diff --git a/infra/scripts/drills/run-phase5c-enrollment-activation-drill.sh b/infra/scripts/drills/run-phase5c-enrollment-activation-drill.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..419463e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/scripts/drills/run-phase5c-enrollment-activation-drill.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Orchestrates the Phase 5C §25 enrollment/activation dress rehearsal: brings up the real dev
+# stack, bootstraps an owner, runs test-phase5c-enrollment-activation.js, tears down.
+set -euo pipefail
+cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../../../platform"
+
+export PROVISIONER_SHARED_SECRET="${PROVISIONER_SHARED_SECRET:-rehearsal-shared-secret-not-for-production}"
+export INTEGRATION_SHARED_SECRET="${INTEGRATION_SHARED_SECRET:-dev-integration-secret-not-for-production}"
+
+docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d --build
+
+cleanup() {
+  echo "==> Tearing down"
+  docker ps -aq --filter "name=rootnode-lab-" | xargs -r docker rm -f >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+  docker network ls --filter "name=rootnode-lab-net-" --format "{{.Name}}" | xargs -r -n1 docker network rm >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+  docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml down >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+}
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+echo "==> Waiting for the stack"
+for _ in $(seq 1 60); do
+  curl -sf http://localhost:4300/healthz >/dev/null 2>&1 && curl -sf http://localhost:4200/healthz >/dev/null 2>&1 && break
+  sleep 2
+done
+
+echo "==> Bootstrapping the rehearsal owner"
+( cd api && PLATFORM_DB_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@localhost:5433/rootnode_platform \
+    node bootstrap-owner.js p5c-rehearsal-owner@rootnode.test "P5C Rehearsal Owner" 'RehearsalPass!2026' )
+
+echo "==> Running the rehearsal"
+OWNER_EMAIL=p5c-rehearsal-owner@rootnode.test OWNER_PASSWORD='RehearsalPass!2026' \
+  INTEGRATION_KEY="$INTEGRATION_SHARED_SECRET" \
+  node ../infra/scripts/drills/test-phase5c-enrollment-activation.js
diff --git a/infra/scripts/drills/test-phase5c-enrollment-activation.js b/infra/scripts/drills/test-phase5c-enrollment-activation.js
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..dc4f6ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/scripts/drills/test-phase5c-enrollment-activation.js
@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Phase 5C §25 — the enrollment/activation dress rehearsal. One continuous realistic story: a
+// simulated website enrollment event creates a brand-new student, the activation notification
+// is queued and delivered through the (deterministic, never-real-network) dev email provider,
+// the rendered email is inspected and its activation URL extracted exactly the way a real
+// inbox/click would work, the student sets their password, logs in, sees their program, uses
+// Continue Learning to launch a REAL Lab, completes one real scenario, and an admin can see
+// both the enrollment and its delivery state. Then a second enrollment for the SAME
+// (now-activated) student proves it gets an enrollment confirmation, not another activation.
+// Then a full password-reset round trip, including session revocation. Then the minor/no-email
+// contact-email path. No framework, matching project convention (see
+// test-phase5b-selfpaced-rehearsal.js).
+//
+// Run via run-phase5c-enrollment-activation-drill.sh, which brings up
+// platform/docker-compose.dev.yml first.
+
+const assert = require('assert');
+const { makeSession } = require('../../../platform/test/session-helper');
+
+const GW = process.env.GATEWAY_URL || 'http://localhost:4200';
+const OWNER_EMAIL = process.env.OWNER_EMAIL;
+const OWNER_PASSWORD = process.env.OWNER_PASSWORD;
+const INTEGRATION_KEY = process.env.INTEGRATION_KEY || 'dev-integration-secret-not-for-production';
+if (!OWNER_EMAIL || !OWNER_PASSWORD) { console.error('Set OWNER_EMAIL and OWNER_PASSWORD'); process.exit(1); }
+const RUN_ID = Date.now();
+const PROGRAM = 'root-kubernetes-foundations';
+
+let passed = 0, failed = 0;
+async function step(name, fn) {
+  try { await fn(); console.log(`  ok — ${name}`); passed++; }
+  catch (e) { console.error(`  FAIL — ${name}\n    ${e.stack || e.message}`); failed++; }
+}
+function fireIntegrationEvent(payload) {
+  return fetch(`${GW}/api/integrations/enrollments`, {
+    method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'X-RootNode-Integration-Key': INTEGRATION_KEY },
+    body: JSON.stringify(payload),
+  }).then(async (r) => ({ status: r.status, body: await r.json() }));
+}
+async function waitForSent(owner, studentId, notificationId, timeoutMs = 10000) {
+  const start = Date.now();
+  while (Date.now() - start < timeoutMs) {
+    const { body } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/notifications`);
+    const row = notificationId ? body.find((n) => n.notification_id === notificationId) : body[0];
+    if (row?.status === 'sent') return row;
+    if (row?.status === 'failed') throw new Error(`notification failed: ${row.last_error_code}`);
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 500));
+  }
+  throw new Error('timed out waiting for delivery');
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  console.log('Phase 5C enrollment/activation dress rehearsal — slow, real k3s boots\n');
