Locked Departments are an administrative feature that influences Course visibility and configuration options in the Admin Experience. It does not automatically restrict Learner access unless your Enrollment Rules are configured to do so.

This article explains what a Locked Department does (and does not do), how they interact with Enrollment Rules and Admin permissions, and how to enable and configure this functionality for a Course.

About Locked Departments

When Enable Locked Departments for Courses is turned on in Portal Settings > Info, the Locked Department option becomes available in a Course’s Enrollment Rules settings.

 

Selecting a Locked Department primarily affects Admin side visibility and the UI options an Admin can use when configuring enrollments based on that Admin’s role permissions and Department visibility.

Important Behavior to Understand

Locked Department does not, by itself, prevent a Course from being available to all Learners. Learner availability is driven by the Course’s Enrollment Rules.

• If All Learners is selected in Enrollment Rules, the Course can be available to all Learners, even if a Locked Department is set.
• The main place Locked Department reliably enforces restrictions is on the Admin Side (visibility and available UI options).
• If an Admin’s Role allows them to enroll all Users (for example, an Enroll Anyone permission), then Locked Department will not restrict who that Admin can enroll.
• If an Admin does not have permission to enroll all Users, the Portal may restrict them to Department scoped enrollment rules, which effectively restricts availability to the Locked Department and its Sub-Departments.

What a Locked Department Does

Locked Departments are designed to control how Courses appear and behave for Administrators in the Admin Experience. The following points describe the specific behaviors it enforces when configured.

• Restricts Course Visibility in the Admin Experience so that only Admins who manage the Locked Department can view or manage the Course.
• Drives UI behavior that can require Department scoped rules when an Admin cannot enroll everyone.

What a Locked Department Does Not Do

Locked Departments have intentional limitations and do not override other Course or role configurations. The following items clarify behaviors that are commonly assumed but not supported.

• Does not automatically prevent Learners from accessing a Course when Enrollment Rules are configured for broad availability (for example, All Learners).
• Does not override Admin permissions. If an Admin can enroll all Users, Locked Department will not limit that Admin’s enrollment actions.

Enable Locked Departments for Courses

You must enable the feature in Portal Settings before you can set a Locked Department on a Course.

1. In the Admin Experience, select the Account (silhouette) icon.
   
    
2. Select Portal Settings.
   
    
3. Under the Info tab, locate Enable Locked Departments for Courses.
   
    

4. Toggle the setting to On, then select Save.

   

    

Set a Locked Department on a Course

After the feature is enabled at the Portal level, you can set a Locked Department within a Course’s enrollment settings.

1. Navigate to Courses.
2. Select an existing Course to Edit, or select Add to create a new Course.
3. In the Course Settings, locate the Enrollment Rules section.
4. From Locked Department, select Select Department, then choose the Department you want to lock the Course to. The selection includes the chosen Department and its Sub-Departments.
   • Absorb does not pre-populate a default Department in the Locked Department field when creating a new Course. This helps avoid incorrect defaults for Admins who manage multiple Departments. Existing Courses are not changed. 

5. Review the Course Administrators section. Depending on configuration, the UI may default to Course Visibility > Specific > Department Visibility with the locked department selected.

   
    

6. Complete the remaining Course configuration, then select Publish.

Disabling Locked Departments

In the event a Locked Department has been added to a Course and needs to be removed, the following steps can be taken to clear the Locked Department setting.

1. In the Admin Experience, navigate to the Courses Report.
2. Select the Course you'd like to remove Locked Department settings from, and click Edit via the righthand side Actions menu.
3. Navigate to the Enrollment Rules section.
4. Click Select Department.
5. Uncheck the selected Department, and click Choose.
   
6. Publish the Course to save the change.

Things to Know

The following considerations help clarify how Locked Departments behave after they are enabled, particularly when being applied to existing Courses, enrollments, and Admin visibility.

• If Enable Locked Departments for Courses is turned On after Learners are enrolled, existing enrollments remain in place.
• Learner Transcripts are not affected. If Learners are no longer eligible to enroll, they still see their most current completion on Transcripts.
• Admins who have visibility outside the locked Department may still be able to target Users they can already access, depending on role permissions.

Roles and Permissions

The impact of Locked Departments depends on Admin role permissions especially permissions related to viewing Users, viewing Departments, and enrolling Learners.

Required Role Permissions

Admins need the following permissions to perform the tasks described in this article.

Suggested Role Permissions

You may want to add the following permissions depending on how your Admins are expected to configure Departments and enrollments.