Course Beacon Help

Getting Started

Course Beacon publishes your college's course data as a fast, searchable, search-engine-friendly directory. Here's how to go from signing up to a live directory.

Create your account

Click Get started (top right of any marketing page), then enter your name, email, and a password -- or click Continue with Google to sign up using your Google account instead. There's no credit card required, and no sales call to sit through -- you land straight in your own dashboard.

Explore with sample data

The moment you sign up, your directory is already seeded with a real, working set of sample courses -- so you can explore every feature (search, filters, course pages, the admin dashboard) immediately, without waiting on your own data first. Your Overview page will show "Showing sample data" until you upload something real.

Upload your real data

When you're ready, go to Data → Import and upload an export from whatever system your college already uses (Banner, Colleague, or any other export you can produce as a CSV, XML, or spreadsheet file). A guided wizard walks you through matching your file's own column headers to what Course Beacon expects -- you confirm the mapping once, and it's remembered for every future upload.

See Keeping Your Data Current for the difference between a one-time upload and automated syncing.

Set up the basics

Your Overview page has a real setup checklist with a progress bar, and each item links you straight to where to do it: your college's real name (General Settings' College identity box), your logo and navigation (the Navigation category), and claiming a domain (see Choosing Your Domain). Nothing here is required to explore the product, but it's what makes your directory feel genuinely finished once real visitors see it.

Publish your directory

Your directory starts in Draft -- visible only to you while you're logged in, hidden from search engines and everyone else. Once you're happy with it, hit Publish now in General Settings to make it real and public.

Choosing Your Domain

Your directory needs a real address before anyone can visit it. You have two options, and you can switch between them later.

Free subdomain

Claim a free address like yourcollege.thecoursebeacon.com from the Domain category -- pick a name, hit Claim, and it's live instantly. No verification, no waiting.

Custom domain

A paid-plan feature: use your college's own domain, like courses.yourcollege.edu, instead of a Course Beacon address. This is what makes your directory eligible to actually show up in search results.

Because a domain has to be verified before it can go live -- otherwise anyone could claim a domain they don't actually own -- assigning a custom domain takes a couple of real steps:

1. Enter your domain and hit Start verification from the Domain category.
2. A "DNS records to add" panel appears, showing exactly two records -- each with its own real Host and Value, generated specifically for your domain. One is a CNAME record (this is what actually routes your domain to Course Beacon); the other is a TXT record (this is what proves you control the domain). Add both, exactly as shown, wherever your domain's DNS is managed.
3. Once both records are in place, come back and hit Check verification status. Course Beacon doesn't poll in the background, so nothing changes until you check -- verification itself typically finishes within a few minutes of the records being added, though DNS changes can occasionally take up to 72 hours to spread everywhere.

Adding a DNS record usually means logging into wherever the domain was registered (or wherever your college's IT department manages DNS -- Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap, and similar all work the same general way) and filling in a form asking for three things: a Type, a Host (sometimes labeled "Name"), and a Value. Course Beacon's own dashboard gives you the real Host and Value for each record -- copy them exactly, character for character; the Type column below is the one thing you fill in yourself, since Course Beacon's panel doesn't need to spell it out to add the records correctly:

If you're not sure which of the two records shown is which type, the Value itself is the giveaway: a CNAME's value looks like another real address (a hostname); a TXT record's value is a short, unrelated-looking string of letters and numbers. Still not sure? Contact us and we'll confirm which is which for your specific domain.

If adding DNS records isn't something you handle yourself, this is a quick, one-time task for whoever manages your college's domain -- just hand them the two records shown on screen.

Switching domains later

Your current live domain keeps working the entire time a new one is being verified -- nothing goes offline mid-change. Once the new domain verifies, your directory switches over automatically.

Customizing Your Directory

Your directory works great with its defaults, but every part of how it looks and what visitors can do is yours to change.

Logo and navigation

From the Navigation category: upload your logo, add real navigation links (to your college's own site, admissions, anywhere you'd like), and add up to two call-to-action buttons -- their own text, colors, and destination URL, entirely up to you.

Colors and fonts

The Styles category covers your directory's whole visual identity: a heading font and a body font (picked independently), a primary brand color used across buttons and accents, a background shade, and your button corner style (sharp, semi-round, or fully rounded). There's also a hero section you can set to a solid color, a full background photo, or a photo alongside your heading -- matching your college's own homepage style.

Footer

The Footer category lets you add your college's address and social media links, shown at the bottom of every page. Both are optional -- leave any platform blank to simply not show its icon.

What visitors see either way

Your logo (or your college's name, if you haven't uploaded one) and your navigation links automatically appear in the footer too, under a "Helpful Links" heading -- there's nothing extra to set up for that.

Course Options

The Course Options category controls what visitors actually see on your course pages and cards -- separate from the data itself.

Seat count display

The Seat count display box's toggle controls whether estimated seat counts and each section's Open/Full status show at all on your public pages. Leave it on, and two more fields become available: a checkbox to show "Few Seats Left" instead of an exact number once seats run low (with your own threshold, e.g. fewer than 7 estimated seats open), and an optional custom "About seat counts" message shown to visitors via the "?" next to "Seat counts as of..." -- leave that blank to use our default explanation. Click Save seat count settings when you're done.

Course page display

The Course pages box has four independent checkboxes: show instructor name, show meeting schedule and room, show CRN, and show Lecture/Lab/Other workload hours. Each only hides that field where your data already has it -- unchecking one doesn't mean the field is unmapped, just not displayed. Click Save course page settings to apply.

Register button

The Register Button box's toggle turns on a "Register" button on every section of your course pages. It's off by default until you set it up -- a button pointing nowhere real is worse than no button at all. Once turned on, choose How students get to registration:

• One page for everyone -- every Register button goes to the same URL (your registration platform's main login or landing page). Works for any platform; the safe default if you're unsure.
• CollegeScheduler direct link -- only if your college's registration platform is genuinely CollegeScheduler's own public course search (a URL like yourschool.search.collegescheduler.com, not the login-gated yourschool.collegescheduler.com). Links straight to the exact section using its CRN. The domain alone is fine in the Registration URL field below -- the exact search path is added automatically.

Enter your platform's URL in the Registration URL field, then click Save registration settings.

Hiding Courses

Not everything in your course data belongs in a public directory -- a placeholder, an internal-only course, or a section being phased out. The Hidden Courses category lets you keep those out without touching your actual export file.

Hide a subject

Hides every course under that subject code, across your whole directory. Useful for an entire department or category you don't want listed at all.

Hide a course

Hides one specific course and all of its sections, across every term -- for a single course you want out, without affecting the rest of its subject.

Finding what to hide

Both tools search your own already-synced course data as you type, so you're always picking from real courses in your directory rather than typing a code by hand and hoping it matches.

When it takes effect

A new rule applies the next time your data syncs -- run a new import (or wait for your next scheduled sync) to see it reflected immediately on your live directory.

Keeping Your Data Current

There are two ways to get your course data into Course Beacon: a manual upload whenever you have a new export, or an automated sync that updates itself on a schedule.

Manual upload (the guided wizard)

From Data → Import, upload a fresh export any time your course offerings change. This is the same guided wizard as your very first upload, and it's the right choice for almost everyone:

1. Choose your file. CSV, JSON, XML, or XLSX (Excel) are all accepted -- Course Beacon detects the format from the file extension automatically.
2. Match your fields. Course Beacon reads your file's real column headers and tries to auto-match each one to what it needs (subject, course number, CRN, meeting time, and so on). Anything it isn't confident about is left for you to pick from a dropdown listing your file's own actual columns -- you're never asked to type a column name from memory.
3. Format codes, only if your file has them. If your file has a short coded field for delivery format (a column with values like WEB/HYB/LEC instead of full words), you're asked what each code means, once. A file with no such column skips this step entirely -- Course Beacon falls back to guessing format from free text instead.
4. Review, then confirm. A summary of what was found -- course count, any validation warnings -- before anything goes live on your directory.

Every upload after your first reuses that exact same field matching automatically -- it's remembered for your account, so a routine re-upload really is just "choose a file and go." If your college's export ever changes its own column headers, use the Field mapping correction tool in the Data category to fix just the mapping, without redoing the whole wizard.

Advanced upload (for IT/developers)

Most colleges never need this page -- the guided wizard above handles everything through a normal browser form, with no JSON or code involved. This is a faster alternate path for someone technical who already knows their own file's exact column names: instead of matching fields through dropdowns, you upload the mapping itself directly, as a small JSON file, from Data → Advanced upload.

