Admin Roles & Permissions

 

Roles and Permissions are used to define what an Admin can do and see in your LMS. There are four standard Roles with pre-selected Permissions, and the ability to create your own custom Roles to suit your organization's needs. In addition to the four standard Roles, the Create Editor Role is available to clients who have purchased the Create add-on product. This article provides you an overview of the Permissions of the standard Roles, the creation process and options for custom Roles, as well as tips and important notes.

  • In order to Modify anything in the LMS, the Admin's role must include View access to that section.
  • Several Reports rely on basic view access for Users or Course Types. For example, enabling access to the Course Activity report will allow an Admin to navigate to the Report itself, and they will also need the View Online Courses Permission in order to see Course data in that report.
  • Certain Admin Permissions work in tandem with User Management settings. Regardless of their Permissions, Admin will still only be able to see the data that is allowed based on their User Management settings defined in their specific User Profile (Users > Edit User > Account > Admin > User Management). This can be used to your advantage to simplify Reports for Admins who do not need access to see your entire User base. For example, if an Admin was interested in their Department's Course completion rates, if their User Management was set to only their Department, then they would not need to add any extra filters to the Course Activity Report.

 

Default Admin Roles

There are four default Admin Roles available in Absorb LMS: System Admin, Admin, Instructor, and Reporter. If the Create add-on product has been purchased, the standard Create Editor Role is available for use as well. These Roles cannot be edited. They can be duplicated and then edited, however please note that the Default Roles contain a small number of hidden Permissions that will also be duplicated.

Default Admin Roles are identified in the LMS by the lock icon next to the Role name. In descending order of responsibility, these Roles are:

 

Name Description
System Admin

A System Admin is the highest administrative position within the LMS and can manage everything, including system options in Portal Settings and impersonating other Admins in the Admin Interface.

Note:  In order for a System Admin to be able to edit another System Admin, they must have their User Management Permissions set to All.

Admin An Admin has several of the same Permissions as a System Admin, but will not be able to access the Portal Settings menu or impersonate other Admins in the Admin Interface.
Instructor

An Instructor can access the Admin Interface but can only access and manage a limited selection of Reports related to adjusting Attendance and Grades for ILC Sessions.

Note: Instructors manage only the ILC Sessions for which they are a designated Instructor

Reporter A Reporter can only view Reports, and cannot make any changes to these Reports. They cannot view content other than what is included in the Reports. A Reporter can create their own Custom Reports using filters and save these Reports. They can also export any Report as an Excel or CSV file.
Create Editor

A Create Editor has full access to View/Modify Courses, with the exception of being unable to delete Courses. They also have View access to Tags, and are able to Upload, View and Modify Files. Permissions associated with the Create Editor role allow these Users to push Courses from Create to the LMS, as well the ability to publish Courses within Create.

Note: The Create Editor role is only available to clients who have purchased the Create add-on product.

 

Please expand the below section to see the differences between each default Admin Role and what they can do in the LMS. 

Default Admin Roles Permissions

Courses

Instructor Led Courses

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View  
Add      
Delete      
Modify      
Modify: Sessions      
Modify: Sessions: Add      
Modify: Sessions: Duplicate      
Modify: Sessions: Delete      
Modify: Sessions: Modify      
Modify: Sessions: Modify: Details      
Modify: Sessions: Modify: Schedule      
Modify: Sessions: Modify: Enrollments      

Modify: Sessions: Modify: More

     
Modify: General      
Modify: Availability      
Modify: Completion      
Modify: Messaging      
Modify: Resources      
Modify: More      

 

Online Courses

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View  
Modify    
Delete      

 

Course Bundles

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      
Delete      

 

Curricula

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      
Delete      

 

Enrollments

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View  
Modify    
Enroll Anyone      

 

Venues

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Resources

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Categories

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Competencies

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Ratings

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Comments

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

External Training

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Course Uploads

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Users

Users

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      
Delete      
Administrators      
Private Field      
Impersonate        

 

Roles

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Departments

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Groups

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Absorb Engage

News Articles

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Billboards

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Polls

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Leaderboards

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Collaborations

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Manage

Message Template

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Tags

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View    
Modify      

 

Files

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Translations

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

FAQs

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Credit Type

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify        

 

Content Libraries

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      

 

Forms

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      
Generate      

 

E-Commerce

Coupons

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View      
Modify      
View Transactions      

 

Reports

All Reports

All below items refer to View Permissions.

