This topic explains how to create, manage, and use Groups in Coursebox to support collaboration, communication, and community-based learning. It covers how Groups function outside of courses, how to manage members and content, and how to control visibility and access—whether you’re running private cohorts, open communities, or paid membership groups. 

A Group is a standalone collaborative space that exists independently of courses. Groups are commonly used for:

• Webinars and live sessions

• Community discussions

• Ongoing support or mentoring programs

• Paid memberships or bundles

Example

You might create a Group called “Starting Someone on Insulin” to support a live webinar promoted via Eventbrite. You can then reference or promote this Group inside a related diabetes course so enrolled learners can participate.

Create a Group

You can create a Group in two ways:

Option 1: From the main navigation

1. In the top navigation bar, click the + (plus) icon.

2. Select Group from the dropdown menu.

3. Click Add Group.

Option 2: From the Groups area

1. Open Groups from the left-hand menu.

2. Select New.

3. Click Add Group.

You’ll now see the Group setup screen where you can enter basic details.

• Navigating to Groups in the left-hand menu and selecting New.

Create a Group in Coursebox (Step by Step)

From anywhere in Coursebox, go to the top-right navigation bar and click the + (plus) icon.

From the dropdown menu, select Group. This opens the Create Group screen. 

On the Group setup screen:

• Enter the Title of your Group

• (Optional) Add a Code for internal reference

• Leave Membership fee at 0.00 if the Group is free

If you want to create a paid Group:

• Enter a Membership fee (monthly amount)

• Select the currency (e.g. USD, AUD, EUR)

• Add Additional Tax if required (e.g. GST/VAT)

⚠️ Important: You must connect Stripe before charging members.

In the Description field:

• Explain the purpose of the Group

• Describe who it’s for and what members will receive

• Use the rich text editor to format text or add links

Example:

The Aspiring Author Group is a supportive and inspiring community for writers at every stage of their journey.

Click Save to create the Group.

Your Group is now created but not yet published.

Publish a group

Coursebox gives you flexible options for publishing your groups, depending on how you want to manage visibility, access, and monetisation. Whether you're building an open community, running a private cohort, or offering exclusive paid content, there’s a publishing method to suit your goals.

You can publish a group in three ways:

• Public Group – open to everyone and easy to discover

• Private Group – accessible only by invite or admin approval

• Paid Membership Group – requires a monthly subscription for access

Publish a Private Group

Only people added to the group will be able to see it.

• Go to your Group and select Publish from the arrow down.
• From the drop-down choose Private.

Publish a Public Group

Anyone can find and join the group without approval.

• Go to your Group and select Publish from the arrow down.
• From the drop-down choose Public.

Publish a Group with Paid Membership

You can charge users for access to your bundle (or group) content on a recurring monthly basis by following these steps: 

Step 1: Edit Your Bundle or Group Settings

• Go to your Dashboard

• Navigate to the Groups tab and select bundle (e.g., Bundle One) you want to monetise.

• Click the gear icon (⚙️) next to the title.

• Select Edit from the dropdown menu.

⚠️ Important: Before setting a membership fee, you must first connect your Stripe account.

• In the Membership Fee field, enter your monthly price (e.g. 29.00).

• Select your currency from the dropdown (e.g. USD or AUD).

• In the Additional Tax field, add any VAT/GST percentage (e.g. 10.00 for 10% GST).

Use the Description box to explain what members get for their subscription. You can format the text using the toolbar above the box.

Example:

Access to all premium training content, monthly webinars, downloadable templates, and discussion boards.

• Groups: Tick "Anyone can post" if you want members to contribute to discussions.

• Broadcasts: Set how often email broadcasts are sent. For example, if set to 1, members will receive an email for every post.

• Default Notifications: Choose if All users or only Admins will receive updates by default.

• Force Acceptance of Terms: Tick this box if you want members to agree to your terms before joining.

• Click Save to apply your changes.

• You can now Publish the bundle and share it with your audience for paid monthly access.

Invite Members to Groups

Once a Group is created, you can view and manage it directly from the Groups panel:

• Filter Groups: Use the search bar to quickly locate a Group by name.

• View Members: Each Group lists the number of members. Click the Group name to view a full member list.

• Manage Actions: Under the Action column, you’ll see options such as editing the Group details, adding or removing members, or deleting the Group.

Invite a member to the Group

In the Group page, Click onicon to open a dropdown menu.

Click on Members to view existing members and add new members.

Enter the name of the member and Click on Add. (Please note that the member should already be registered with your training portal.)

NEW! Bulk Import Members to a Group

Navigate to Groups in the left-hand menu. Click on the Group name (for example, Aspiring Authors).

Locate the gear (⚙️) icon next to the Group status.

 Select Members. This opens the Members management area for the Group.

Choose Bulk Import Members. 

The Bulk Import Members modal window will appear.

You’ll see:

• A drag-and-drop upload area

• A Download sample CSV file link

Edit a Group

• Click on the name of the group (e.g. "Bundle One") that you want to edit. This opens the group details.

• Below the group title, click the Manage link to access group settings and members.

• Edit the group title, description, or profile image by clicking the pencil/edit icons.

• Change the privacy setting (Private or Public) if needed.

• Use the Unpublish button to temporarily hide the group.

Manage Groups

Once your Group is created, Coursebox gives you a range of tools to manage conversations, share resources, and keep members engaged.

Mention a Group in a Post

• In any Group or course newsfeed, type @ followed by the Group name.

• A list of available Groups will appear.

• Select the correct Group to link it into your post.

Tag a learner to a Group Post

• Type @ followed by the learner’s name.

• A list of matching names will appear.

• Click on the correct learner to tag them in your post.

Add more media to your Group

In your Group, you can add additional media and descriptions on the right hand side bar for your members.

Click on the pen icon on the top right corner of your Group to edit the description on the right hand side bar.

You can now change the Title, Description. Use the wysiwyg editor to format your text.

You can also embed a Youtube or Vimeo video. Click on the Add button to attach an image or a file (pdf) to the description.

Click on Save to update.

This section can be a great way for you to share reference teaching material with the members.

Add a Note to the Group

Note is a great way to keep track of tasks for yourself and communicate with other admins of the Group.

 On the right hand bar of the Group, click on   button to add a note.

Note has a similar UI as to other content blocks. You can add text, videos, images and files to the note.

Click on Save to update your note. (Remember that the note will be only visible to other admins of the Group.)

Publish Content on Group

In the Group, you can publish content to engage with your Group members.

Here are the types of content which you can publish:

1. Simple Text

2. Adding Images or files

3. Create and publish events

4. Interactive content with HTML Embed

You can choose to publish the content ‘NOW’ or schedule it for later date and time.

Publish Simple Text

Enter the text in the input box.

 Click on the to publish

Publish Images

 Clickto add image to the post

Select an image from your File Browser

You can also add text to go with the image.

Click on the to publish

*As the image will be loaded on web browser and mobile apps, it is recommended to maintain the size of the image below 1MB so that it can load faster. In addition, you can maintain the width of the image between 800px - 1000px.

Sample of an Image post.

Attach Files to the post

If you want to share pdf files or other documents with your members, you can attach them on the post.

 Clickto add files to the post

Select an file from your File Browser

You can also add text to go with the image.

Click on the to publish

 *You can add multiple files to a post.

 Sample of an File post.