A column mapping file is one flat JSON object. Each key is one of Course Beacon's own field names (always on the left); each value is the matching column name from YOUR file (always on the right):

{
  "TermCode": "AcademicPeriod",
  "TermLabel": "AcademicPeriodDesc",
  "Subject": "Subject",
  "CourseNumber": "CourseNumber",
  "CRN": "CRN",
  "SectionTitle": "CourseTitle",
  "Instructor": "Name",
  "MeetingDays": "Days1",
  "MeetingTime": "MeetingTime",
  "Location": "Room1",
  "ScheduleDesc": "ScheduleDesc",
  "Capacity": "MaxEnr",
  "Actual": "ActualEnr",
  "Credits": "CreditHours"
}

Every export needs these 13 fields mapped: TermCode, TermLabel, Subject, CourseNumber, CRN, SectionTitle, Instructor, MeetingDays, MeetingTime, Location, ScheduleDesc, Capacity, Actual, Credits.

A handful of extra fields only matter if YOUR file needs them -- leave any of these out entirely otherwise:

• FormatCode -- a short coded format field (see the format code mapping below).
• MeetingTimeStart / MeetingTimeEnd -- if your file has separate start/end time columns instead of one combined MeetingTime column.
• MeetingDays2 / MeetingTimeStart2 / MeetingTimeEnd2 / Location2 -- for a section with a second meeting block (e.g. a lecture/lab split), a real pattern in a meaningful share of real course data.
• MeetStart / MeetEnd -- the section's overall enrollment date range (shown as-is, purely informational).
• Description / Prerequisites -- only if your own schedule export already includes course description text inline. A real match in the separate catalog descriptions file below still takes priority when both exist.
• SubjectLabel / Campus / CampusLabel -- full subject/campus names, if your file has them as their own columns.

If your file also has a coded format field, add a format code mapping too -- a second JSON file mapping YOUR codes to one of exactly three values Course Beacon understands: "online", "hybrid", or "in-person":

{
  "WEB": "online",
  "HYB": "hybrid",
  "LEC": "in-person",
  "LAB": "in-person"
}

Optionally, a catalog descriptions file fills in real course descriptions and prerequisites (instead of the honest placeholder text every course starts with) -- a JSON object keyed by "SUBJECT-NUMBER":

{
  "BIOL-101": {
    "description": "A survey of fundamental principles of biology, including cell structure, genetics, evolution, and ecology.",
    "prerequisites": "None"
  }
}

Upload whichever of these files you need together from the Advanced upload page -- the same validation and safety net described below applies exactly the same way as the guided wizard.

Automated sync

If your college already has a scheduled export (a nightly job, a cron task, anything that runs unattended), you can point it straight at Course Beacon instead of uploading by hand. From the Data category, generate a sync key -- then hand the rest to whoever manages that export (usually IT or the registrar's office).

The Data category's own "Technical setup instructions" panel (inside the Data sync box) generates two ready-made scripts, already filled in with your real sync address and key -- one for Windows Task Scheduler, one for Linux/macOS cron. Whoever sets this up only needs to fill in their own real export file's path near the top and schedule it to run right after their reporting tool's own export finishes -- no coding required.

If your college's reporting tool can already deliver a scheduled report straight to a web address on its own (sometimes called a "webhook" or "HTTP" delivery option), it may not need a script at all. Whoever configures it needs exactly three things, all shown in that same panel for your real tenant:

Address:    https://yourcollege.thecoursebeacon.com/api/refresh.php
Header:     Authorization: Bearer <your sync key>
File field: raw_export (sent as multipart/form-data)

Course Beacon responds with JSON either way: {"status": "accepted", "section_count": 3127} on success, or {"status": "rejected", "rejection_reason": "..."} if the safety net below caught something suspicious -- this response is meant for the calling script to read, not for a person to look at directly.

The Data category shows real status for this at all times -- whether a sync key exists, when the last push actually arrived, and a clear warning if a previously-working sync goes quiet.

A safety net either way

Every upload, manual or automated, is checked against your directory's own recent history before it's applied. If a new file looks suspiciously smaller or different than what came before it -- a sign of a broken export, not real changes to your course catalog -- Course Beacon rejects it and keeps your live directory exactly as it was, rather than risk publishing bad data.

Search Engine Visibility

Course Beacon is built around one core idea: every course should be genuinely findable in search results, not buried behind a login-gated SIS. The SEO category is where that comes together.

Why a custom domain matters

Search engines are intentionally kept out of a free *.thecoursebeacon.com subdomain -- it's meant for previewing and sharing, not for organic discovery. Real search visibility requires your own custom domain (a paid feature). See Choosing Your Domain for how to set one up. Your directory also has to be showing your own real course data, not the sample data every new account starts with.