+
+  const owner = makeSession(GW);
+  await owner.request('POST', '/api/auth/instructor/login', { email: OWNER_EMAIL, password: OWNER_PASSWORD });
+
+  let studentId, enrollmentId;
+  await step('website enrollment event creates a brand-new student + self-paced enrollment', async () => {
+    const { status, body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-rehearsal-${RUN_ID}`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { email: `p5c-rehearsal-${RUN_ID}@example.com`, display_name: 'Rehearsal Student' },
+    });
+    assert.equal(status, 201);
+    studentId = body.student_id; enrollmentId = body.enrollment_id;
+  });
+
+  let activationUrl;
+  await step('an activation notification is queued and delivered through the dev provider', async () => {
+    const sent = await waitForSent(owner, studentId, null);
+    assert.equal(sent.notification_type, 'activation');
+    const { body: preview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/notifications/${sent.notification_id}/dev-preview`);
+    assert.equal(preview.to, `p5c-rehearsal-${RUN_ID}@example.com`);
+    assert.ok(preview.subject.includes('Activate'));
+    const match = preview.text.match(/(http:\/\/\S+\/\?activate=[A-Za-z0-9_-]+)/);
+    assert.ok(match, 'expected a real activation URL in the rendered email body');
+    activationUrl = match[1];
+  });
+
+  const student = makeSession(GW);
+  await step('student "clicks" the extracted URL and sets a password', async () => {
+    const token = new URL(activationUrl).searchParams.get('activate');
+    const { status } = await student.request('POST', '/api/student/activate', { token, password: 'RehearsalPass123!' });
+    assert.equal(status, 200);
+  });
+
+  let launchEnrollmentId, envId;
+  await step('student sees the Root program and Continue Learning works', async () => {
+    const { body: programs } = await student.request('GET', '/api/student/programs');
+    assert.equal(programs.length, 1);
+    assert.equal(programs[0].can_launch, true);
+    launchEnrollmentId = programs[0].enrollment_id;
+    assert.equal(launchEnrollmentId, enrollmentId);
+  });
+
+  await step('launches a REAL Lab and completes one real scenario', async () => {
+    const { status, body } = await student.request('POST', `/api/student/programs/${launchEnrollmentId}/launch`);
+    assert.equal(status, 200);
+    assert.equal(body.status, 'running');
+    const envRow = (await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/environment`)).body.find((e) => e.status === 'running');
+    envId = envRow.environment_id;
+    const complete = await student.request('POST', '/api/progress/record', { scenario_id: 'pod-basics-mcq', status: 'completed', environment_id: envId });
+    assert.equal(complete.status, 200);
+  });
+
+  await step('progress persists and the admin sees both the enrollment and its delivery state', async () => {
+    const { body } = await student.request('GET', `/api/student/programs/${launchEnrollmentId}`);
+    assert.ok(body.progress.percent_complete > 0);
+    const { body: adminEnrollments } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/enrollments`);
+    assert.equal(adminEnrollments[0].status, 'active');
+    const { body: adminNotifs } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/notifications`);
+    assert.ok(adminNotifs.every((n) => n.status === 'sent'));
+  });
+
+  // ── A second enrollment for the SAME, now-activated student -> confirmation, not activation ──
+  await step('admin creates a second program and enrolls the SAME student — enrollment confirmation, not another activation', async () => {
+    await owner.request('POST', '/api/admin/programs', { program_id: `p5c-rehearsal-second-${RUN_ID}`, name: 'Second Rehearsal Program', family: 'root' });
+    const { status, body } = await owner.request('POST', '/api/admin/enrollments', { student_id: studentId, program_id: `p5c-rehearsal-second-${RUN_ID}`, status: 'active' });
+    assert.equal(status, 201);
+    const sent = await waitForSent(owner, studentId, null);
+    const { body: notifs } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/notifications`);
+    const confirmation = notifs.find((n) => n.enrollment_id === body.enrollment_id);
+    assert.equal(confirmation.notification_type, 'enrollment_confirmation');
+  });
+
+  // ── Password reset round trip ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  let resetToken;
+  await step('password reset is requested, delivered, and the old session is revoked once used', async () => {
+    const res = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/request-password-reset', { identifier: `p5c-rehearsal-${RUN_ID}@example.com` });
+    resetToken = res.body.dev_reset_token;
+    assert.ok(resetToken);
+    await waitForSent(owner, studentId, null);
+    const before = await student.request('GET', '/api/student/profile');
+    assert.equal(before.status, 200);
+    const resetRes = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/reset-password', { token: resetToken, password: 'RehearsalReset123!' });
+    assert.equal(resetRes.status, 200);
+    const after = await student.request('GET', '/api/student/profile');
+    assert.notEqual(after.status, 200); // the OLD session is revoked
+  });
+
+  await step('the new password works', async () => {
+    const s = makeSession(GW);
