alumni_lookup

Phase 9.7: Trust-First Community Access

Canonical sources: Portal philosophy, posture, and language live in /docs/planning/champion-portal/source/README.md.
Use these sources (including CHRIST_CENTERED__IDENTITY_STATEMENT.md) when writing specs or user-facing copy. Prefer quoting/paraphrasing over inventing new language.

Status: ✅ Complete
Started: January 2026
Completed: January 2026
Priority: High — Blocks new champion onboarding experience
Dependencies: Phase 9.1-9.3 (Onboarding flow, seeded questions, admin tooling)

Overview

This phase implements a “trust-first” permissions model where verification unlocks contribution, not belonging. New Champions should be able to view, join, and read community content immediately — verification unlocks more advanced features like directory browsing, messaging, and reactions.

The Problem (Root Cause)

The community step during wizard onboarding is gated behind status_champion_verified? in three places, creating a chicken-and-egg problem:

should_see_community_step? requires verification
generate_community_suggestions_if_needed returns early if not verified
trigger_community_detection_for_step returns early if not verified

Result: Unverified champions NEVER see the community step, even though:

District, industry, and affinity communities are based on self-reported data
College/major communities could be surfaced via invitation trust
Content viewing doesn’t require identity verification

Philosophy: Trust-First Permissions

What Verification Unlocks (CONTRIBUTION)

Feature	Requires Verification?	Rationale
Browse Champion Directory	✅ Yes	Browsing alumni requires verified identity
Send Messages	✅ Yes	1:1 contact requires verified identity
Post Reactions/Comments	✅ Yes	Contributing to discussions requires verification
Create Events/Posts	✅ Yes	Content creation requires verified identity

What Pre-Verification Allows (BELONGING)

Feature	Requires Verification?	Rationale
View own profile	❌ No	Self-service
View community pages	❌ No	Read-only doesn’t expose others
Join communities (district/industry/affinity)	❌ No	Self-reported data
View community content (news, events, photos)	❌ No	Read-only consumption
Accept community invitation	❌ No	Trusted invitation path

Community Type Rules

Pre-Verification Communities (Self-Reported Data)

These community types are based on data the champion provides during signup:

Type	Data Source	Gate
District	ZIP code → district lookup	None (self-reported)
Industry	Selected during wizard	None (self-reported)
Affinity	Selected during wizard	None (self-reported)

Verification-Required Communities

These community types require alumni record validation:

Type	Data Source	Gate
College	`degrees.major.college_code`	Verification OR invitation
Major	`degrees.major_code`	Verification OR invitation

The BUID Approach

User guidance: “I would either have a ‘pending BUID’ field or be willing to fill in the BUID and know that it’s BUID + verification status that really solidifies that BUID belonging to that champion”

Implementation: During wizard, staff can link a BUID to a champion before full verification. The combination of buid IS NOT NULL + status == champion_verified solidifies that the BUID belongs to this champion.

Pre-verification with BUID: Champion can SEE college/major suggestions but cannot browse directory
Post-verification: Full access unlocked

Scope

In Scope

Wizard Community Step — Show step to unverified champions
- Remove status_champion_verified? gate for district/industry/affinity suggestions
- Surface invited_community in wizard step
- Show college/major only if BUID linked or via invitation
Dashboard Community Discovery — Allow discovery post-wizard
- Show “Your Communities” widget to unverified champions
- Link to community pages (view-only until verified)
Communities Controller — Tiered access
- View community page: Allowed pre-verification
- Join self-reported communities: Allowed pre-verification
- Browse directory/members: Requires verification
- Message members: Requires verification
Content Access — Read-only pre-verification
- News posts: Viewable
- Events: Viewable
- Discussions: Viewable (no reactions/comments)
- Photo albums: Viewable

Out of Scope (Future)

Real-time notifications for unverified champions
Community invitation email flows
Staff admin for pending BUID management

Implementation Tasks

1. ProfileWizardController Changes

# Remove verification gate from generate_community_suggestions_if_needed
def generate_community_suggestions_if_needed(step)
  return unless step == "community"
  # REMOVED: return unless @champion.status_champion_verified?
  Cp::CommunitySuggestionService.generate_suggestions(@champion)
end

# Remove verification gate from trigger_community_detection_for_step
def trigger_community_detection_for_step
  # REMOVED: return unless @champion.status_champion_verified?
  # Run detection for self-reported types (district, industry, affinity) regardless of verification
  # Run detection for college/major only if BUID linked
end

2. Champion Model Changes

def should_see_community_step?
  # Old: status_champion_verified? && pending_community_suggestions.any?
  # New: Has suggestions OR has invited_community
  pending_community_suggestions.any? || invited_community.present?
end

3. CommunitiesController Changes

before_action :require_verified_for_contributions!, only: [:join, :leave, :message_members]

def require_verified_for_contributions!
  return if current_cp_champion.status_champion_verified?
  
