Set Domain Permissions

Set Domain Permissions

Info
This article will be most useful for System Administrators and users whose system permissions allow them to set domain permissions.

Overview

Users with domain permissions have the ability to view, access information about, and potentially change syllabi in an entire domain (organizational unit) in your Concourse system. It’s important that users be assigned domain permissions that align with their responsibilities at your institution and within Concourse. See Domain Permissions in Concourse for more information about what actions each domain user’s permissions allow. Continue reading to learn how to assign domain permissions to users in your Concourse system.

Before You Begin

Only users whose system permissions include Set Domain Permissions are able to add, change, or remove domain permissions for other users. Set Domain Permissions access is not synonymous with Administer System Permission, so even System Administrators cannot assign or change domain permissions unless their system permissions have been updated accordingly.

Adding Domain Permissions

To add domain permissions to a user’s account:
  1. Select Admin > Users. A search section appears.
  2. Search for the user to receive domain permissions.
    1. Search by any part of the user’s email address or name.
    2. Select +Advanced to open additional search criteria, such as external ID, authentication type, system permission, or domain permission.
    3. Select Search.
  3. In the Results block, select the name of the user to receive domain permissions. The user’s Profile, Settings, and Courses to which they are registered appear.
  4. In the Settings section, select Edit. An editing interface appears for the selected user account.
  5. In the Domain Permissions section, select the domain combination where the user’s domain permissions will be applied.
    1. A Campus, School, and Department must be chosen for permissions to be applied.
  6. Select the checkbox to the left of the domain permission(s) the user should receive: Administer, Edit, Audit, or Report.
  7. Select Set Permissions to assign domain permissions, or exit the page to cancel assigning domain permissions.
  8. The user’s new domain permissions appear on their account page.

Changing or Removing Domain Permissions

To change or remove a user’s domain permissions:
  1. Select Admin > Users. A search section appears.
  2. Search for the user whose domain permissions are to be changed or removed.
    1. Search by any part of the user’s email address or name.
    2. Select +Advanced to open additional search criteria, such as external ID, authentication type, system permission, or domain permission.
    3. Select Search.
  3. In the Results block, select the name of the appropriate user. The user’s Profile, Settings, and Courses to which they are registered appear.
  4. In the Settings section, select Edit. An editing interface appears for the selected user account.
  5. In the Domain Permissions section, locate the heading for the permission type (Administer, Edit, Audit, or Report) to be changed or removed.
  6. Under the heading for the permission to be changed or removed, locate the domain combination where the permission applies.
  7. Select Change or Remove next to the permission type that should be changed or removed for each domain (see image below). 
    1. After selecting Change: select the domain combination where the permission should be applied instead. Select Save to assign domain permissions, or select Cancel to quit the operation.
    2. After selecting Remove: A confirmation appears: “Removing this permission will restrict access for this user.” Select OK if you are sure the user should not have the selected permission for the specific domain combination, or select Cancel to quit the operation.

      A user's domain permissions are spotlighted. The Administer heading is followed two three campus combinations. The user can Remove All Administer or Change or Remove Administer for each domain combination.

  8. If the user should not have a specific domain permission for any domains in your system, locate the heading for the permission type to be removed, and select Remove All [Permission]. A confirmation appears: “Removing all [Type] permission will restrict access for this user.” 
  9. Select OK if you are sure the user should not have the selected domain permission in any domain in your Concourse system, or select Cancel to quit the operation.

Best Practices and Recommendations

When assigning domain permissions in your Concourse system, keep the following guidance and limitations in mind:
  1. Domain permissions are assigned (added, changed or removed) for one user at a time. Domain permissions cannot be added en masse or via feed. If your system is very large or complex, it may be a good idea to delegate Set Domain Permissions system permission to another high-level user besides the System Admin so that managing domain permissions is less cumbersome.
  2. Whenever a new domain is added in your system, users with domain permissions must have their permissions updated to match the new domain. If domain users are not given appropriate permissions for the new domain, they will not be able to interact with syllabi in the domain as they expect.
  3. If an incorrect combination of domains is selected when assigning domain permissions, the user’s permissions will not update, and the administrator will not receive an error message (silent failure). For example, if the user selects domain combination Main Campus > Arts & Sciences > Education, but the Education department is not housed in the Arts & Sciences school in the Main Campus, the user’s permissions will not update. If the user setting domain permissions is unsure of the domain structure in your Concourse system, a System Administrator can generate a Domain Structure Report to help guide their work.
  4. Users whose system permissions include Set Domain Permissions can generate a Domain Permissions Report to assess high-level users’ current access. We recommend generating a Domain Permissions Report and updating domain permissions as part of your regular Concourse maintenance.

    • Related Articles

    • Setting Up and Managing Domains

      Before getting into how you actually configure domains, it is important to think about the administrative structure you'd like to implement as these domains will form the basis for assigning mid-level administrators for functions such as course ...

    • Create a Course Template Manually

      This article will be most useful for System Administrators. Overview Course templates are usually created via course feed, but it may occasionally be necessary to create course templates manually. For example, a course may have been overlooked and ...

    • Domain Reports

      This article will be most useful for Concourse Admins. Overview Ensuring your Concourse system’s domain hierarchy and domain permissions are correct is an important part of regular system maintenance. As programs at your institution grow or change, ...

    • Setting Group Permissions en Masse

      This article will be most useful for Concourse Admins. Overview Group permissions can be set across your Concourse system, on large syllabus sets and on individual courses. Setting group permissions en masse is a good approach when a larger subset of ...

    • Creating Syllabi from Course Templates

      Templates can be turned into course syllabi using manual creation or through the processing of feeds. While this process remains simple, an important difference should be pointed out that makes template cloning a bit more sophisticated. Going from a ...