+    const { status } = await s.request('POST', '/api/student/login', { identifier: `p5c-rehearsal-${RUN_ID}@example.com`, password: 'RehearsalReset123!' });
+    assert.equal(status, 200);
+  });
+
+  // ── Minor / no-email path ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  await step('minor/no-email student: guardian contact_email receives the activation, never stored as students.email', async () => {
+    const { status, body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-rehearsal-minor-${RUN_ID}`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { login_identifier: `p5c-rehearsal-minor-${RUN_ID}`, display_name: 'Rehearsal Minor', contact_email: `p5c-rehearsal-guardian-${RUN_ID}@example.com` },
+    });
+    assert.equal(status, 201);
+    const sent = await waitForSent(owner, body.student_id, null);
+    const { body: preview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/notifications/${sent.notification_id}/dev-preview`);
+    assert.equal(preview.to, `p5c-rehearsal-guardian-${RUN_ID}@example.com`);
+    const { body: students } = await owner.request('GET', '/api/admin/students');
+    const minorRow = students.find((s) => s.student_id === body.student_id);
+    assert.equal(minorRow.email, null);
+  });
+
+  console.log(`\n${passed} passed, ${failed} failed`);
+  if (failed > 0) process.exit(1);
+}
+
+main().catch((e) => { console.error(e); process.exit(1); });
diff --git a/infra/scripts/gws-email-test.js b/infra/scripts/gws-email-test.js
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..f50f09c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/infra/scripts/gws-email-test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Phase 5C §24 — the OPTIONAL, opt-in Google Workspace live-delivery test. Does NOTHING unless
+// explicitly enabled — no test/regression run ever sends real email by accident.
+//
+// Usage (only when you actually have real Workspace credentials configured):
+//   RUN_GWS_EMAIL_TEST=true \
+//   TEST_EMAIL_RECIPIENT=you@example.com \
+//   GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON='{"client_email":"...","private_key":"..."}' \
+//   EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=noreply@rootnodeacademy.com \
+//   EMAIL_FROM_NAME="RootNode Academy" \
+//   node infra/scripts/gws-email-test.js
+//
+// Sends exactly ONE clearly-marked test message to TEST_EMAIL_RECIPIENT — never a
+// production/student address, never inferred from anything in the database. Run it once after
+// setting up domain-wide delegation to confirm the adapter actually works against the real
+// Gmail API, not as part of any regular regression pass (see docs/RUNBOOK_GOOGLE_WORKSPACE_EMAIL.md).
+
+if (process.env.RUN_GWS_EMAIL_TEST !== 'true') {
+  console.log('Skipped: set RUN_GWS_EMAIL_TEST=true to actually send a live test email. Nothing was sent.');
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
+const recipient = process.env.TEST_EMAIL_RECIPIENT;
+if (!recipient) {
+  console.error('Set TEST_EMAIL_RECIPIENT to the ONE address this test should send to — it is never inferred from anything else.');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+const provider = require('../../platform/api/src/email/gws-provider');
+
+async function main() {
+  console.log(`Sending one live test message via the Gmail API adapter to ${recipient}...`);
+  const result = await provider.send({
+    to: recipient,
+    fromName: process.env.EMAIL_FROM_NAME || 'RootNode Academy',
+    fromAddress: process.env.EMAIL_FROM_ADDRESS,
+    replyTo: process.env.EMAIL_REPLY_TO,
+    subject: '[RootNode Academy] Google Workspace adapter test',
+    text: `This is a one-off test of RootNode Academy's Google Workspace email adapter (Gmail API, service account domain-wide delegation). If you received this, live delivery is working. Sent at ${new Date().toISOString()}.`,
+    html: `<p>This is a one-off test of RootNode Academy's Google Workspace email adapter (Gmail API, service account domain-wide delegation).</p><p>If you received this, live delivery is working. Sent at ${new Date().toISOString()}.</p>`,
+  });
+  console.log('Provider accepted the message.');
+  console.log('Provider message ID:', result.providerMessageId);
+  console.log('\nGWS LIVE DELIVERY TEST: PASSED');
+}
+
+main().catch((e) => {
+  console.error('GWS LIVE DELIVERY TEST: FAILED');
+  console.error(`  ${e.errorCode || 'error'}: ${e.message}`);
+  process.exit(1);
+});
diff --git a/platform/test/e2e-phase5c.js b/platform/test/e2e-phase5c.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2efb443
--- /dev/null
+++ b/platform/test/e2e-phase5c.js
@@ -0,0 +1,413 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// Phase 5C — enrollment operations & communications acceptance test. Covers the notification
+// lifecycle (queue/claim/sent/failed/retry), activation/enrollment-confirmation/password-reset/
+// password-changed delivery, duplicate-webhook idempotency, retry/failure classification and
+// exhaustion, minor/no-email contact-email resolution, admin operations (resend, RBAC scoping),
+// security (token secrecy, production gating), and a real Platform API restart. Uses the
+// deterministic dev email provider throughout — no real network call is ever made by this
+// suite. Same conventions as e2e-phase5b.js: assert-based, no framework, live
+// docker-compose.dev.yml stack.
