Before you start
This guide is for course providers setting time zones for courses of the On set dates and Blended course types. To edit a course and its dates, use a System Admin account or Course Owner access to the course. Changing the account default in Profile requires a System Admin. Start in the Admin dashboard.
A time zone identifies the region used for a date and clock time, such as London or Los Angeles. A course date is a scheduled session. A block groups several sessions into one booking; each session has its own start and end times.
The date, block and adding-dates instructions below apply to those two course types. On-request courses also have a course Default timezone, but arranging their dates uses a separate journey outside this guide. An On-demand online course does not have that setting. If you change an on-demand course to another type, it takes your account’s time zone as its Default timezone; see Change a Course Type.
Understand the three settings
Account default
The account time zone supplies the default for new scheduled courses. It belongs to the training-provider account, rather than being a personal viewing preference for each staff member. When you create the provider account through Cademy’s sign-up page, the initial setting comes from your browser’s time zone.
Course default
A new scheduled course starts with the account’s time zone. To give a particular course a different default, save the new course first, then change its Default timezone using the existing-course steps below. Changing this default does not change the saved time zones of existing dates.
Date or session time zone
Each saved date has its own time zone. Creating a fresh date uses the course default. When you add more dates in the Dates editor, it can copy the settings of a date already in that editor, including its time zone. Check every date before saving; do not assume that all new rows use the current course default.
Changing an account or course default is different from changing the schedule of a date that already exists. Edit the individual date or session when its saved time zone needs to change.
Using the same time zone consistently reduces confusion for learners attending courses from different regions.
Set defaults for future courses and dates
Change the account default
The picture shows Profile in the side menu (1) and the Time Zone section (2), with Save Changes at the top right. The side menu in the picture is from an earlier version of the dashboard, so some of its items differ from the menu you see.
A System Admin can set the default used when new scheduled courses are created.
Open Profile in the Admin dashboard, or use the Profile page.
Find Time Zone, then Set Account Time Zone.
Choose the intended region or city in the selector.
Select Save Changes. Reopen Profile and check the saved Set Account Time Zone value.
Check existing courses separately. Changing the account default is not a way to move their saved dates into another time zone.
Change one existing course’s default
The picture shows the Default timezone setting and the button that shows the current zone. The button now also has a globe icon.
Select Courses and open the course.
Select Edit Course, then Settings > Advanced Settings.
Under Default timezone, select the button showing the current zone. This opens Select a Timezone.
Choose the intended region or city, then select Confirm.
Select the course editor’s Save. After Course saved, reopen Settings > Advanced Settings and check the Default timezone.
Confirm closes the time-zone dialog and returns the choice to the editor. It does not replace the course’s Save. Existing dates retain their own saved time zones; check each new date too, particularly when adding it beside other dates in the Dates editor.
Change a saved date’s time zone
Changing the zone can reschedule the session. The editor applies the chosen zone to the dates and clock times entered. For example, changing 09:00 from one region to another can change when the session takes place. If you intend to keep the same real-world start and end moments, enter their equivalent clock times in the new zone. Check both start and end before saving, especially around daylight-saving changes.
Agree changes affecting booked learners first. A saved change does not confirm that learners have received a new email or that their calendars have updated.
Change one individual date or block session
The picture shows the time-zone button on a row under Selected Dates:, with Save Date below. You see this list in Edit Course > Dates; the route is described after the steps. The button now also has a globe icon, and the zone shown in the picture is only an example.
The top block’s Schedule fields are disabled because its range comes from its sessions. Edit each session that needs changing. Changing one session does not change its siblings.
Select Courses and open the course. Select View All Dates if its date list is hidden.
Find the date under Upcoming Dates or Past Dates. For a block, select Expand sessions and find the individual session. Check both lists if the block spans past and future sessions.
Open that date or session’s three-dot Date actions menu and select Edit. Check that the editor shows the intended date.
Under Schedule, select the globe/time-zone button beside End Date & Time. The button shows a time-zone abbreviation.
In Select a Timezone, choose the intended region or city and select Confirm.
Check Start Date & Time and End Date & Time. Adjust both to the intended schedule before continuing.
Select Save. After Date updated, reopen that same date or session and check its saved start, end and time zone.
For a block, check the block’s displayed range and every affected session. Arrange any necessary learner communication separately.
You can also change a saved individual date from Edit Course > Dates. Tick the date, select Edit 1 date, then open the time-zone button on its row under Selected Dates:. Choose the zone, select Confirm, check the start and end, and select Save Date. After Updates saved, reopen the date and check it. Use this route only for a public date. For a date whose Visibility is Private, use the Date actions route above: saving here sets the date back to Public and removes its linked organisation and key contact.
