Loyola Support Documentation

What are Permissions and Roles?

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Permissions

Permissions allow users to access certain features of a course site or project site, depending on (1) their defined site roles, and (2) the settings applied by the site owner or system administrator for specific tools.

Course Sites and Project Sites

A course site is created automatically based on the term, and its members are added via LOCUS enrollment data. (Roles besides Instructor and Student, such as Teaching Assistant, Course Builder, or Tutor, are added either by the department course scheduler or manually via ITS Service Request form completed by the instructor of record.)

In a course site, the Instructor role has the most permissions and broadest level of access. The Instructor role can modify which tools or functions (e.g., Discussions, Calendar, Resources) for their course site. For many of these tools or functions, additional permissions that allow or prevent users from seeing or performing certain tasks are also available for the Instructor to define.

A project site is created by any user of the Loyola Sakai community. In a project site, the Maintain role has the most permissions and broadest level of access for that site. Enrollment of members on a project site are done by any user with the maintain role for that site—no ITS Service Request form is necessary. Enrolled members without the Maintain role will have the Access role.  

Roles

Roles are collections of permissions specific to a user type. Some roles allow users to simply access or read content, while other roles allow for advanced changes, such as adding participants, editing site content, and changing permissions for other roles.

Loyola Sakai predefined roles

For Loyola Sakai users, the following predefined roles are available depending on site type:

Course Sites

  • Instructor: Instructors have full permissions throughout the site, including the ability to publish the site for student access. Instructors can read, revise, delete, and add both content and participants to a site and all of its tools. Instructors have full grading privileges for all tools with grading capabilities (e.g., Assignments, Discussions, Gradebook, Lessons, and Tests & Quizzes). Instructors have full access to all communication tools, both synchronous (Zoom) and asynchronous (Announcements, Email, Messages).
  • Teaching Assistant (TA): Teaching Assistants can read, add, and revise most content in most tools, and also can grade in tools that allow for evaluation (e.g., Assignments, Discussions, Gradebook, Lessons and Tests & Quizzes). Additionally, TAs can communicate with students through communication tools (Announcements, Email, and Messages) and are automatically the Alternative Host for Zoom meetings scheduled using the Zoom Pro tool.
  • Course Builder: Course Builders can read, add, revise, and delete most content in a course site. Course Builders can also communicate with students using communication tools (Announcements, Email, and Messages). Course Builders cannot publish assessments in Tests & Quizzes, and they cannot access the Gradebook or grade in any tool with assessment.
  • Student: Students can read content and add content to a site specific to their role, such as submit assignments or submit an assessment in Tests & Quizzes, and view their grades.
  • Librarian: Librarians can read, add, revise, and delete most content in a course site, as well as access and grade assessments in Tests & Quizzes. Librarians can also communicate with students using communication tools (Announcements, Email, and Messages).
  • Tutor: Tutors can read content and add content within tools that have no gradable items. Tutors can also use the communication tools Email and Messages.

Project Sites

  • Maintain: The Maintain role has full permissions throughout the site, including the ability to publish the site and enroll its members. The Maintain role can read, revise, delete, and add both content and participants to a site.
  • Access: The Access role can read content and add content to a site where appropriate.

Participant Enrollment in Course Sites

Enrollment in a course in LOCUS will automatically trigger enrollment in the corresponding course site in Sakai. All Instructor and Student enrollment must be completed via LOCUS. Changes in enrollment in LOCUS (add/drop/withdrawal) are usually reflected in Sakai within 24 hours.

Teaching Assistants, Course Builders, Librarians, and Tutors are enrolled in course sites either by the department course scheduler responsible for Instructor assignments, or through the instructor of record (listed in LOCUS) completing an ITS Service Request form at luc.edu/sakaienroll.

Instructions for completing a Sakai enrollment Service Request form

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