  # Allow viewing, disallow contributing
  if action_name.in?(%w[show index])
    return # Viewing allowed
  end
  
  flash[:notice] = "Complete verification to unlock full community features."
  redirect_to verification_pending_path
end

<%# Show communities widget to all champions, not just verified %>
<% if @communities.any? || @suggested_communities.any? %>
  <%= render "cp/dashboard/communities_widget" %>
<% end %>

5. Content Controllers (News, Events, Discussions, Photos)

Allow read-only access pre-verification:

def require_verified_for_reactions!
  return if current_cp_champion.status_champion_verified?
  
  if request.post? || request.patch? || request.delete?
    flash[:notice] = "Complete verification to react and comment."
    redirect_back fallback_location: cp_dashboard_path
  end
end

Files to Modify

File	Change
`app/controllers/cp/profile_wizard_controller.rb`	Remove verification gates in community step logic
`app/models/cp/champion.rb`	Update `should_see_community_step?`
`app/controllers/cp/communities_controller.rb`	Tiered access based on verification
`app/controllers/cp/dashboard_controller.rb`	Show communities widget pre-verification
`app/views/cp/dashboard/show.html.erb`	Conditional for communities widget
`app/controllers/cp/discussions_controller.rb`	Read-only pre-verification
`app/controllers/cp/news_posts_controller.rb`	Read-only pre-verification

Tests to Create

# test/controllers/cp/profile_wizard_controller_test.rb
test "unverified champion sees community step with district/industry/affinity suggestions" do
  # ...
end

test "unverified champion does not see college/major suggestions without BUID" do
  # ...
end

test "unverified champion with linked BUID sees college/major suggestions" do
  # ...
end

# test/controllers/cp/communities_controller_test.rb
test "unverified champion can view community page" do
  # ...
end

test "unverified champion cannot browse directory" do
  # ...
end

test "unverified champion cannot message members" do
  # ...
end

Definition of Done

Completion Summary (January 2026)

What Was Implemented

Trust-First Philosophy Applied:

Verification unlocks CONTRIBUTION (directory, messaging, reactions), not BELONGING (viewing, joining, reading)
Champions can discover and join communities immediately, encouraging engagement

Files Modified:

app/controllers/cp/profile_wizard_controller.rb
- generate_community_suggestions_if_needed: Removed verification gate — suggestions now generated regardless of status
- trigger_community_detection_for_step: Removed verification gate — detection runs for all champions
app/models/cp/champion.rb
- should_see_community_step?: Removed verification requirement — now returns true if suggestions exist OR invited_community present
app/views/cp/dashboard/show.html.erb (line 152)
- Removed current_cp_champion.status_champion_verified? gate from community suggestions card
- Added comment explaining trust-first approach
app/controllers/cp/dashboard_controller.rb (load_community_suggestions)
- Removed verification check — suggestions now loaded for all champions
- Updated comment explaining action enforcement happens in CommunitySuggestionsController

Files Verified (Already Correct):

app/controllers/cp/communities_controller.rb
- Already implements tiered access via require_verified_for_communities!
- Browse actions allow email_verified; join/leave require champion_verified
app/controllers/cp/community_suggestions_controller.rb
- Already has before_action :require_champion_verified! (line 14)
- Accept/decline actions properly gated

Test Results

Full Suite: 2907 runs, 7460 assertions, 0 failures, 0 errors, 3 skips ✅
Wizard Controller Tests: 33 runs, 0 failures ✅
Champion Model Tests: 87 runs, 0 failures ✅
Dashboard Controller Tests: 8 runs, 0 failures ✅

“Verification Unlocks More” UI Messaging (January 2026)

Added consistent verification teaser messaging throughout community views: