How to Bulk Enroll Students in Tutor LMS

Enrolling a class, a client's team or a new intake one student at a time is slow and error-prone. Tutor LMS Pro's Enrollment add-on can enroll many students at once from a CSV file. This guide shows how to prepare the file, what happens to existing and new users, and how to handle very large or repeated imports.

What you need

• Tutor LMS Pro with the Enrollment add-on enabled (Tutor LMS > Addons).
• The course or bundle to enroll students in.
• A CSV file of students.

Step 1: Prepare the CSV

The file needs three columns with these exact headers:

first_name,last_name,email
Asha,Patel,asha.patel@example.com
Daniel,Okafor,daniel.okafor@example.com
Mei,Lin,mei.lin@example.com

• Save it as UTF-8 so names with accents import correctly.
• One student per row, no blank rows.
• Check emails for typos: the email is how Tutor LMS matches or creates accounts.

A file without the required headers is rejected ("CSV file is missing required headers").

Step 2: Import

1. Go to Tutor LMS > Enrollment and start a new enrollment.
2. Select the course or bundle.
3. Choose to add students from a CSV file and upload it. Students added this way are marked "Added from CSV".
4. Review the list and confirm.

What happens to each row

• Existing user (email already registered): the user is enrolled. If they were already in your selection, they are reported back instead of enrolled twice.
• New email: Tutor LMS Pro creates a user with a unique username based on the email, the first and last name from the file and a random password, then sends a password reset email so the student can set their own password.
• Problems (for example an invalid email): the row is reported as failed and skipped.

Because new users receive a password reset email, make sure your site sends email reliably (SMTP) before importing. Tell students to expect it, so it is not mistaken for spam.

Step 3: Check the result

Open the course's student list or Tutor LMS > Students and spot-check a few names. Manual enrollments are regular Tutor LMS enrollments, so they appear everywhere enrollments do, and integrations listening to tutor_after_enrolled fire for them.

Large or repeated imports

For thousands of students, or a daily sync from an HR or student information system, a CSV upload in the admin is not ideal. Better options:

• Use the Tutor LMS Pro REST API enrollments endpoint from the source system.
• Write a small WP-CLI command or scheduled task that reads the source and calls Tutor LMS enrollment functions. See programmatically enrolling users.

Both approaches can be re-run safely, because Tutor LMS does not create a second enrollment for a user who is already enrolled.

Tips

• Test with a file of two or three test addresses first.
• Enroll in a bundle if students need several courses.
• Use a dedicated test course to try the welcome experience before enrolling real students.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bulk enroll without Tutor LMS Pro?

Not from the admin. You would need a custom script or plugin that calls Tutor LMS enrollment functions.

Can I set an expiry when bulk enrolling?

Enrollment expiry is managed by the enrollment expiration settings in Pro; you can extend individual enrollments from the Enrollment list.

Need an automatic enrollment sync with your HR or CRM system? See our API development service.