What CAS documentation does an IB coordinator need to retain?

The coordinator should retain records showing each student’s programme timeline, experiences, CAS project, reflections, learning-outcome evidence, and three formal interviews. A dated completion decision should identify the evidence on which the school relied. Separately, the programme file should contain the school’s CAS handbook, calendar, templates, role descriptions, adviser guidance, and review records. Supervisor confirmations may strengthen particular claims, although the IB does not require one identical form for every experience. Retention periods and access arrangements should follow the school’s current legal, safeguarding, and data-protection policies.

Does the IB require students to complete 150 CAS hours?

The current CAS framework focuses on regular engagement over at least 18 months, not on reaching a universal 150-hour total. Some schools still use hours as an internal monitoring tool, but that local procedure should not be described as the IB completion standard. Hours can indicate continuity, yet they do not demonstrate reflection, collaboration, ethical awareness, or personal development. Completion depends on the overall CAS programme, the required project, the portfolio, and evidence of all seven learning outcomes. Coordinators should check the current CAS guide and Handbook of procedures rather than relying on older school handbooks.

How often should coordinators review student CAS portfolios?

The IB requires ongoing monitoring but does not prescribe one universal portfolio-review frequency for every school. A practical model combines brief monthly or half-term checks with deeper reviews around the three formal interviews. More frequent monitoring may be needed for students whose records show long gaps, weak evidence, or an unconfirmed project. Each review should end with a specific action, responsible person, and follow-up date. Regular checks make the final completion decision more reliable and reduce retrospective reconstruction of evidence.

Are supervisor signatures required for every CAS experience?

The IB does not prescribe one universal supervisor-signature form for every CAS experience. Schools may use confirmations when they help verify participation, duration, responsibilities, or collaboration, especially for experiences taking place off campus. A signature proves little about learning unless it is considered alongside the student’s reflection and supporting evidence. Coordinators should define when confirmation is expected and communicate that rule before students begin an experience. Alternative verification methods should also be established for independent activities or situations in which a supervisor becomes unavailable.

What should a coordinator do when a student’s CAS evidence is incomplete?

The coordinator should identify the precise gap rather than simply marking the portfolio incomplete. The student should receive written guidance explaining what evidence is missing, why it matters, and when it will be reviewed again. Any new evidence must represent authentic participation and reflection, not a fabricated reconstruction produced solely to satisfy a deadline. If an outcome has not yet been achieved, the student may need an appropriate new experience rather than a rewritten label on existing work. Interventions, meetings, deadlines, and the final judgment should all be documented.

How should CAS records be prepared for an IB programme evaluation?

Records should show both individual student implementation and the school-wide systems supporting CAS. Coordinators should be able to retrieve representative portfolios, the CAS calendar, programme guidance, staff responsibilities, interview procedures, monitoring records, and evidence of improvements. Files should illustrate sustained engagement, the three strands, the collaborative project, reflection, and achievement of all seven learning outcomes. Personal data should be minimized or anonymized where appropriate, with access controlled according to school policy. Before the evaluation process, coordinators should consult the current IB instructions because requested materials and upload procedures can change.

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CAS Documentation: An Audit-Ready Coordinator Guide

IB Coordinators Program Management IB Study Guides

• 6 Oct 2026•10

CAS Documentation: An Audit-Ready Coordinator Guide

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CAS Documentation: An Audit-Ready Coordinator Guide | RevisionDojo

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CAS Documentation: An Audit-Ready Coordinator Guide

IB Coordinators Program Management IB Study Guides

• 6 Oct 2026•10

CAS documentation should make one conclusion easy to defend: each student has completed a sustained, balanced CAS programme and provided credible evidence for all seven learning outcomes. The most reliable approach is to establish one record-keeping system at the start of the Diploma Programme, review it at scheduled checkpoints, and resolve gaps before completion decisions are due.

This guide explains which records matter, how to organize them across the programme, and how to prepare for internal review or IB programme evaluation without turning CAS into an administrative exercise.

What CAS documentation must demonstrate

According to the official IB CAS subject brief, CAS begins at the start of the DP and continues regularly for at least 18 months. Students maintain a CAS portfolio, complete at least one collaborative CAS project lasting at least one month, participate in three formal interviews, and provide evidence for all seven CAS learning outcomes.

CAS is not formally assessed, and the portfolio receives no numerical mark. The school must nevertheless determine whether each student has completed CAS, so that decision needs coherent, accessible documentation.

Category	Meaning	Example
Official IB requirement	An expectation applying across DP schools	Evidence for all seven learning outcomes
School procedure	A local method used to verify requirements	Monthly portfolio checks
Recommended practice	A useful control that is not an IB rule	Standard filenames or termly spot checks

This distinction prevents local procedures from being presented as universal requirements. The IB does not prescribe a fixed number of experiences, reflections, photographs, or CAS hours. Schools may establish reasonable checkpoints, but completion remains focused on sustained engagement, the CAS project, reflection, and learning-outcome evidence.

Build one CAS record-keeping architecture

Effective CAS record keeping has two connected layers. The student portfolio demonstrates individual engagement and learning, while the coordinator’s programme file shows that the school provides guidance, monitoring, supervision, and consistent completion procedures.

