The Elearning Community

Hello,

I am currently working on configuring user roles withing a course and need some clarification regarding the functions and responsibilities associated with the following roles:

1. Instructor
Could you please elaborate on the exact permissions and responsibilities an Instructor has within a course? Specifically, I’d like to understand their capabilities in managing course content, grading, and interacting with students.
How does the Instructor role differ from similar roles like Mentor or Tutor in terms of course management and learner support?
2. Mentor
Could you clarify the role of a Mentor in the context of a course? What specific functions or actions can they perform within the platform?
Is the Mentor primarily responsible for learner guidance and support, or do they have additional course management permissions?
3. Tutor
How does the Tutor role function in comparison to the Instructor and Mentor?
What permissions does a Tutor have in terms of course facilitation, grading, and student interaction?
Can a Tutor modify course content, or are they restricted to providing support and guidance?
4. Ghost
The Ghost role is one I am not familiar with. Could you explain what a Ghost user is and how they interact with courses? Are they visible to other users, and do they have access to course content?
Is this role commonly used for course auditing or other administrative purposes?
6. Guest
I am also not familiar with this, Could you explain their role/use and how they interact with courses?
Are there any scenarios where a Guest user might be enrolled in a course, and if so, what would their permissions look like compared to a Student or Ghost user?

General Inquiry:
Additionally, could you provide any best practices for assigning these roles based on course structure?
Are there any role restrictions or overlaps we should be aware of when configuring multiple user types in the same course?

Thank you in advance for your assistance in helping us better understand how these roles function within the platform.

Your clarification will greatly assist us in assigning the appropriate roles to users for optimal course management and delivery.

Looking forward to your response.

Hello Tayo,
Generally speaking, you can see the differences by looking in detail at the different permissions in the menu items. Essentially, every role has slightly different permissions.
The menu permissions are what determines the roles. My suggestion is to think carefully about what roles you actually need (i.e.: the administrator or the instructior should be able to manage the LO, other roles should not and should just see the stats). In my experience, 3 roles are enough (plus the student, of course).
Administrator can do all
Instructor, almost but cannot change the menu
if you need another role just to see the stats, use Mentor or Tutor, choose the permissions, and forget about the other role.
If your organization is simpler, just use instructor.



Ghost and Guest: I never use them. If I remember well, Ghost is not reflected in the stats.

Just remember that you can change the menu in 2 ways
- from the front end >> the menu change is immediate, but it's only on the course you are working on
- from the administration >> the change will affect all future courses. For current courses, you have to reassign the menu in order to have an effect.

You can also have different menus for different courses. If you do, remember that you will have to choose the right menu when creating a new course: it's the typical thing one always forgets!