Creating & Managing Courses¶
Adding a New Course¶
From your home page, click Add New Course. Choose one of two paths:
From a Template¶
Varsity Learning provides a gallery of pre-built course templates (for common high school math courses such as Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus, and Statistics) so you can get started quickly. Copy a template and you'll have a course with assessments, question sets, and content blocks already in place — edit them to fit your pacing and standards.
You can also copy one of your own existing courses, or any course a colleague has shared with you, the same way.
From Scratch¶
Create an empty course and add everything yourself. Enter a course title and click Create.
Course Settings¶
After creating your course, open it and navigate to Course Settings (a link in the course admin controls). Key settings to configure:
Enrollment Key¶
The password students use to join the course. Set this to something easy for students to type. It is case-sensitive. Share this along with the Course ID (shown in the course settings and in the URL).
Course Dates¶
- Start Date — the earliest date students can access the course
- End Date — after this date, students can no longer access the course or submit work
Leave these blank to keep the course open indefinitely.
Theme¶
Choose a visual theme (color scheme) for the course page.
Navigation¶
Configure which links appear in the student sidebar — for example, whether to show a grades link, forum link, or messages link.
Course Structure: Blocks¶
Your course page is divided into blocks (collapsible sections). Each block is a grouping of related content — typically organized by week, topic, or unit.
To add a new block, use the block-creation control at the bottom of the course page. Give it a name, then add items inside it.
Button names may vary
The exact button labels in the course editor can vary between versions — look for the + icon or the "Add..." link at the bottom of the course page (or inside a block) to add new blocks, items, or folders.
To reorder blocks, drag them using the handle on the left. To hide a block from students without deleting it, toggle its visibility.
Adding Items to a Block¶
Use the "add item" control inside a block (look for a + or "Add..." link) to open the item picker:
| Item Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Assessment | Homework, quiz, test, or practice set |
| Text Item | A note or instruction shown on the course page |
| Link | A file, document, or external URL |
| Forum | A threaded discussion board |
| Drill | Repeated practice exercise |
| Inline Text | Rich text and media embedded in the course layout |
Folders¶
Use folders to group related items within a block. Add a folder from the same "+" / "Add..." menu inside a block, name it, and add items inside it. Students see the folder as a collapsible group on the course page.
Reordering and Moving Items¶
Drag any item by its handle to reorder it within a block. Use the item's context menu to move it to a different block.
Item Visibility¶
Each item has a visibility toggle. Hidden items are not visible to students but remain in your course for later. You can also control visibility through the assessment's availability dates (the assessment hides automatically before the open date and after the close date).
Copying Content from Another Course¶
To bring an assessment, question set, or other item in from another course you have access to:
- Open the "add item" menu inside a block and choose the Copy from course option.
- Select the source course from the list.
- Browse and select the item to copy.
- The copied item is added to your current block.
Copied assessments include their question sets. You can edit the copy independently without affecting the original.
Course ID and Enrollment Key¶
Students need both of these to enroll:
- Course ID — the number shown in your course settings and in the URL when you view the course
- Enrollment Key — the password you set in Course Settings
Share both values with students (in your syllabus, via email, or in your LMS).