Manage cohort curriculum
View, assign, change, or disconnect a cohort's curriculum version and choose how Propagate, Reset, or Skip applies curriculum changes to enrolled students' study plans.
Each cohort has a curriculum version that defines which modules students must complete, how study periods are structured, and which elective choices apply. That assignment is made when you create a cohort and can be changed later from the Cohorts tab. You can also view the structure on the cohort’s Curriculum tab.
Curriculum management is where Database blueprints become living obligations for an intake. Getting version choice and change mode right protects student progress records while still allowing programs to evolve — often in parallel with a new program version for the next regulation year.
Why it matters
A cohort without a curriculum has no shared academic blueprint. A cohort with the wrong version — or a careless Reset after enrollment — can wipe elections, term placements, and customizations across an entire intake.
Institutions typically revise curricula yearly (new module codes, updated elective groups, regulatory changes). Cohorts let you pin earlier intakes to older versions while new intakes adopt the revised blueprint. Change modes (Propagate, Reset, Skip) control how aggressively those revisions reach students who already have study plans.
Curriculum is also what module planning and exams ultimately depend on: study-plan modules drive what can be planned and assessed under the student’s effective academic ruleset.
How it fits
| Related area | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Curricula | Create and version curricula in the Database |
| Assign curriculum to cohort | Conceptual assignment workflow and study-plan impact |
| Create a cohort | Required curriculum selection at creation |
| Edit a cohort | Name and dates vs curriculum actions |
| Add users to cohort | Study plans are generated from the assigned version |
| Program versions explained | When a new intake should get a new curriculum under a new program version |
| Cohort lifecycle | When curriculum changes are safest in the intake timeline |
| Module planning | Delivery planning may need manual updates after curriculum changes |
Key concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Curriculum version | A pinned snapshot of modules, terms, and electives used as the study-plan blueprint |
| Shared curriculum assignment | Cohort points at a Database curriculum version shared with the normal versioning workflow |
| Disconnected curriculum | Independent copy for this cohort only; edits apply only here and do not affect the main curriculum or other cohorts |
| Propagate | Update study plans with only what changed; preserves elections, term placements, and customizations |
| Reset | Delete and regenerate all study plans (destructive) |
| Skip | Leave existing study plans untouched; changes apply only to newly added users |
| Impact Summary | Review of how many enrolled users a curriculum change will affect |
How to view the assigned curriculum
Open the cohort from OrgHub → Management → Programs → Cohorts.
Select the Curriculum tab to see the modules, terms, and structure from the assigned curriculum version.
If the cohort uses a disconnected curriculum copy, a banner indicates that edits apply only to this cohort and do not affect the main curriculum or other cohorts.
Assign curriculum when creating a cohort
When you create a cohort, select a curriculum and curriculum version in the create form. This assignment is required. Students added to the cohort receive study plan items from this version.
For the broader academic-structure view of assignment, see Assign curriculum to cohort.
How to change the curriculum version
Use Change Curriculum when an intake must move to a different curriculum or version — for example, correcting a mistaken assignment, or adopting an amended version with a deliberate impact mode.
On the program version’s Cohorts tab, open the row actions menu for the cohort.
Select Change Curriculum.
Compare the current and selected versions, then choose a new curriculum and version.
Review the Impact Summary showing how many users are affected.
If users are affected, choose how the change applies to existing study plans:
- Propagate — update study plans with only what changed; preserves elections, term placements, and customizations
- Reset — delete and regenerate all study plans (destructive; requires explicit confirmation)
- Skip — leave existing study plans untouched; changes apply only to newly added users
Confirm the change.
How to disconnect the curriculum
To give a cohort its own independent curriculum copy:
On the Cohorts tab, open the row actions menu and select Disconnect.
Enter a name for the new disconnected version and confirm.
The cohort uses an independent copy. Changes to the original curriculum no longer affect this cohort.
Disconnect is appropriate when one intake must diverge (special regulations, pilot structure, one-off module set) without forking the shared Database curriculum for every other cohort.
Impact on existing study plans
| Action | Effect on enrolled users |
|---|---|
| Assign curriculum at creation | Study plan created when users are added |
| Propagate curriculum change | Updates affected modules; preserves most customizations |
| Skip curriculum change | Existing study plans unchanged; new users get updated curriculum |
| Reset curriculum change | All study plan items deleted and recreated |
| Disconnect curriculum | Cohort edits apply only to its copy; other cohorts unaffected |
Choosing a change mode
| Situation | Prefer |
|---|---|
| Small structural delta; students already made elections | Propagate |
| Existing students should keep old plans; only newcomers adopt the new version | Skip |
| Study plans are irreparably wrong and must be rebuilt from scratch | Reset (last resort, with explicit confirmation) |
| This intake alone must diverge from the shared curriculum | Disconnect, then edit the copy |
| Next year’s intake needs a reformed blueprint | New cohort (often under a new program version) with the new curriculum version — avoid rewriting an active intake |
Worked example: mid-year module correction
Accreditation requires adding one mandatory module to BBA v2024.1 for students already enrolled in BBA WS 2024/25:
- Update the curriculum version in the Database (or publish an amended version, depending on your versioning practice).
- On the cohort, choose Change Curriculum if a new version must be selected, or coordinate how shared-version updates reach the cohort.
- Review the Impact Summary.
- Choose Propagate so elections and term placements survive where possible.
- Manually review module planning and course assignments — they are not updated automatically.
- Inform the examination office if the new module interacts with academic rulesets or attempt workflows.
If the change should apply only to next year’s starters, leave this cohort alone and create a new cohort under the appropriate program version instead.
Best practices
- Finalize the curriculum version in the Database before mass enrollment.
- Prefer Propagate or Skip over Reset whenever student customizations matter.
- After any curriculum change, review module planning and course assignments — they are not updated automatically.
- Document why you disconnected a cohort so later staff do not “fix” it by reconnecting or overwriting the copy.
- Coordinate with registry and teaching ops before confirming high-impact changes during an active term.
- For regulation-year reforms aimed at new starters, pair a new curriculum version with a new program version and new cohort rather than resetting an active intake.
Common pitfalls
- Confirming Reset without reading the Impact Summary.
- Assuming course planning and enrollments auto-heal after a curriculum swap.
- Disconnecting casually, then wondering why Database curriculum updates never reach that intake.
- Changing curriculum on the wrong cohort because the program version selector was overlooked.
- Using curriculum change as a substitute for creating next year’s intake under updated rules.
FAQ
Does Disconnect delete the original curriculum?
No. Disconnect creates an independent copy for this cohort. The original Database curriculum remains available to other cohorts.
What happens to newly added users after Skip?
Existing study plans stay as they were. Users added after the change receive study plans from the newly assigned curriculum version.
Where else is curriculum assignment documented?
See Assign curriculum to cohort in Academic Structure for the Database-to-cohort relationship, and Edit a cohort for how curriculum actions sit beside name and date edits.
Should I change curriculum or create a new program version?
Change curriculum on this cohort when this intake must adopt a different blueprint. Create a new program version and cohort when the next intake should follow updated program rules while earlier cohorts stay put.
Related pages
Edit a cohort
Update cohort name and intake dates separately from curriculum.
Curricula
Create and version curricula in the Database.
Assign curriculum to cohort
How assignment shapes student study plans.
Add users to cohort
Enroll students after curriculum is assigned.
Program versions explained
When next year’s intake needs a new rule snapshot.
Study programs and cohorts
Programs, versions, and cohorts overview.