This topic is part of an unpublished module and is not available yet.

[drkh]

How do I fix this for a student? I have already published my course. 

"This topic is part of an unpublished module and is not available yet"

[SusanNiemeyer · Accepted solution]

You need to check whether the module containing that item is published.

Publishing a course is like opening the front door to your house. Your students can walk through the main door, but the doors to individual rooms, like bedrooms, may still be closed. Publishing a module is like opening the door to a bedroom. 

[Chris_Hofer]

@drkh ...

I agree with @SusanNiemeyer on this.  It almost sounds like you are making your "Discussions" course navigation button visible to your students as a way to get to all of your discussion topics quickly.  This is certainly fine to do.  However, many instructors will choose to hide things like "Discussions", "Pages", "Quizzes", and "Assignments"...and then add everything in those four areas to the "Modules" page...so you can organize all of the content exactly how you want for your students.  So, Susan's response is absolutely correct that you'll need to visit your "Modules" page to ensure that the module where that discussion topic is located is published as well.