Key concepts
The academic hierarchy that everything in EasyClass is built on: Program, Cohort, Class, Course and Lecture.
Almost everything in EasyClass hangs off one hierarchy. Learn it once and the rest of the platform becomes easy to navigate.
The academic hierarchy
Program
└─ Cohort (a group of students who progress together)
└─ Class (a running instance of teaching)
└─ Course (a taught subject inside a class)
└─ Lecture (a single scheduled session)Program
A Program is the long-term academic blueprint, for example a three-year degree or a full training track. It defines the structure students follow: the courses involved, the grading formulas, the gradebook layout, transcripts and certificate templates. Programs live under Academic → Programs.
Cohort
A Cohort is a group of students who move through a program together, such as "Fall 2024" or "Class of 2027". Cohorts belong to a program, hold their own list of students and moderators, and have their own gradebook.
Class
A Class is a running instance of teaching with a start and end date. It can be:
- Program-based: built from a program blueprint and attached to a cohort.
- Standalone: assembled freely from chosen courses and students, without a parent program.
A class has a status of Upcoming, In-Progress or Completed.
Course
Here is the one piece of vocabulary that trips people up, so read it carefully.
Course means two different things
A Course Template in the Course Catalog is a reusable definition (a name, code, description, cover image and tags). A taught Course (internally a "class-course") is a live copy of that template running inside a specific class.
When a student says "my courses" or a teacher opens the "Courses" section, they mean the taught course, not the catalog template.
Lecture
A Lecture is a single scheduled session of a course. Lectures can be one-off or recurring, in person or online, and they appear on everyone's calendar.
How a course is assembled
Define it once in the catalog
Create a Course Template in the Course Catalog.
Add it to a class
When you create a Class, you pick which catalog courses it includes. Each becomes a taught Course.
Schedule lectures and add content
Add lectures, materials, assignments and exams to the taught course.
Students are enrolled
Students in the cohort or class gain access and see the course under My Courses.
Supporting concepts
- Gradebook: where grades are recorded. Layouts can be reused through gradebook templates, and programs can compute results with formulas.
- Enrollment / progression: the record that links a student to a program, class, course and lecture, and tracks how far they have progressed.
- Calendar events: lectures, exams and meetups all appear on the shared calendar.
- Documents: transcripts, certificates and administrative papers are generated from templates with variables.
What to read next
Now that you know the hierarchy, learn who can do what in Roles and access.