What linking courses means and why you'd do it

Linking courses in Schoology means connecting two or more of your courses so that materials, grades, or roster information flow between them without you having to upload or enter them twice. When you link courses, a student enrolled in one course can automatically see linked content in another, or grades posted in one course can sync to a linked course's gradebook.

You link courses when you teach the same lesson to multiple sections, run a lab course paired with a lecture course, or manage a course that feeds into another (like a prerequisite). Instead of posting the same assignment to five sections individually, you post once and it appears in all linked sections. This saves time and keeps your materials consistent across groups.

Schoology's linking feature works at the course level, not the individual assignment level, so the decision to link is usually made when you set up your courses or early in the term. Once linked, you can still control which specific items are shared and which stay private to each course.

Key Takeaways

  • Course linking in Schoology connects two or more courses so materials and grades can be shared between them without duplicate uploads.
  • You access the linking tool through course settings, and both courses must already exist before you can link them.
  • Linked courses can share materials, assignments, and gradebook items, but you control which specific content is visible in each course.
  • Once courses are linked, you can unlink them at any time through the same settings menu without losing the original content.

Where to find the course linking option

Open the course you want to link. In the left navigation menu, scroll down and click Course Settings. This opens a panel with several tabs across the top: Info, Access, Roster, Grading, and sometimes others depending on your Schoology version.

Look for a tab or option labeled Linked Courses or Course Links. If you don't see it when ready, check under the Info or Access tab—the exact location varies slightly by Schoology version and your district's setup. Once you find it, you'll see a button or link to add a new linked course.

If the linking option does not appear, your district administrator may have disabled this feature for your account or your Schoology plan may not include it. Contact your district's Schoology support or administrator to confirm whether linking is turned on for your school.

How to add a linked course

Click the button to add a linked course. Schoology will show you a list of courses you own or co-teach. Select the course you want to link to the current one. You can link multiple courses at once by selecting several from the list, or add them one at a time.

After you select the course or courses, Schoology asks you to choose what type of link you want: Share Materials, Share Grades, or both. Share Materials means assignments, discussions, and resources posted in one course appear in the linked course. Share Grades means grades entered in one course's gradebook sync to the other.

Choose the option that matches your workflow. If you teach five sections of the same course, you probably want both materials and grades shared. If you're linking a lab course to a lecture course where the instructor posts materials but grades stay separate, you might choose materials only.

What happens after you link courses

Once linked, any new materials you post to the primary course (the one where you created the assignment) will appear in the linked courses automatically. Students see the same assignment in their course feed, and when they submit work, it shows in the gradebook of whichever course they submitted through.

Grades entered in one course's gradebook do not automatically copy to the other—instead, they sync, meaning if you change a grade in one course, the change reflects in the linked course too. This prevents the confusion of having different grades for the same work in two places.

Content you posted before linking the courses does not automatically appear in the newly linked course. You'll need to manually copy or move those older materials if you want them in both places. Only new content created after linking flows between courses automatically.

Controlling what is shared between linked courses

After linking, you can go back into Course Settings and adjust which specific items are shared. Some Schoology versions let you mark individual assignments or folders as "shared" or "private to this course only," so you can have some materials visible in all linked courses and others visible in just one.

If your version does not offer item-level sharing controls, the entire course content is shared by default. In that case, if you need something to appear in only one section, you may need to create it in a separate, unlinked course or use Schoology's access restrictions (which let you hide content from specific students or groups).

Check your course settings regularly if you link courses mid-term, because students may suddenly see materials they didn't see before, and you'll want to make sure that's intentional.

How to unlink courses

Return to Course Settings and find the Linked Courses section. Next to each linked course, there is usually an Unlink or Remove button. Click it to disconnect the courses. Unlinking does not delete any content—all materials and grades remain in both courses exactly as they were.

After you unlink, new materials posted in one course will no longer appear in the other. Grades already entered stay in both gradebooks, but future grades entered in one course won't sync to the other. You can relink the same courses later if you change your mind.

Common reasons linking doesn't work the way you expect

If you link courses but don't see materials appearing in the linked course, check that you selected the right sharing option (Materials, Grades, or both) when you set up the link. Also confirm that the materials were posted after you created the link—pre-existing content doesn't migrate automatically.

If students in a linked course can't see an assignment, the assignment may have an access restriction (a date range, a prerequisite, or a student group filter) that's hiding it from them. Linked courses share content, but they don't override individual assignment restrictions.

If grades aren't syncing between linked courses, make sure you selected "Share Grades" when you set up the link. Also check that you're entering grades in the gradebook of the course where the assignment was originally posted—grades entered in a linked course's gradebook may not sync back the same way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I link a course to itself or link more than two courses together?

You cannot link a course to itself. You can link one course to multiple other courses—for example, a primary lecture course can be linked to five lab sections at once. All linked courses share materials and grades with each other, not just with the primary course.

What happens to linked courses if I archive or delete one of them?

If you archive a course, the link remains but the archived course becomes read-only. If you delete a course, the link breaks and the deleted course's content is gone. Unlink courses before you delete them if you want to preserve the relationship or if you plan to recreate the course later.

Do students see that courses are linked, or does it look like separate courses to them?

Students see linked courses as separate courses in their course list, but shared materials appear in both. They don't see a label saying "this is linked to another course." From their perspective, they're just seeing the same assignment in two places.

Can I link courses from different terms or school years?

Yes, you can link courses across different terms. This is useful if you're running a course that spans two terms or if you want to reuse materials from a previous year. Just remember that linking is live—changes in one course affect the other when ready, regardless of when the courses run.

What if my district's Schoology doesn't have a linking feature?

Some older Schoology versions or district setups don't include course linking. If you can't find the option in Course Settings, contact your district's Schoology administrator. They can tell you whether the feature is available and, if not, suggest alternatives like copying courses or using shared folders.