Exclude courses from the catalogue

Site Administrators can exclude courses from the catalogue by enabling the Exclude from catalogue setting directly within the Edit course settings page. This enables courses to be hidden from catalogue browsing and searches, while still allowing access via enrolment paths such as through programs and certifications, or direct links.

The Exclude from catalogue setting provides greater flexibility and control over the course catalogue. When enabled, this option allows Site Administrators to hide selected courses from the course catalogue and search results, without impacting access via enrolments, programs, and certifications or direct links. This is particularly useful for supporting internal-use courses, templates, admin-only resources, or content such as glossaries and FAQs.

Courses excluded in this way are still fully accessible where required, and helps streamline the learner experience by presenting only the most relevant courses while simplifying administrative workflows.

Note: Only users with roles with both the following capabilities can view the Exclude from catalogue setting in the Edit course settings page:

• moodle/course:create

• moodle/course:update

With Exclude from catalogue enabled, the course will:

• Not appear in catalogue search results

• Not appear in catalogue listings

The course remains accessible to users if:

• They are enrolled in the course (course appears in the user’s Record of learning)

• They access the course via a program or certification

• They are given a direct URL to the course

Note: if the course visibility setting is set to Hidden, or audience-based visibility is set to No users, then the Exclude from catalogue checkbox is hidden.

Reporting

The Courses report source can be used to identify excluded courses using a column and/or a filter, so you can find excluded courses easily.

To create a report to show courses excluded from the catalogue:

1. Go to Quick-access menu > Reports > Manage user reports.

2. Click Create report.

3. Select Courses report source.

4. Click Create and edit.

5. Under the Columns and/or Filters tab, use the Add another… dropdown menu and select Excluded courses.

6. Amend your report settings.

7. Click Save changes.