Overview

A powerful feature on the platform is the ability to create child courses. Child courses allow you to easily create multiple sections, or sessions, of the same course. To do this, you can add 'child' courses to a 'parent' course. Each child course can be independently customized, and you can quickly update the children courses with changes made to the parent course.

Please note the business platform uses the term 'course' and the academia platform uses the term 'class'. The terms 'course' and 'class' are interchangeable in this article.

Creating a child course

1. Access a course or course template.
   
2. Click Admin from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Click + Add child course from the fly-out menu.
   

1. Name the course.
   
1. Note - The example course name in the screenshot includes the word 'Child' for demonstration purposes. There are no naming requirements for child courses.
   
2. Select the course style, dates, and/or duration.
   
3. Add an optional Course code.
   
4. Add an optional Section code.
   
5. Click Save.

1. Click the link in the notification to access the new child course.

The child course is created as an exact copy of the parent course, including custom fields (if applicable). All child courses are linked to the parent course in several ways.

1. The parent course is shown and linked in the Admin widget in the right panel.
   

The parent course is also available through the child course Admin menu.

1. Access the child course.
   
2. Click Admin from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Click Parent course. 
   

1. Access the parent course.
   
2. Click Sections from the course navigation menu.
   

A fly-out menu appears showing the parent course and any associated child courses. Child courses display with a child  icon in front of the course name. There are multiple options on the fly-out menu:

1. Click the child course name to access the child course.
   
2. Select a child course and click Remove to remove the parent-child relationship between the courses.
   
3. Select a child course and click Sync to begin the Sync process (covered in more detail in the next section). 

Update child courses

When you make changes to the parent course, you can choose to update child courses with the same updates. To update child courses with changes made to the parent course:

1. Access the parent course.
   
2. Click Sections from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Select the child course(s) you would like to sync with the parent course.
   
4. Click Sync. 

The Sync pop-up displays which shows all differences between the parent and selected child courses.

1. By default, all changes are selected. Deselect any changes you don't want to update in the child course(s).
   
2. Click Submit.
   

Note that assessments display if they have been given. If an assessment that has already been given is added to a child course as the result of a sync, it is automatically given in the child course. This setting can be adjusted in the configuration options covered later is this article.

To view the date and time of the last sync for a child course:

1. Access the parent course.
   
2. Click Sections from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Note the Last synced date and time for the child course(s).
   

Sync options

You can configure the sync options for any parent course. To configure the sync options:

1. Access the parent course.
   
2. Click Sections from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Click Configure sync from the fly-out menu. 
   

The Configure sync pop-up displays with the following options:

1. Items to sync: This section allows you to select which kinds of items are synced. By default, course configuration settings, resources, modules, sections, grading periods, categories, assignments, and events are synced.
   
2. Changes to sync: This section allows you to select what kinds of changes are synced. By default, additions, edits, and deletions are synced.
   
3. Duration to sync: This setting allows you to choose the duration to sync. By default, only the changes that were made to the parent since the last sync are considered. You can also select 'Changes to the parent since it was created' if you want to sync all changes regardless of previous syncs.
   
4. List changes to each child separately: This setting allows you to specify whether the changes to each child are listed separately or combined when possible. Listing changes separately is useful if you want to apply changes to one child, but not another.
   
5. Sync assignment state/due dates: This allows you to specify if you want assignment start/due dates to be synced. By default, this is disabled so that you can reschedule parent assignments without altering the start/due dates of the children.
   
6. Sync assignment 'given' status: This allows you to specify if you want assignments 'given' status to be synced. By default, this is disabled so that you can give parent assignments without altering the 'given' status of the children.
   
7. Click Save to save your sync configuration settings.

Specific sync settings

This section of the article covers the specific items that are updated in a sync.

Course/Class configuration

Edits to the following course/class configuration fields are updated in a sync:

Modules/Lessons

Edits to the following module/lesson fields are updated in a sync:

Sections

Section adds, deletes, and ordering are updated in a sync. The following section edits are also updated in a sync:

Assessments/Assignments

Assessments/Assignment adds, deletes, location (standalone versus in a particular module), and edits to the following fields are updated in a sync:

Also, if enabled, the following fields are updated in a sync:

Finally, the points are updated if they are not auto-calculated (as they are with quizzes, for example).

Resources in the main resources tab

Resource adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields are updated during a sync (when applicable):

Calendar events

Calendar adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields are updated in a sync:

Assessment/Assignment categories

Assessment/Assignment category adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields are updated in a sync:

Grading periods

Grading period adds, deletes, and edits to the following fields are updated in a sync:

Tab ordering

Tab ordering and enabled/disabled tabs for courses, groups, and paths are updated in a sync.

Notes

• Resources, categories, and grading periods are matched by name. Events are matched based on name and date. This means that if you have two parent and/or child items with the same name, the sync system cannot be sure how to match them. For best results, use unique names for resources, categories and grading periods when possible.
• Because of the large number of data fields associated with each item, only the listed items above are currently synced. 

Including child classes on the parent class catalog page

On the course catalog page, you can include the published child courses for a parent course and allow users to select which course they would like to purchase or enroll in. This features allows you to offer users multiple sessions of a course, often in different locations or on different days.

To display child courses on the parent course catalog page:

1. Access the parent course or course template.
   
2. Click Admin from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Click Catalog on the fly-out menu.
   
4. Select the Include child courses? checkbox.
   

Once enabled, the catalog tile for the parent course will include the text 'Multiple dates are available' and the child courses will no longer show up separately in the catalog.

When users click the course tile, the child courses are listed as available sessions in the right panel.

1. Users click the session radio button to select the session when enrolling or purchasing the course.
   

To display sessions by location, the child courses must include a location. To add a location to a child course:

1. Access the child course.
   
2. Click Admin from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Click Basics from the fly-out menu.
   
4. Click Edit in the Settings section.
   
5. Add a Location.
   
6. Click Save.

If a course does not have a location, it will be displayed as 'Other' in the Select session widget on the course catalog page.

Each session entry includes the start and end dates of the child course, as well as any schedule information. For more information on adding a schedule to a course, visit the Configure courses and classes article. 

If e-commerce is enabled, you can list individual prices for each session. To learn more about adding a price to a course, visit the E-commerce article.