+//
+// Usage: cd platform && docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d
+//        (cd api && PLATFORM_DB_URL=... node bootstrap-owner.js OWNER_EMAIL "Owner" OWNER_PASSWORD)
+//        OWNER_EMAIL=... OWNER_PASSWORD=... INTEGRATION_KEY=... node test/e2e-phase5c.js
+
+const assert = require('assert');
+const { execSync } = require('child_process');
+const { makeSession } = require('./session-helper');
+
+const GW = process.env.GATEWAY_URL || 'http://localhost:4200';
+const API = process.env.PLATFORM_API_URL || 'http://localhost:4300';
+const OWNER_EMAIL = process.env.OWNER_EMAIL;
+const OWNER_PASSWORD = process.env.OWNER_PASSWORD;
+const INTEGRATION_KEY = process.env.INTEGRATION_KEY || 'dev-integration-secret-not-for-production';
+const SKIP_RESTART_TEST = process.env.SKIP_RESTART_TEST === '1';
+if (!OWNER_EMAIL || !OWNER_PASSWORD) {
+  console.error('Set OWNER_EMAIL and OWNER_PASSWORD (bootstrap one first with platform/api/bootstrap-owner.js)');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+const RUN_ID = Date.now();
+const PROGRAM = 'root-kubernetes-foundations';
+
+let passed = 0, failed = 0;
+async function test(name, fn) {
+  try { await fn(); console.log(`  ok — ${name}`); passed++; }
+  catch (e) { console.error(`  FAIL — ${name}\n    ${e.message}`); failed++; }
+}
+function fireIntegrationEvent(payload) {
+  return fetch(`${GW}/api/integrations/enrollments`, {
+    method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'X-RootNode-Integration-Key': INTEGRATION_KEY },
+    body: JSON.stringify(payload),
+  }).then(async (r) => ({ status: r.status, body: await r.json() }));
+}
+async function waitForStatus(owner, studentId, wantStatus, timeoutMs = 8000) {
+  const start = Date.now();
+  while (Date.now() - start < timeoutMs) {
+    const { body } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/notifications`);
+    const match = body.find((n) => n.status === wantStatus);
+    if (match) return match;
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 500));
+  }
+  throw new Error(`timed out waiting for a notification with status=${wantStatus}`);
+}
+// Same idea, but for one SPECIFIC notification_id — waitForStatus alone isn't enough once a
+// student has more than one notification (e.g. right after a resend), since it would happily
+// match an EARLIER notification that already reached the wanted status instead of the new one.
+async function waitForNotificationStatus(owner, studentId, notificationId, wantStatus, timeoutMs = 8000) {
+  const start = Date.now();
+  while (Date.now() - start < timeoutMs) {
+    const { body } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/notifications`);
+    const row = body.find((n) => n.notification_id === notificationId);
+    if (row?.status === wantStatus) return row;
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 500));
+  }
+  throw new Error(`timed out waiting for notification ${notificationId} to reach status=${wantStatus}`);
+}
+// Nudges a still-queued row's next_attempt_at to now, so a test doesn't have to sit through
+// real exponential backoff (up to an hour) to observe retry/exhaustion behavior.
+function nudgeRetry() {
+  execSync(
+    `docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml exec -T postgres psql -U postgres -d rootnode_platform -c "UPDATE notification_events SET next_attempt_at = now() WHERE status = 'queued'"`,
+    { cwd: `${__dirname}/..`, stdio: 'pipe' }
+  );
+}
+
+async function main() {
+  console.log('Phase 5C enrollment operations & communications acceptance test\n');
+
+  const owner = makeSession(GW);
+  await owner.request('POST', '/api/auth/instructor/login', { email: OWNER_EMAIL, password: OWNER_PASSWORD });
+
+  // ── §1-2: activation vs enrollment-confirmation ─────────────────────────────────────────
+  let newStudentId, newEnrollmentId;
+  await test('new student integration enrollment queues an activation notification', async () => {
+    const { status, body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-new`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { email: `p5c-new-${RUN_ID}@example.com`, display_name: 'New Student' },
+    });
+    assert.equal(status, 201);
+    newStudentId = body.student_id; newEnrollmentId = body.enrollment_id;
+    const sent = await waitForStatus(owner, newStudentId, 'sent');
+    assert.equal(sent.notification_type, 'activation');
+  });
+
+  await test('existing active student gets enrollment_confirmation instead of activation on a second program', async () => {
+    // Activate the student from the previous test first (credentials required for this branch).
