Roles and Permissions

Introduction:

Every user in Brightspace is assigned a role that specifies their access and permissions in a course.

The following roles are available to assign in Brightspace courses:
Role Permissions Access Restrictions

Instructor

Uses: The instructor role is typically assigned to the instructor of record of the course.
  • Announcements – full access
  • Assignments and Grading – full access
  • Attendance – full access
  • Calendar – full access
  • Checklists – full access
  • Classlist – view enrollments
  • Content – full access
  • Grades – full access
  • Discussions – full access
  • Grades and Grading – full access
  • Groups and Group enrollments – full access
  • Homepages and Widgets – full access
  • Import/Export/Copy components to and from org units
  • Quizzes – full access
  • Role Switch – Student, Tutor, Grader, and Guest/Read Only
  • Course Access – access inactive, past, and future courses
  • Cannot enroll users
  • Cannot un-enroll users in a course

Facilitator/TA

Uses: The Facilitator/TA role is typically assigned to users who need instructor-level permissions but are not formal instructors. Professional Development courses might use the Facilitator/TA role.
  • Announcements – full access
  • Assignments and Assignment grading – full access
  • Attendance – full access
  • Awards – create, issue, revoke
  • Calendar – full access
  • Checklists – full access
  • Classlist – view enrollments
  • Content – full access
  • Grades – full access
  • Discussions – full access
  • Grades and Grading – full access
  • Groups and Group enrollments – full access
  • Homepages and Widgets – full access
  • Import/Export/Copy Components to and from org units
  • Quizzes – full access
  • Role switch – Student, Guest/Read Only, Tutor and Grader
  • Course Access – access inactive, past, and future courses
  • Cannot enroll users
  • Cannot un-enroll users in a course

Tutor

Uses: The tutor role is typically assigned to tutors who assist students in their academic progress.
  • Announcements – read-only access
  • Assignments – read-only access
  • Attendance – read-only access
  • Calendar – read-only access
  • Checklist – read-only access
  • Class Progress – read-only access
  • Classlist – read-only access, able to email the classlist
  • Content – view content but not edit
  • Discussions – read-only access
  • Groups – read-only access
  • Quizzes – read-only access
  • Role switch – can role switch with Student
  • Cannot edit/delete content
  • Cannot impersonate any users
  • Cannot access Grades
  • Cannot take Quizzes
  • Cannot access inactive, past, and future courses

Student

Uses: The Student role is typically assigned to all officially registered students or course participants for organizations.
  • Announcements – view
  • Assignments – view and submit
  • Checklists – view
  • Grades and Class Progress – view own only
  • Content – view and download
  • Discussions – view and post threads
  • Quizzes and Surveys – view and take
  • Cannot edit/delete content
  • Cannot impersonate any users
  • Cannot access inactive, past, and future courses

Guest/Read Only

Uses: The Guest/Read Only role is typically assigned to Guest users who will need to view only available content like students.
  • Announcements – view
  • Calendar – view and manage tasks
  • Checklists – view
  • Content – view and download
  • Groups and Sections – view
  • Surveys and Quizzes – view
  • Cannot view or submit assignments
  • Cannot view forums and discussions
  • Cannot take quizzes or surveys
  • Cannot see Classlist
  • Cannot see Groups and Group enrollments
  • Cannot see Grades

Grader

Uses: The Grader role is typically assigned to users assisting in grading assignments and assessments in a course.
  • Content – view only
  • Grade book - full access
  • QuickEval - full access
  • Grade Quizzes
  • Groups and Sections – view
  • Checklists – view
  • Rubrics - full access
  • Cannot edit/delete content
  • Cannot impersonate any users

Course Builder

Uses: The Course Builder role is typically assigned to content coordinators or instructional designers who will be building a course.
  • Announcements – view
  • Assignments – create
  • Attendance – view
  • Calendar – create
  • Checklists – create
  • Classlist – view enrollments
  • Content – full access
  • Discussions – create
  • Groups and Group enrollments – full access
  • Import/Export/Copy components to and from org units
  • Quizzes – create
  • Course Access – access inactive, past, and future courses
  • Cannot Enter Grades
  • Cannot see Class Progress

Course Reviewer

Uses: The Course Reviewer role is typically assigned to users who will be reviewing or evaluating a course. 
  • See Announcements
  • View Course Content
  • View content that is not released
  • Compile and Print Content
  • Compile and Download Content
  • View Assignments
  • View Quizzes
  • See Rubrics
  • See Checklist
  • See Competencies
  • See Discussion
  • See Hidden Forums and Topics
  • See Files
  • See Portfolio
  • See Self Assessment
  • Course Access – access only active courses
  • Cannot view Grades
  • Cannot see Class Progress
  • Cannot view Classlist

Org Leader

Uses: The Org Leader role is typically assigned to users who are organization owners and need to manage user enrollments.
  • Announcements – full access
  • Assignments and Grading – full access
  • Attendance – full access
  • Calendar – full access
  • Checklists – full access
  • Classlist – view enrollments, add and remove existing users with the "Student" role
  • Content – full access
  • Grades – full access
  • Discussions – full access
  • Grades and Grading – full access
  • Groups and Group enrollments – full access
  • Import/Export/Copy components to and from org units
  • Quizzes – full access

IC Coach

Uses: The IC Coach role is typically assigned to Instructional Connections Academic Coaches who support faculty teaching large online courses. This support encompasses grading assignments, monitoring discussion boards, etc.
  • Content – view only
  • Grade book - full access
  • QuickEval - full access
  • Grade Quizzes
  • Groups and Sections – view
  • Checklists – view
  • Rubrics - full access
  • Cannot edit/delete content
  • Cannot impersonate any users

Outcomes Evaluator

Uses: The Outcomes Evaluator role is typically assigned to users assisting in evaluating Learning Outcomes assessments.
  • Grade book - full access
  • QuickEval - full access
  • Grade Quizzes
  • Rubrics - full access
  • Cannot view Announcements, Checklist
  • Cannot view/edit/delete course content
  • Cannot impersonate any users
  • Cannot access Classlist

Support:

Instructors and students are typically enrolled based on official enrollments from the Student Information System (SIS); for enrolling users with other system roles into your course, please submit a COLTT Help Desk ticket and specify the user name(email address), desired role, course name, and course ID where you want to enroll the users.

For additional support, please contact our COLTT Help Desk at 956-665-5327 or 956-882-6792.

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