.. _About Course Sections:

###################################
About Course Sections
###################################

.. tags:: educator, concept

.. contents::
  :local:
  :depth: 2

****************************
What Is a Section?
****************************

A section is the topmost category in a course. A section can represent a time
period in a course, a chapter, or another organizing principle. A section
contains one or more :ref:`subsections <About Course Subsections>`.

********************************
Viewing Sections in the Outline
********************************

For more information see :ref:`About the Course Outline`.

.. _Sections and Visibility to Learners:

************************************************
Sections and Visibility to Learners
************************************************

Learners cannot see any content in a section if the section's release date is
unscheduled or has not passed.

If a section's release date has passed, learners can see content in the section
if:

* The release date for the subsection that contains that content has passed.
* The unit has been published.
* The unit is not hidden from learners.

************************************************
Setting the Release Date for Sections
************************************************

For the content of a section to be visible to learners, the section must be
released. To set the release status for sections, follow these steps.

#. From the three-dot menu at the section level, choose **Configure**.

   .. image:: /_images/educator_concepts/section_three_dot_menu_configure.png
     :width: 600

#. On the **Basic** tab, locate the **Release date and time** section.

   .. image:: /_images/educator_concepts/section_release_date.png
     :width: 600

#. For **Release Date** and **Release Time in UTC**, enter or select a due date and
   time for problems in this section.

   .. note:: The time that you set is in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). You
      might want to verify that you have specified the time that you intend by
      using a time zone converter such as `Time and Date Time Zone Converter`_.

      Learners who have specified a time zone in their account settings see
      course dates and times converted to their specified time zone. Learners
      who have not specified a time zone in their account settings see course
      dates and times on their dashboards, in the body of the course, and on
      their **Progress** pages in the time zone that their browsers specify.
      Learners see other course dates and times in UTC.


************************************************
Understanding Section Statuses
************************************************

.. contents::
  :local:
  :depth: 1

========================
Unscheduled
========================

If the :ref:`course start date<Set Start and End Dates>` is unchanged from its
default value, ``1/1/2030 00:00:00 UTC``, when a new section is created, its
release date will appear as ``Unscheduled``. When the section release date is
unscheduled, learners cannot see any content in that section, regardless of
the publishing status of that content.

If the course start date has been modified, when a new section is created, the
default release date is the course start date.

To make the content available to learners, the release date must be scheduled.

==========
Scheduled
==========

A section that is scheduled for release on a future date will not be visible to
learners until after the release date. Regardless of the publishing status of
content within the section, the entire section will not be visible to learners.

The scheduled date must pass for the section to be visible to learners.

===========================
Released
===========================

A section that is released is visible to learners; however, learners see only
subsections within the section that are also released, and units that are
published.

==================================
Released with Unpublished Changes
==================================

If a unit in a released section is changed but the changes aren't published,
learners see the last published version of the modified unit.

The unit must published for learners to see the updates.

===========================
Staff Only Content
===========================

A section can contain a unit that is hidden from learners and available to
members of the course team only. That unit is not visible to learners,
regardless of the release date of the section or subsection.


.. seealso::

  :ref:`Guide to Course Content Development` (reference)

  :ref:`Create a New Course` (how-to)

  :ref:`About the Course Outline` (concept)

  :ref:`Manage Course Outline` (how-to)

  :ref:`Modify Settings for Objects in the Course Outline` (how-to)

  :ref:`Publish Content from the Course Outline` (how-to)

  :ref:`About Course Subsections` (concept)

  :ref:`About Course Units` (concept)

  :ref:`Manage Course Sections` (how-to)

  :ref:`Manage Course Subsections` (how-to)

  :ref:`Manage Course Units` (how-to)

  :ref:`View as Learner` (how-to)

**Maintenance chart**

+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
| Review Date  | Working Group Reviewer        |   Release      |Test situation                  |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
| 2025-11-16   | sarina                        |  Ulmo          | Pass                           |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+