The student record

Each student’s file should contain:

Initial interests, goals, and areas for development
CAS experiences with dates and identified strands
Evidence of regular engagement across Creativity, Activity, and Service
Planning, collaboration, action, reflection, and demonstration for the CAS project
Dated reflections and relevant supporting artefacts
An evidence map covering all seven learning outcomes
Records of the three formal interviews
Supervisor or partner confirmation where appropriate
The final completion review and dated decision

A consistent naming convention, such as Cohort_Student_RecordType_Date, makes records easier to locate, sample, and export. The exact format is a school decision.

The programme file

Maintain a separate central file containing the CAS handbook, 18-month calendar, role descriptions, interview schedules, training materials, templates, anonymized examples, intervention records, and annual review notes. It should be stored in a school-controlled location rather than a staff member’s personal account.

The IB’s Programme standards and practices expects schools to provide appropriate CAS resources and supervision, support regular engagement over at least 18 months, and maintain systems for documenting programme materials. The programme file demonstrates how those expectations operate in practice.

Use an 18-month documentation cycle

CAS records are strongest when review is continuous. A final portfolio inspection cannot reliably reconstruct missed interviews, undocumented project planning, or long gaps in participation.

Stage	Main documentation check
DP1 launch	Record goals, orientation, privacy guidance, and the initial interview
DP1 midpoint	Review continuity, strand balance, project plans, and emerging outcomes
DP1 end	Identify weak engagement and record agreed interventions
DP2 first term	Check project progress, reflection quality, and the outcome map
Pre-completion	Conduct a full review while authentic gaps can still be addressed
Final review	Hold the final interview and record the completion decision

The three interviews should not become form-filling events. They allow coordinators to test whether the portfolio reflects authentic engagement, provide feedback, and agree on precise next steps. RevisionDojo’s explanation of how CAS is verified can help students understand the purpose of these checkpoints.

Create a coordinator dashboard

The portfolio stores evidence, while a restricted-access dashboard helps the coordinator manage the cohort. Recommended fields include:

CAS start date and expected completion date
Status of all three interviews
Creativity, Activity, and Service engagement
CAS project status and documented duration
Learning outcomes evidenced or pending
Date of the last meaningful update
Adviser, risk level, and required intervention
Final decision and decision date

Use status labels carefully. Not yet evidenced is more accurate than failed while CAS is ongoing. Every concern should trigger a documented action, responsible person, and review date.

Review evidence for quality, not volume

A large portfolio is not necessarily convincing. Photographs can show presence, logs can indicate continuity, and supervisor comments can corroborate participation, but none automatically proves learning.

Strong evidence combines context, action, reflection, and a justified learning-outcome connection. For collaboration, attendance at a group event is insufficient by itself. Meeting notes, role allocations, changed plans, conflict resolution, partner feedback, and reflection on working with others create a stronger evidence trail.

Share guidance on effective CAS reflections with students, while explaining that prompts are not scripts. Reflections may be written, visual, oral, or multimedia when the school’s approved system supports those formats.

Make learning-outcome decisions traceable

Create a seven-row outcome map for every student. Each row should identify the relevant experience, specific evidence, review date, and coordinator or adviser judgment.

Do not accept an outcome solely because a student selected it from a dropdown menu. One experience may support several outcomes, and an outcome may appear repeatedly, but every outcome must be demonstrated at least once. RevisionDojo’s guides to CAS minimum requirements and how CAS is marked clarify why evidence matters even though CAS receives no numerical grade.

Protect records and authenticity

CAS portfolios can contain names, photographs, health information, and details about community participants. Apply the school’s data-protection, safeguarding, consent, and retention policies instead of collecting information merely because it might become useful.

Use role-based access, secure backups, and a process for staff changes. Confirm consent before retaining identifiable community photographs or testimonials. Also document how retrospective entries, duplicated evidence, unavailable supervisors, and authenticity concerns are investigated.

At least once per term, test whether sample portfolios can be opened, navigated, and exported. A record that cannot be retrieved is not review-ready.

Run an annual documentation review

Sample portfolios across advisers and achievement profiles. Ask whether another trained staff member can follow the evidence trail and understand the completion decision.

Check for regular engagement over at least 18 months, reasonable strand balance, a clearly identifiable collaborative project of at least one month, three documented interviews, all seven outcomes, meaningful reflection, recorded interventions, and secure storage. Record findings, responsible staff, actions, and follow-up dates so the review supports programme improvement.

Common CAS documentation mistakes

Frequent weaknesses include treating hours as proof of completion, presenting arbitrary reflection totals as IB rules, reviewing evidence only near the end of DP2, accepting outcome tags without checking evidence, and failing to record interview actions. Other risks include storing files in personal accounts, collecting excessive personal information, or identifying concerns without arranging follow-up.

Students can use RevisionDojo’s guide to strengthening CAS reflection and documentation to improve daily habits. The coordinator remains responsible for applying school procedures and making completion decisions.

Conclusion

Audit-ready CAS documentation results from routine monitoring, not last-minute collection. Coordinators need consistent portfolios, a central programme file, an 18-month review cycle, traceable decisions, secure storage, and documented interventions.

RevisionDojo can support students’ understanding and reflection, while the school retains responsibility for verification and official records. CAS Study Notes and Jojo AI are most useful alongside the school’s approved handbook, portfolio system, and coordinator reviews.