Give students access

Open the course and choose Cohorts, then Create cohort. Enter a name, choose the time zone for course dates and choose Create cohort. You can leave public dates, place and seat limit empty.

The new group opens as a draft with a copy of the course lessons. Later changes to the course do not appear in this group unless you update its copy.

If people should join at different times, choose Evergreen → Create evergreen course instead. See Groups and evergreen courses for the difference and for access periods.

Open Course builder → Preview in the group and follow the first slide. This is the version your students will see. If it needs a change, use the group's Build area and check Preview again. A newly created group opens in its builder, so you may already be there.

Open the group's student list and choose Add student. Search for the student first. Choose the match, then Add to cohort. If there is no match, choose Create new student, enter their name and email, then choose Create and add.

The student appears in the group list. Sending their access email starts when you publish the group.

Check Course release above the group tabs. If it lists an issue, follow its link, fix the group copy and return here. When it is ready, choose Publish course and then Confirm publish.

Publishing lets active students start and starts sending their access emails. The release panel shows how many were sent, are still pending or failed. If an email fails, choose Retry access emails. “Sent” does not prove it reached the student's inbox.

Share the student guide with the student. When you need more choices, see Groups or Selling courses.