+    const { body: preview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${newStudentId}/notifications`);
+    const activationNotif = preview.find((n) => n.notification_type === 'activation');
+    const { body: devPreview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/notifications/${activationNotif.notification_id}/dev-preview`);
+    const token = devPreview.text.match(/\/\?activate=([A-Za-z0-9_-]+)/)[1];
+    const student = makeSession(GW);
+    await student.request('POST', '/api/student/activate', { token, password: 'NewStudentPass123!' });
+
+    await owner.request('POST', '/api/admin/programs', { program_id: `p5c-second-${RUN_ID}`, name: 'Second Program', family: 'root' });
+    const { status, body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-second`, source: 'website', program_slug: `p5c-second-${RUN_ID}`, status: 'paid',
+      student: { email: `p5c-new-${RUN_ID}@example.com` },
+    });
+    assert.equal(status, 201);
+    const sent = await waitForStatus(owner, newStudentId, 'sent', 8000);
+    // waitForStatus returns the FIRST sent row it finds — there are now two (activation +
+    // confirmation); assert the confirmation specifically exists among this student's notifications.
+    const { body: all } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${newStudentId}/notifications`);
+    const confirmation = all.find((n) => n.notification_type === 'enrollment_confirmation' && n.enrollment_id === body.enrollment_id);
+    assert.ok(confirmation, 'expected an enrollment_confirmation notification for the already-activated student');
+  });
+
+  // ── §3-4: duplicate/concurrent webhook -> no notification storm ────────────────────────
+  await test('duplicate integration event sends no duplicate notification', async () => {
+    const { body: before } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${newStudentId}/notifications`);
+    await fireIntegrationEvent({ event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-new`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid', student: { email: `p5c-new-${RUN_ID}@example.com` } });
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 1500));
+    const { body: after } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${newStudentId}/notifications`);
+    assert.equal(after.length, before.length);
+  });
+
+  await test('concurrent duplicate integration events send exactly one logical initial notification', async () => {
+    const eventId = `p5c-${RUN_ID}-race`;
+    const email = `p5c-racer-${RUN_ID}@example.com`;
+    const fire = () => fireIntegrationEvent({ event_id: eventId, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid', student: { email } });
+    const [a, b, c] = await Promise.all([fire(), fire(), fire()]);
+    const studentId = a.body.student_id;
+    await waitForStatus(owner, studentId, 'sent');
+    const { body: notifs } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${studentId}/notifications`);
+    assert.equal(notifs.length, 1, `expected exactly one notification, got ${notifs.length}`);
+  });
+
+  // ── §5-10: worker delivery, retry, permanent failure, exhaustion ────────────────────────
+  await test('temporary provider failure retries (does not immediately fail)', async () => {
+    const { body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-temp`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { email: `p5c-temp-${RUN_ID}+forcetempfail@example.com` },
+    });
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 3500)); // let the first (failing) attempt run
+    const { body: notifs } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${body.student_id}/notifications`);
+    const notif = notifs[0];
+    assert.ok(['queued', 'sending'].includes(notif.status), `expected still-retrying status, got ${notif.status}`);
+    assert.ok(notif.attempt_count >= 1);
+    assert.equal(notif.last_error_code, 'simulated_temporary_failure');
+  });
+
+  await test('permanent failure becomes failed on the first attempt (no wasted retries)', async () => {
+    const { body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-perm`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { email: `p5c-perm-${RUN_ID}+forcepermfail@example.com` },
+    });
+    const failed = await waitForStatus(owner, body.student_id, 'failed');
+    assert.equal(failed.attempt_count, 1);
+    assert.equal(failed.last_error_code, 'simulated_permanent_failure');
+  });
+
+  await test('retry exhaustion: a persistently-failing temporary error eventually becomes failed, bounded', async () => {
+    const { body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-exhaust`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { email: `p5c-exhaust-${RUN_ID}+forcetempfail@example.com` },
+    });
+    let finalStatus = null, finalAttempts = null;
+    // MAX_ATTEMPTS is 5 (notifications.js) and the worker polls every NOTIFICATION_WORKER_POLL_MS
+    // (default 3000ms) — each loop pass must outlast one poll cycle for the nudge to actually be
+    // picked up before the next nudge, or this just re-nudges a row the worker hasn't touched yet.