Site description

In the SEO category, the Home page description field lets you write your own description for search engines, or leave it blank and Course Beacon generates a reasonable one automatically.

Sitemap

A paid feature. Once your directory has a verified custom domain and is publicly indexable, the SEO category shows a View sitemap button linking to your real, always-current sitemap (listing every course page) -- nothing to generate by hand. Copy that URL and submit it in Google Search Console so Google can discover every page directly. Until you have a domain assigned, that box tells you so instead of showing the button.

Social sharing image

In the SEO category's Image URL field, paste a link to an image your college already hosts elsewhere (Course Beacon doesn't host it for you) -- it's shown as the preview when a course or directory link is shared on Slack, iMessage, or social media.

Analytics

A paid feature, in the same SEO category. Paste your Google Tag Manager container ID (format GTM-XXXXXXX) or your Google Analytics measurement ID (format G-XXXXXXXXXX) into the matching field -- only one is needed, not both. Find your measurement ID by signing into analytics.google.com, then Admin → Data Streams → your web stream. Course Beacon only ever accepts a real ID in one of these two formats, never custom code, so this can't be used to add anything beyond real, verified tracking.

Two-Factor Authentication

An extra layer of security on your personal login, on top of your password -- optional, and off by default.

Turning it on

Click your name in the top right of the dashboard, then Profile. In the "Two-factor authentication" box, click Turn on. Scan the QR code shown with an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, and similar apps all work) -- or, if you can't scan it, click Can't scan the code? Enter it manually instead to reveal a text key you can type into the app instead. Enter the 6-digit code your app now shows and click Confirm and turn on.

Save your recovery codes

Once confirmed, you'll see a set of one-time recovery codes -- save them somewhere safe (a password manager is a good place). They're shown only once. If you ever lose access to your authenticator app, one of these codes gets you back in instead of a 6-digit code; each code works only once.

Logging in with it on

After entering your email and password as usual, you'll be asked for a 6-digit code from your authenticator app. Lost your phone? Enter one of your saved recovery codes in that same box instead -- it's accepted in the same field, no separate step needed.

Turning it off

From the same "Two-factor authentication" box on your Profile page, enter your current password and click Turn off.

Managing Your Team

A paid feature: give other people at your college their own login to the same dashboard, instead of sharing one account.

Inviting someone

From the Team category, enter a colleague's email in the invite field and click Send invite. They'll get a real email with a link to set their own password and join your directory's dashboard -- full access to every settings category, same as you.

Who can manage the team

Only the account owner -- whoever originally signed up -- sees and can click the Remove/Cancel buttons described below. Everyone else on the team can see who else has access, but the team list renders as read-only text for them, with no buttons to click.

Removing access

In the Team category's member list, click Remove next to someone's name to take away their access -- a confirmation dialog reminds you this permanently deletes their whole Course Beacon account, not just their access to this directory. For an invite that hasn't been accepted yet, click Cancel next to it under "Pending invitations" instead.

Billing & Plans

The free plan

Free, forever -- no credit card required. Search and filtering, course detail pages, a free Course Beacon subdomain, the guided import wizard, and the full admin dashboard are all included from the start.

Upgrading

The paid plan adds a custom domain, search engine visibility (sitemap and indexing), Google Analytics/Tag Manager integration, and unlimited team members. From the Pricing page, click Upgrade now -- checkout is handled securely by Stripe, and you're redirected back into your dashboard immediately after paying.

If your college needs to pay by invoice or purchase order instead of a card, contact us directly to set that up.

Managing your subscription

From the Pricing page, click Manage billing -- it takes you straight to Stripe's own secure portal, where you can update your card, view past invoices, or cancel, all without needing to contact anyone. Stripe returns you to the Pricing page when you're done.

Canceling

Cancel any time, no contract -- but cancellation takes effect immediately, not at the end of your current billing period. From the Pricing page, click Manage billing, then choose to cancel from Stripe's own secure portal.

The moment it's confirmed: your custom domain is removed (both the domain itself and its verification -- you'd need to re-add and re-verify it if you upgrade again later), and every teammate account except yours (the account owner) is fully deleted, not just their access to this directory -- they'd need to be re-invited from scratch if you upgrade again. Your directory itself keeps running on the free plan with your course data fully intact -- nothing about your actual course catalog is deleted.