> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bizaxl.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Programmes & Courses

> Define your academic catalogue - programmes, courses, topics, and academic calendar - the foundation for enrolment, timetabling, and assessments.

Programmes and Courses form the academic catalogue of your institution. Every enrolment, every class, and every assessment is tied to a course within a programme. Setting this up correctly is the foundation everything else depends on.

***

## Who Uses This Feature

| Role                       | What They Do                                                                       |
| -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Academic Administrator** | Creates academic years, terms, programmes, courses, topics, and manages enrolments |
| **Instructor**             | Views course details, course schedule, and course activity                         |
| **Finance Officer**        | Links fee structures to programmes                                                 |

***

## Before You Start

Work through these in order - each step depends on the previous:

1. **Academic Year** - the academic calendar year (e.g. 2025–2026)
2. **Academic Term** - subdivisions within the year (e.g. Semester 1, Semester 2) - optional but recommended
3. **Programme** - the degree, diploma, or qualification (e.g. B.Com, MBA)
4. **Course** - individual subjects within a programme (e.g. Financial Accounting, Business Law)
5. **Topic** - sections within a course (e.g. Chapter 1: Introduction to Debits and Credits)

***

## Academic Year

An Academic Year defines the calendar period for an intake or academic cycle.

### Creating an Academic Year

1. Go to **Education workspace → Academics card → Academic Year**.
2. Click **New**.
3. Fill in:

| Field                  | What to Enter                             |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| **Academic Year Name** | A clear label, e.g. "2025-26" (required)  |
| **Year Start Date**    | First day of the academic year (required) |
| **Year End Date**      | Last day of the academic year (required)  |

4. Save.

Once created, set this as the **Current Academic Year** in **Education Settings** so it populates automatically on new records.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/bizaxloptimizationsllp/images/placeholder-academic-year-form.png" alt="Academic Year form showing year name and start/end dates" />
</Frame>

***

## Academic Term

An Academic Term divides the academic year into semesters, trimesters, or terms. Terms are optional but strongly recommended for institutions with structured semester systems.

### Creating an Academic Term

1. Go to **Education workspace → Academics card → Academic Term**.
2. Click **New**.
3. Fill in:

| Field               | What to Enter                                    |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Academic Year**   | The year this term belongs to (required)         |
| **Term Name**       | e.g. "Semester 1", "Q1", "Michaelmas" (required) |
| **Term Start Date** | First day of the term (required)                 |
| **Term End Date**   | Last day of the term (required)                  |

4. Save.

Set the **Current Academic Term** in **Education Settings** for it to auto-populate on records.

***

## Programmes

A Programme is a qualification or course of study. It defines what a student is enrolled in - for example, "Bachelor of Commerce", "Diploma in Digital Marketing", or "Foundation Year".

### Creating a Programme

1. Go to **Education workspace → Academics card → Programme**.
2. Click **New**.
3. Fill in:

| Field                      | What to Enter                                         |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Programme Name**         | Official name, e.g. "Bachelor of Commerce" (required) |
| **Department**             | The department that owns this programme               |
| **Programme Abbreviation** | Short code, e.g. "B.Com"                              |
| **Courses**                | Add the courses that make up this programme           |
| **Image**                  | Optional programme image                              |

4. Save.

The **Courses table** inside a programme defines the curriculum. Add all courses a student in this programme will study.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/bizaxloptimizationsllp/images/placeholder-programme-form.png" alt="Programme form showing programme name, department, abbreviation, and the courses table" />
</Frame>

***

## Courses

A Course is a single subject or unit of study within a programme. Students are enrolled in courses, classes are scheduled for courses, and assessments are planned against courses.

### Creating a Course

1. Go to **Education workspace → Academics card → Course**.
2. Click **New**.
3. Fill in:

| Field                     | What to Enter                                                        |
| ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Course Name**           | Official name, e.g. "Financial Accounting I" (required)              |
| **Department**            | The department responsible for this course                           |
| **Description**           | Brief description shown on course pages                              |
| **Default Grading Scale** | The default grading scale applied to assessments in this course      |
| **Topics**                | Add the topics that make up this course's curriculum                 |
| **Assessment Criteria**   | Add assessment criteria that apply to all assessments in this course |
| **Hero Image**            | Course image                                                         |

4. Save.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/bizaxloptimizationsllp/images/placeholder-course-form.png" alt="Course form showing course name, description, topics table, and default grading scale" />
</Frame>

***

## Topics

A Topic is a unit or chapter within a Course. Topics are used to organise the curriculum and can include content materials (articles, videos, quizzes) linked to the learning management system.

### Creating a Topic

1. Go to **Education workspace → Academics card → Topic**.
2. Click **New**.
3. Fill in:

| Field             | What to Enter                                                         |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**          | Topic title, e.g. "Chapter 3: Cash Flow Statements" (required)        |
| **Description**   | Brief description of what this topic covers                           |
| **Topic Content** | Add content items (articles, videos, or quizzes) linked to this topic |
| **Hero Image**    | Optional image                                                        |

4. Save. Add the topic to the relevant Course's Topics table.

***

## Programme Enrolment

Programme Enrolment is the official record that ties a specific student to a specific programme for a given academic year. It is a submittable record - meaning once submitted, it creates fee records automatically.