+    for (let i = 0; i < 10 && finalStatus !== 'failed'; i++) {
+      nudgeRetry();
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 3500));
+      const { body: notifs } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${body.student_id}/notifications`);
+      finalStatus = notifs[0]?.status;
+      finalAttempts = notifs[0]?.attempt_count;
+    }
+    assert.equal(finalStatus, 'failed', `expected exhaustion to reach failed within the nudge loop (last status: ${finalStatus}, attempts: ${finalAttempts})`);
+    assert.ok(finalAttempts <= 5, `expected a bounded attempt count, got ${finalAttempts}`);
+  });
+
+  // ── §11-15: admin visibility, resend/regenerate ─────────────────────────────────────────
+  await test('admin sees delivery status via both the global and per-student views', async () => {
+    const { body: global_ } = await owner.request('GET', '/api/admin/notifications');
+    assert.ok(global_.items.length > 0);
+    const { body: perStudent } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${newStudentId}/notifications`);
+    assert.ok(perStudent.length > 0);
+    assert.ok(!('metadata' in perStudent[0]));
+    assert.ok(!('recipient_email' in perStudent[0])); // only the masked field is ever present
+  });
+
+  let pendingStudentId, firstActivationNotifId, resentNotifId;
+  await test('resend creates an intentional NEW notification attempt (not a mutation of the old row)', async () => {
+    const { body: created } = await owner.request('POST', '/api/admin/students', { display_name: 'Resend Test', email: `p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com` });
+    pendingStudentId = created.student_id;
+    await waitForStatus(owner, pendingStudentId, 'sent');
+    const { body: before } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${pendingStudentId}/notifications`);
+    firstActivationNotifId = before[0].notification_id;
+    const { status, body: resent } = await owner.request('POST', `/api/admin/students/${pendingStudentId}/resend-activation`);
+    assert.equal(status, 200);
+    assert.notEqual(resent.notification_id, firstActivationNotifId);
+    resentNotifId = resent.notification_id;
+  });
+
+  let oldToken, newToken;
+  await test('regenerate (resend) invalidates the previous activation token; old token now fails, new one works', async () => {
+    const { status: previewStatus, body: firstPreview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/notifications/${firstActivationNotifId}/dev-preview`);
+    if (previewStatus !== 200) throw new Error(`dev-preview for ${firstActivationNotifId} returned ${previewStatus}: ${JSON.stringify(firstPreview)}`);
+    oldToken = firstPreview.text.match(/\/\?activate=([A-Za-z0-9_-]+)/)[1];
+    await waitForNotificationStatus(owner, pendingStudentId, resentNotifId, 'sent'); // the resend's OWN delivery, not just "any" sent notification
+    const { status: secondPreviewStatus, body: secondPreview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/notifications/${resentNotifId}/dev-preview`);
+    if (secondPreviewStatus !== 200) throw new Error(`dev-preview for ${resentNotifId} returned ${secondPreviewStatus}: ${JSON.stringify(secondPreview)}`);
+    newToken = secondPreview.text.match(/\/\?activate=([A-Za-z0-9_-]+)/)[1];
+    assert.notEqual(oldToken, newToken);
+
+    const failWithOld = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/activate', { token: oldToken, password: 'ShouldNotWork123!' });
+    assert.equal(failWithOld.status, 400);
+    const okWithNew = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/activate', { token: newToken, password: 'ResendPass123!' });
+    assert.equal(okWithNew.status, 200);
+  });
+
+  await test('activation token is single-use (the new token, already consumed above, fails a second time)', async () => {
+    const { status } = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/activate', { token: newToken, password: 'AnotherPass123!' });
+    assert.equal(status, 400);
+  });
+
+  await test('activation token expiration is enforced server-side', async () => {
+    const { body: created } = await owner.request('POST', '/api/admin/students', { display_name: 'Expiry Test', email: `p5c-expiry-${RUN_ID}@example.com` });
+    execSync(
+      `docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml exec -T postgres psql -U postgres -d rootnode_platform -c "UPDATE students SET credential_token_expires_at = now() - interval '1 hour' WHERE student_id = '${created.student_id}'"`,
+      { cwd: `${__dirname}/..` }
+    );
+    const { status } = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/activate', { token: created.activation_token, password: 'ExpiredPass123!' });
+    assert.equal(status, 400);
+  });
+
+  // ── §18/§20/§21: token secrecy ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  await test('no activation/reset plaintext ever appears in any admin notification API response', async () => {
+    const { body: list } = await owner.request('GET', '/api/admin/notifications');
+    const { body: perStudent } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${pendingStudentId}/notifications`);
+    const serialized = JSON.stringify(list) + JSON.stringify(perStudent);
+    assert.ok(!serialized.includes(newToken) && !serialized.includes(oldToken));
+  });
+
+  // ── §19-24: password reset ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  await test('reset anti-enumeration preserved (identical response for real vs unknown identifier)', async () => {
