6.3.3. Set the Course Run Schedule and Pacing in Studio¶

After you determine the start and end dates for a course run, and whether you want your course run to be self-paced or instructor-paced, you specify these settings on the Schedule & Details page in Studio.

For more information about determining how to schedule your course, see Scheduling a Course Run.

6.3.3.1. Set Start and End Dates and Times in Studio¶

To set dates and times for the course and for course enrollment in Studio, follow these steps.

Note

EdX recommends that you verify all important dates in Studio one week before you plan to start the course.

On the Settings menu, select Schedule & Details.
In the Course Schedule section, replace the placeholder dates and times with your own information.

When you make changes on this page, a panel with options to save or cancel your work appears.
Select Save Changes.

Note

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

6.3.3.1.1. Advertise a Different Start Date¶

You can advertise a start date for your course that is different from the course start date you set in the Schedule & Details page. You might want to do this if the exact start date is uncertain.

You can enter a specific date or a description. For example, you could advertise the start date as either “15 Oct 2016” or “Anytime, self-paced”.

To set an advertised start date in Studio, follow these steps.

On the Settings menu, select Advanced Settings.
Locate the Course Advertised Start Date field. The default value is null.
Enter the start date that you want learners to see for your course in MM/DD/YYYY format.

A date value entered in MM/DD/YYYY format appears to learners in DD Mon YYYY format. For example, 10/15/2016 appears as 15 Oct 2016.
Add quotation marks (" ") before and after the start date value. An example follows.
```
"Anytime, self-paced"
```
Select Save Changes.

A message lets you know whether your changes were saved successfully.

Note

If you do not change the default course start date (01/01/2030), and the Course Advertised Start Date policy value is null, no start date appears for the course. Learners just see that the course has not yet started.

6.3.3.2. Set Pacing for Your Course in Studio¶

Before you can use this feature to set up a self-paced course, it must be enabled using the Open edX Django admin panel. Follow these steps, or contact your Open edX site administrator for assistance.

Log in to your Open edX Django Admin panel.
In the Self_Paced section, locate Self paced configurations, and then select Add.
Select the Enabled and Enable course home page improvements checkboxes.
Select Save.

To set the pacing for your course, follow these steps.

Note

You cannot change the course pacing after the course start date has passed.

On the Settings menu, select Schedule & Details.
Scroll down to the Course Pacing section.
Under Course Pacing, select either Instructor-Paced or Self-Paced.
Select Save Changes.