If the save fails or its result is unclear, reopen the existing date and check it before trying again. If the saved start, end or time zone is still wrong, contact Cademy Support with the course, affected date, intended schedule and selected time zone.
Check dates while adding them
Use this for a course of the On set dates or Blended course type. The time-zone warning above also applies to these rows. The full steps for adding dates and blocks are in Add and Edit Course Dates and Blocks.
Select Courses, open the scheduled course, then select Edit Course > Dates.
Select Add dates. If there are no saved dates, the calendar opens automatically. Select the required days in the calendar.
Under Selected Dates:, check the time-zone button on every row. To change one, open its time-zone button, choose the region or city in Select a Timezone and select Confirm. Review each row’s start and end.
If you use a row’s pencil icon to open its full editor, select the inner Save to return it to the prepared list.
Review the selected dates and booking options, then select the outer Save Date or Save Dates. After Updates saved, reopen the saved dates and check their start, end and time zone.
This outer save applies to the prepared Selected Dates list. The direct saved-date procedure above saves that date immediately. For a block, check every session rather than treating the block as a single editable time zone.
Check what different viewers see
A page can display the same session in another time zone without changing when it takes place. This is different from changing a saved date’s zone in the editor.
Admin course dashboard and Edit Course > Dates: the date labels use the saved date’s time zone. Reopen the date editor when you need to check the full selected zone.
Public course date cards: the date and time use the saved date’s zone. Check the zone alongside the time when comparing dates.
Learner Overview > Sessions: after the page loads, Online and Hybrid sessions display in the learner’s browser time zone. In-person sessions keep the saved session zone. These session rows do not show an explicit time-zone label.
During checkout: course summaries that show the organiser’s zone use the saved course date. Where the date has a tooltip showing This is the organiser’s time zone., the tooltip also gives the local equivalent under Your time zone:. The attendee card in Order Details can instead show browser-local time without an explicit zone label. Compare it with the course summary that names the zone before treating different clock times as a schedule change.
Confirmation messages: standard date information uses the saved zone when that information is included. Custom messages and documents can differ; check the actual message rather than assuming every receipt contains the schedule.
An enrolled learner can open My Account > My Courses & Bookings > My Courses, select the course under Your Courses, then open Overview > Sessions. When comparing this with the public page, account for the browser’s local zone for Online and Hybrid sessions. Do not change the provider’s saved schedule merely to make two different local clock displays match.
Daylight-saving changes
Choose the intended region or city, rather than relying only on a GMT or UTC offset. Offsets can change when daylight saving starts or ends. The clocks shown inside Select a Timezone show the current time, not a preview of your course date. Check sessions near a clock change carefully, especially overnight sessions, and recheck both the start and end after editing.
Calendar entries
If Add to Calendar or Add All to Calendar is available in the learner’s Sessions section, check the imported event’s date, start and end in the calendar app against the intended session. Do not assume that an imported event will update when the course date changes. Confirm any changed schedule separately.
The provider’s Calendar Sync integration is a separate feature from a learner adding a calendar entry. Check the destination calendar after a schedule change; saving the date alone does not establish that the external event is correct. See Sync Course Sessions with Google or Outlook Calendar.
Calendar invitations emailed to team members are separate again. The date written in the email uses the saved date’s zone, and a calendar entry attached to it holds the session’s exact start and end. See Choose Team Notifications and Calendar Invitations.
Frequently asked questions
What does the account time zone control?
It supplies the default for new scheduled courses. A System Admin can change it in Profile under Time Zone > Set Account Time Zone, then Save Changes. It is an account setting, not each staff member’s personal viewing preference.
How do I change a course’s default time zone?
Open the existing course, then Edit Course > Settings > Advanced Settings. Open Default timezone, choose the region or city in Select a Timezone and select Confirm. Select the course’s Save, then reopen the setting to check it. An On-demand online course does not have this field.
Do new dates always use the course’s default time zone?
No. A fresh date uses the course default, but adding dates in the Dates editor can copy another date’s settings, including its time zone. Check the time zone and start/end times of every new row before saving.
Does changing the course default change existing dates?
No. Existing dates keep their saved time zones. If a date needs changing, edit that individual date or block session and check its start and end times before saving.
How do I change one date’s time zone?
For a course of the On set dates or Blended course type, find the date on its dashboard and open Date actions > Edit. Under Schedule, use the globe/time-zone button beside End Date & Time, choose the zone and select Confirm. Review both start and end, then Save and reopen the date to check it. Changing the zone can move when the session takes place; for a block, edit the individual session rather than its disabled parent schedule.