+    const real = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/request-password-reset', { identifier: `p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com` });
+    const fake = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/request-password-reset', { identifier: `nobody-${RUN_ID}@example.com` });
+    assert.equal(real.body.message, fake.body.message);
+  });
+
+  let resetToken;
+  await test('reset email is queued and delivered for a valid account', async () => {
+    const res = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/request-password-reset', { identifier: `p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com` });
+    resetToken = res.body.dev_reset_token;
+    assert.ok(resetToken);
+    const sent = await waitForStatus(owner, pendingStudentId, 'sent', 8000);
+  });
+
+  await test('reset token is single-use and expiration is enforced', async () => {
+    const good = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/reset-password', { token: resetToken, password: 'ResetPassNew123!' });
+    assert.equal(good.status, 200);
+    const reuse = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/reset-password', { token: resetToken, password: 'AnotherOne123!' });
+    assert.equal(reuse.status, 400);
+  });
+
+  await test('password reset revokes prior sessions and the new password works', async () => {
+    const login = await makeSession(GW).request('POST', '/api/student/login', { identifier: `p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com`, password: 'ResetPassNew123!' });
+    assert.equal(login.status, 200);
+  });
+
+  // ── §25-26: minor/no-email contact-email path ───────────────────────────────────────────
+  await test('minor/no-email recipient flow: contact_email delivers the activation notification', async () => {
+    const { status, body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-minor`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { login_identifier: `p5c-minor-${RUN_ID}`, display_name: 'Minor Student', contact_email: `p5c-guardian-${RUN_ID}@example.com` },
+    });
+    assert.equal(status, 201);
+    const sent = await waitForStatus(owner, body.student_id, 'sent');
+    const { body: preview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/notifications/${sent.notification_id}/dev-preview`);
+    assert.equal(preview.to, `p5c-guardian-${RUN_ID}@example.com`);
+  });
+
+  await test('the guardian contact email is NEVER written to students.email', async () => {
+    const out = execSync(
+      `docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml exec -T postgres psql -U postgres -d rootnode_platform -tA -c "SELECT email FROM students WHERE login_identifier = 'p5c-minor-${RUN_ID}'"`,
+      { cwd: `${__dirname}/..` }
+    ).toString().trim();
+    assert.equal(out, '');
+  });
+
+  // ── §27-30: integration auth, cross-student isolation, RBAC scoping ────────────────────
+  await test('integration auth remains separate from student/admin session auth', async () => {
+    const res = await fetch(`${GW}/api/integrations/enrollments`, {
+      method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', Cookie: `rn_instructor=${owner.getCookie('rn_instructor')}` },
+      body: JSON.stringify({ event_id: 'x', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid', student: { email: 'x@example.com' } }),
+    });
+    assert.equal(res.status, 401);
+  });
+
+  await test('a student session cannot invoke any admin notification route', async () => {
+    const student = makeSession(GW);
+    await student.request('POST', '/api/student/login', { identifier: `p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com`, password: 'ResetPassNew123!' });
+    const { status } = await student.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${pendingStudentId}/notifications`);
+    assert.ok([401, 403].includes(status));
+  });
+
+  // ── Regression: no arbitrary email template injection (§21) ────────────────────────────
+  // Found and fixed during this phase — display_name flows straight from a website
+  // integration event (genuinely external, caller-controlled text) into the activation
+  // email's HTML. templates.js now escapes every interpolated value in the HTML body.
+  await test('a display_name containing HTML markup is escaped in the rendered email, not injected', async () => {
+    const maliciousName = '<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>Injected';
+    const { status, body } = await fireIntegrationEvent({
+      event_id: `p5c-${RUN_ID}-injection`, source: 'website', program_slug: PROGRAM, status: 'paid',
+      student: { email: `p5c-injection-${RUN_ID}@example.com`, display_name: maliciousName },
+    });
+    assert.equal(status, 201);
+    const sent = await waitForStatus(owner, body.student_id, 'sent');
+    const { body: preview } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/notifications/${sent.notification_id}/dev-preview`);
+    assert.ok(!preview.html.includes('<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>'), 'raw markup must never appear unescaped in the HTML body');
+    assert.ok(preview.html.includes('&lt;img'), 'the escaped form must be present instead');
+  });
+
+  const { body: unrelatedInstr } = await owner.request('POST', '/api/admin/instructors', {
+    email: `p5c-unrelated-${RUN_ID}@rootnode.test`, display_name: 'Unrelated', role: 'instructor', password: 'UnrelatedPass123!',
+  });
