The sections which comprise a course are split into subsections, which are in turn further divided into one or more units. You can use subsections to organize your course by topic or by another organizing principle. Moreover, subsections are sometimes referred to as the ‘lessons’ within a course, and they might represent a week's worth of educational content.

The Outline View of Subsections

The image below demonstrates a view of the constituting components of the course. The Studio view of the course outline is shown on the left. And on the right you can see the course outline as can be seen within the LMS.

As you can see, below are the component levels that are represented with numbers.

1.    Sections

2.    Subsections

3.    Units

Please note that components are not shown on the Course Outline page. In fact, if you would like to examine components or modify them, you must click on and enter the containing units.

1. The parent section containing the subsection has been published and its release date has passed.
   
2. The units within the subsection have also been published.
   
3. Neither the subsection nor its comprising units have been hidden from learners.
   

Unless you have deliberately hidden any units from your learners, the subsection and its consisting units are available to learners by default.

Also, it is possible to entirely hide a subsection from learners, so that none of the content within the subsection and its units are visible to them from within the course navigation. Besides, it is also possible to can hide the subsection contents once the subsection release date has passed. Read Hiding a Subsection from Learners to learn more about subsection visibility.

The regulated time standard used when managing the timings is UTC, Coordinated Universal Time. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to make sure you have chosen the correct time with reference to your desired time zone. You can verify the time using a time zone converter like Dateful or Time.is.

Additionally, a learner's account settings allow them to specify a time zone, so course dates and times are converted accordingly. On the other hand, when a user does not identify a preferred time zone in their account settings, throughout the site, in the dashboard, the course body, and the Progress pages, the date and time will be presented to them according to their browser’s time zone. While other course dates and times are displayed in UTC.

Subsection Publishing Statuses

If you are the author of the course, you have control over the status of the subsections and the time of their release. The content of a subsection will not be visible to learners unless it has been released to the public. Read more on the topics below to learn more about the different statuses that may be associated with each subsection.

1. Planned to Release Concurrent with Sections
   
2. Unplanned
   
3. Timed to Release After Sections
   
4. Released Including Unsaved Changes
   
5. Published
   
6. Staff Exclusive Content

1. Within the course outline, navigate to the section in which you would like to insert a new subsection, and expand it by clicking on it.

2. Near the end of the expanded section, select the New Subsection option. As a result, the newly added subsection appears at the end of the section, and the subsection name is selected, ready to be set by you.

3. Name the subsection as you see fit. It is recommended to use a descriptive name as it makes retrieving data in the course much simpler for the participants. Furthermore, it can also help you make a selection of content when analyzing the performance of your course in edX Insights.

4. Develop your new subsection by Adding units as you see fit.

1. Click the Three-dot icon and then select the Configure option in the subsection box to open the settings dialogue box.

2. In the settings window, navigate to the Basic tab. Hence, enter your desired date and time for the subsection to be released, under the Release Date and Time Section.

When you are scheduling content within a course, remember to double-check the date and time you specify using a time zone converter like Dateful to confirm it matches that of your intended time zone. Please note that the system uses UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) by default, but you are able to specify your preferred time zone in the account settings as needed. On the occasion that the user does not determine a preferred time zone, their browser’s time zone will be employed on the dashboard, in the course body and on the Progress pages, while the rest of the LMS uses the UTC standard.

3. Click on Save.

Publishing the Entire Units in a Subsection

Select the Publish icon in the subsection box to publish all newly added and changed units.

Notice that the Publish icon will only appear when the subsection contains newly modified content that has not been saved or published yet.

Read on about statuses and visibility to learners at Unit Publishing Statuses.

Protecting Subsection Content from Learners by Hiding

The following methods can be used to hide a subsection from learners.

1. You can Hide a Subsection Completely, ultimately removing the subsection from the course navigation. In this way, hidden sections are not included when calculating grades.
   
   
2. You may also Restrict Learners’ Access based on the set due dates for the course. This would mean after the due date (for instructor-led courses) or the course end date (for self-paced courses) has passed, learners cannot access a subsection's contents, but it remains visible in the navigation. When calculating grades, unlike subsections that are completely hidden, these subsections that are hidden based on date remain included.
   

In addition, you can hide just the answers to problems in the subsection, leaving the problems visible. Read on about Set Problem Results Visibility.

For more information, see Visibility Settings.

Hide a Subsection from Learners Completely

It is possible to fully conceal subsections from learners by hiding them; disregarding the status of their comprising units. Moreover, the subsections that have been hidden in this manner cannot be found within the course navigation, and they are not taken into consideration when grading.

The steps below provide instructions on how to hide a subsection from learners completely.

1. From inside the subsection box, click the Three-dot icon and then select the Configure option to launch the settings dialogue box. 

2. Within the Visibility tab, find the Subsection Visibility, and click on Hide the Entire Subsection to activate the option.

3. Click Save to finalize your changes.

As a result, none of the hidden content will be available for learners to access, and the subsection will be marked with a lock icon within the course outline. Also, the lock icon implies that the subsection has been concealed from learners and is henceforth only available to members of the course team

In order to reverse the process and unlock content for learners to access once more, you must repeat the same steps to enter the subsection settings window and select Show Entire Subsection.

Please note that unlocking a previously hidden subsection does not unlock all hidden content within the subsection, not all content in the subsection is made available to learners. Specifically, not those units that were explicitly hidden from learners; those will remain hidden.

Restrict Learners’ Access Based on Date

It is possible to prohibit subsection content based on specified dates, like when you intend to make prompts and exam questions unavailable past your desired date. Another example may include instructor-led courses that have due dates, or course end dates that are set for self-paced courses.

Hiding subsections based on a set date does not remove the subsection from the course navigation. In fact, the subsection remains visible within the course outline; they are also considered when calculating course grades. However, once the due date or the course end date has passed the subsection’s content will no longer be accessible to learners.

Read Set Problem Results Visibility to continue learning about how to display subsection content while hiding learners’ solutions to a problem.

Follow the steps below in order to hide a subsection based on a specific date.

1. In the subsection box, click the Three-dot icon and then select the Configure option to open the settings dialog box. 

2. Navigate to the Subsection Visibility under the Visibility tab. Next, select one of the options below that best fits your needs.

o   Choose Hide Content After the Due Date for instructor-led courses.

o   Choose Hide Content After the Course End Date for self-paced courses.

3. Click on Save to Store Your Changes.

Once course content has been deleted, it may not be restored again; therefore, you must make sure you do not delete any sensitive content you might need to use in the future. You can do so by relocating any unused content to another course section you do not intend to publish and is set to never release.

The steps below guide you through deleting a subsection.