### Enrolling a Student

**Single enrolment:**

1. Go to **Education workspace → Student Management card → Programme Enrolment**.
2. Click **New**.
3. Fill in:

| Field                | What to Enter                                                            |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Student**          | The student being enrolled (required)                                    |
| **Programme**        | The programme they are joining (required)                                |
| **Academic Year**    | The enrolment year (required)                                            |
| **Academic Term**    | The term, if applicable                                                  |
| **Enrolment Date**   | Date enrolment takes effect (required)                                   |
| **Student Category** | Scholarship or quota category if applicable                              |
| **Student Batch**    | Which batch they are in, if applicable                                   |
| **Boarding Student** | Tick if the student lives on campus                                      |
| **School House**     | The house or residence, if applicable                                    |
| **Courses**          | Add specific courses being taken (optional - can also be auto-populated) |
| **Fees**             | Add fee schedule items - this is what drives fee record creation         |

4. Click **Save**, then **Submit**.

On submission, Bizaxl automatically creates fee records (Sales Invoices or Sales Orders) for any fee schedules listed in the Fees table.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/bizaxloptimizationsllp/images/placeholder-programme-enrolment-form.png" alt="Programme Enrolment form showing student, programme, academic year, courses table, and fees table" />
</Frame>

**Bulk enrolment using the Programme Enrolment Tool:**

1. Go to **Education workspace → Tools card → Programme Enrolment** (the tool, not the record).
2. Select where to get students from and the current programme.
3. Set the academic year, term, and batch.
4. Click **Get Students** to load the student list.
5. Set the **New Programme**, new academic year/term/batch if moving students.
6. Click **Enrol Students**.

This is useful at the start of a new academic year when existing students advance to the next year.

***

## Course Enrolment

A Course Enrolment records that a specific student is enrolled in a specific course (rather than just a programme). These are created automatically when a student is enrolled in a programme and courses are listed on the enrolment record.

You can view Course Enrolments at: **Education workspace → Student Management card → Course Enrolment**.

***

## Course Activity

Course Activity tracks a student's participation in online course content (linked to the LMS). This record is created automatically when a student accesses LMS content through their programme.

***

## Field Guide: Programme Enrolment

| Field            | Purpose                                                                           |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Student          | Who is being enrolled                                                             |
| Programme        | What they are enrolled in                                                         |
| Academic Year    | Which year the enrolment is for                                                   |
| Enrolment Date   | When enrolment takes effect - affects fee posting dates                           |
| Student Category | Determines which fee structures apply (if category-specific rates are set)        |
| Courses          | Specific courses within the programme for this enrolment                          |
| Fees             | Fee schedules linked to this enrolment - drives fee record creation on submission |

***

## Workflow Journey

<Steps>
  <Step title="Academic year created">
    An Academic Year is created to define the calendar period for the intake or academic cycle.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Academic term created">
    Academic Terms (semesters or trimesters) are added within the year. This step is optional but recommended.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Department created">
    Departments are set up if your institution organises programmes and courses by department.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Programme created">
    A Programme record is created with its name, department, and curriculum (the list of courses it contains).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Courses created and added to programme">
    Individual Course records are created and added to the Programme's courses table.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Topics created and added to courses">
    Topics (chapters or units) are created and linked to the relevant Course records.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Student record exists">
    A Student record is available, created through the Admissions process or directly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Programme enrolment created and submitted">
    A Programme Enrolment record is created for the student, programme, and academic year, then submitted.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fee records created automatically">
    On submission of Programme Enrolment, fee records are created automatically for any fee schedules in the Fees table.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Student group assigned">
    The student is added to the appropriate Student Group for their courses.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Course schedule created">
    Course Schedule records are created in the Timetabling module, linking the Student Group to rooms, instructors, and times.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## Automatic Actions

| Action                           | When It Happens                                                   |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Fee records created              | When Programme Enrolment is submitted and Fees table is populated |
| Course Enrolment records created | When Programme Enrolment is submitted                             |
| Student Customer record created  | When student record is saved (needed for fee invoicing)           |

***

## Best Practices

* **Set up the academic calendar before anything else** - Academic Year and Term must exist before you create programmes, enrolments, or timetables.
* **Use Programme Abbreviation** - it makes dropdowns and reports much more readable.
* **Add courses to programmes carefully** - the courses listed in a programme drive what appears in the Programme Enrolment Tool and Student Group Creation Tool.
* **Use the bulk enrolment tool at year rollover** - manually re-enrolling hundreds of continuing students is avoidable. The Programme Enrolment Tool handles advancement in bulk.
* **Set a Default Grading Scale on courses** - this pre-fills on Assessment Plans for that course, reducing data entry errors.
* **Configure Education Settings after setup** - set the current Academic Year and Term so they populate automatically on all new records.

***

## Troubleshooting

**Fees are not being created when I submit a Programme Enrolment.**
Check that the **Fees table** on the enrolment record has at least one Fee Schedule entry. Fees are only created if fee schedule items are listed. Also check **Education Settings** to ensure "Submit Sales Invoice from Programme Enrolment / Fee Schedule" is enabled.

**The Programme Enrolment Tool is not showing my students.**
The tool looks for students enrolled in the source programme in the selected academic year. Ensure those students have Programme Enrolments (submitted) for the year you are filtering on.

**A course does not appear in my programme.**
Open the Programme record and check the Courses table. The course must be explicitly added to the programme - it is not automatic.

***

## Related Features

* [Admissions](/education/college-management/admissions) - where students are created
* [Student Management](/education/college-management/student-management) - student records that are enrolled
* [Timetabling](/education/college-management/timetabling) - scheduling classes for courses
* [Assessments](/education/college-management/assessments) - assessments are planned per course
* [Fee Management](/education/college-management/fee-management) - fee structures tied to programmes