+  await test('instructor RBAC/scoping preserved for notification visibility', async () => {
+    const unrelated = makeSession(GW);
+    await unrelated.request('POST', '/api/auth/instructor/login', { email: `p5c-unrelated-${RUN_ID}@rootnode.test`, password: 'UnrelatedPass123!' });
+    const scopedList = await unrelated.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${pendingStudentId}/notifications`);
+    assert.equal(scopedList.status, 403);
+    const globalList = await unrelated.request('GET', '/api/admin/notifications');
+    assert.equal(globalList.status, 403); // global view is owner/admin only
+  });
+
+  // ── §33-34: metrics / audit hygiene ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  await test('metrics contain notification gauges/counters with no PII', async () => {
+    const res = await fetch(`${API}/metrics`);
+    const text = await res.text();
+    assert.ok(text.includes('rootnode_notifications_total'));
+    assert.ok(text.includes('rootnode_notification_delivery_attempts_total'));
+    assert.ok(!text.includes(`p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com`));
+    assert.ok(!text.includes(pendingStudentId));
+    assert.ok(!text.includes(newToken || ''));
+  });
+
+  await test('audit events contain no tokens/secrets', async () => {
+    const { body } = await owner.request('GET', '/api/admin/audit-events?page=1');
+    const serialized = JSON.stringify(body);
+    assert.ok(!serialized.includes(newToken) && !serialized.includes(oldToken) && !serialized.includes(resetToken));
+    assert.ok(!/password_hash|credential_token_hash/i.test(serialized));
+  });
+
+  // ── production gating (§8/§21) — recreate the SAME api service with COOKIE_SECURE=1 via the
+  // standard compose env-file mechanism (no ad hoc container/port juggling under
+  // network_mode: host, which doesn't tolerate a second container easily) ─────────────────
+  await test('production mode never returns dev_reset_token or exposes the dev-preview route', async () => {
+    const cwd = `${__dirname}/..`;
+    execSync(`bash -c "echo COOKIE_SECURE=1 >> .env"`, { cwd, stdio: 'pipe' });
+    try {
+      execSync('docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d --force-recreate api', { cwd, stdio: 'pipe' });
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 3000));
+      const reset = await fetch(`${API}/api/student/request-password-reset`, {
+        method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, body: JSON.stringify({ identifier: `p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com` }),
+      }).then((r) => r.json());
+      assert.ok(!('dev_reset_token' in reset), 'production must never echo the reset token');
+      // The dev-preview route also refuses outright once COOKIE_SECURE=1, regardless of what a
+      // notification row happens to hold.
+      const preview = await fetch(`${API}/api/admin/notifications/${firstActivationNotifId}/dev-preview`, { headers: { Cookie: `rn_instructor=${owner.getCookie('rn_instructor')}` } });
+      assert.equal(preview.status, 404);
+    } finally {
+      execSync(`bash -c "grep -v '^COOKIE_SECURE=' .env > .env.tmp && mv .env.tmp .env"`, { cwd, stdio: 'pipe' });
+      execSync('docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up -d --force-recreate api', { cwd, stdio: 'pipe' });
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 3000));
+    }
+  });
+
+  // ── §31-32/§35-36: restart persistence + regression smoke ───────────────────────────────
+  if (!SKIP_RESTART_TEST) {
+    await test('a real Platform API restart preserves the notification queue and does not duplicate an already-sent notification', async () => {
+      const { body: before } = await owner.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${pendingStudentId}/notifications`);
+      execSync('docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml restart api', { cwd: `${__dirname}/..`, stdio: 'pipe' });
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 4000));
+      const reLogin = makeSession(GW);
+      await reLogin.request('POST', '/api/auth/instructor/login', { email: OWNER_EMAIL, password: OWNER_PASSWORD });
+      const { body: after } = await reLogin.request('GET', `/api/admin/students/${pendingStudentId}/notifications`);
+      assert.equal(after.length, before.length, 'restart must not duplicate any notification row');
+      const sentCount = after.filter((n) => n.status === 'sent').length;
+      const sentCountBefore = before.filter((n) => n.status === 'sent').length;
+      assert.equal(sentCount, sentCountBefore);
+    });
+  } else {
+    console.log('  skip — restart persistence (SKIP_RESTART_TEST=1)');
+  }
+
+  await test('Phase 5B enrollment/resume still works unmodified', async () => {
+    const s = makeSession(GW);
+    await s.request('POST', '/api/student/login', { identifier: `p5c-resend-${RUN_ID}@example.com`, password: 'ResetPassNew123!' });
+    const { status, body } = await s.request('GET', '/api/student/programs');
+    assert.equal(status, 200);
+  });
+
+  await test('Phase 5A instructor authentication still works unmodified', async () => {
+    const s = makeSession(GW);
+    const { status } = await s.request('POST', '/api/auth/instructor/login', { email: OWNER_EMAIL, password: OWNER_PASSWORD });
+    assert.equal(status, 200);
+  });
+
+  console.log(`\n${passed} passed, ${failed} failed`);
+  if (failed > 0) process.exit(1);
+}
+
+main().catch((e) => { console.error(e); process.exit(1); });