be adjusted to collect what your school needs.

## Custom fields

**School Settings → Custom Fields** adds fields of your own to the forms for:

- **students** (the admission form),
- **parents**, and
- **staff**.

### Adding a custom field

1. Choose who the field belongs to: student, parent or employee.
2. Give it a name and choose its type: **text**, **text area**, **dropdown**, **email**, **date**, **checkbox** or **number**.
3. For a dropdown, type the options separated by commas, for example `Red, Blue, Green`.
4. Set its **order** on the form, its **width** (1 to 12; 12 is the full width), a **default value**, and whether it is **required**.
5. Turn on **Show on table** to add it as a column on the staff or parent list.

Custom fields are kept **per branch**.

### Turning a field off

Deactivate a field to remove it from the form **without deleting** what has already been recorded.

## Common issues

**My custom field does not show on the student profile.** Custom fields for students appear on the admission form. They are not shown on the student profile page.

**A dropdown field will not save.** Dropdowns need at least one option.

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