# Adding courses

URL: https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/courses
Tab: Scheduling & Courses
Category: Creating
Updated: 2026-10-08

Create a course from scratch, from a template, or from your own curriculum.

A course is a set of ordered lessons that OpenSky schedules onto a student's checklist. You add one from the student's page, and the same form handles a blank course, a template, or several things at once.

Video: https://openskyvideo.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/edit+course.mp4

## Adding a course

1. Click the student in the sidebar, then open the **Enrollments** tab.
2. Click **Add**.
3. Type or dictate what you want, such as "Saxon Math 5/6 every Tuesday starting July 1", and click **Continue**. Or skip the AI and click **Course** under **Add from scratch**.
4. Review the form and click **Add**.

If you listed several things at once, OpenSky splits them into separate rows for you to review, then adds them all with **Add to schedule**.

![The Add form for a course](https://opensky-public-images.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/supportimages/scheduling/courses-1.png)

## What the form asks

- **Details** — title, **Subject** and **Publisher**.
- **Students** — pick one or more. With more than one, choose **Individual** (each student has their own progress and grades) or **Family Mode** (one shared course; marking a lesson complete applies to everyone).
- **Community template** — OpenSky searches shared lesson plans that match the title. Click **View** to see the table of contents, or remove the match to start empty.
- **Schedule** — **Daily lessons** or **Weekly lessons**, a start date, which days, and pacing: **Fixed pace** sets lessons per day, **Finish by deadline** spreads the lessons to a date. See [Course pacing](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/course-pacing).
- **Books:** tag books the course uses so they appear on the student's [Book List](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/books).
- **More options** — tag the course **Core**, **Non-Core** or **Elective** for gradebook hour totals.

## From a template

Open **Courses** in the sidebar. **Community Templates** lists curricula other families have shared; **My Templates** holds your own. Click **Enroll a Student** on a row to open the same form with the lessons filled in. See [Community templates](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/community-templates).

Templates in **My Templates** marked **Created by AI** were built through the [AI Connector](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/ai-connector).

## From your own curriculum

Add a blank course, then open it in the [course editor](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/course-editor). Its **AI Mode** turns a photo or PDF of your table of contents into lessons.

## Templates versus enrolled courses

A template is a reusable lesson plan with no student or dates. Enrolling copies it into an enrolled course for that student, so later edits to the template do not change courses already enrolled. Copy an enrolled course back the other way from **Courses**, **Enrolled Courses**, with **Copy to My Templates**.

## Need more help?

Reach out any time at [support@openskyplanner.com](mailto:support@openskyplanner.com) and we will be happy to help.