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
Course Activity    
Course Summary    
ILC Activity    
Tasks    
Assessments    
Learner Activity    
Course Evaluation    
Course Approvals    
Certificates    
Learner Progress    
Department Progress    
Waitlist    
Curricula Activity    
ILC Grades    
Learner Competencies    
ILC Sessions    
Session Approvals    
User Transcript    
Observation Checklist    
Observation Checklist Activity    
Credits    

 

Special

Special

Permissions System Admin Admin Reporter Instructor Create Editor
View Product Notifications      
Contact Us  

 

Hidden Permissions

There are a small number of Hidden Permissions in default Roles which are not available to be added to custom Roles in the Edit Role menu. There will be no case where an account with a custom Role that has been created from scratch has any of these Permissions, as they are unavailable for selection.

For example:

  • The Instructor Role has a hidden Permission called Instructor, which grants these hidden Permissions allowing them to view and interact with the following ReportsILC Activity Report, ILC Grades Report, ILC Waitlist Report, ILC Sessions Report, and Session Approval Report. These Permissions are not visible in the Permission Overview on the Instructor's Profile and will be duplicated if this Default Role is duplicated.
  • The System Admin Role has a hidden Permission called Impersonate Admin Users which grants the ability for them to impersonate an Admin's view of the Admin Interface. This Permission is not visible in the Permission Overview on the System Admin's Profile and will not be duplicated if this default Role is duplicated.

Navigate to Duplicate Role.gif

Default Roles Note

The default Admin and System Admin roles are intended to provide access to new functionality and features upon release.

In the future when new functionality is added to the LMS, the default Admin and System Admin roles may have new Permissions enabled automatically.

Please be aware of this when you assign these default Roles to your Users. If you want to control access to new functionality as it becomes available, we recommend creating custom Roles for your Users.

 

Custom Admin Roles

Beyond the five default Admin Roles outlined above, if you are a System Admin you can create custom Admin Roles. This can be useful for filling a niche where tweaking the default Roles would better meet your organization's needs. Custom Roles can be created by selecting the Add New Role option in the Roles Report or can be created by editing a duplicated Role.

There are a wide variety of Permissions available. Custom Roles can be created by following these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Roles menu from the Users tab on the left.
  2. Select Add Role from the Actions Menu on the right, or select a Role and then select Duplicate Role from the Actions Menu. These actions will open the Add or Edit Role menu respectively. The options are the same regardless of if you are creating or editing a Role.
  3. Select the Permissions that you would like to give this new custom Role and then Save.

Navigate to Add Role.gif

Custom Role Considerations

When creating a custom Role, it is useful to consider what the people who will have this Role do in your organization. For example, it may be reasonable to provide an HR Representative View & Modify User Permissions, but restrict their Permissions in other areas.

The following chart outlines the sections of Permissions, with default sections marked by an * asterisk. Non-marked sections are available if you have access to the corresponding add-on module.

Permission Section Description
Courses*

In this section you will select which Course related features an Admin can View, Modify, or Delete

Note: 

  • The General Permission checkbox must be selected (checked) for the Course Type Permission set to allow the Role to create new Online Courses, Curricula, or Course Bundles.
  • ILC Course and Session Permission sets are grouped separately. This allows admins to establish different levels of access to different Roles.
Users*

In this section you will select which User data related features an Admin can View, Modify, or Delete. This section also includes Permissions which allow Managing Administrators, Viewing Private Fields, and Impersonating Learners.

Note: 

  • System Admin are able to impersonate other Admin in the Admin Interface. This is a hidden field and that cannot be copied and only System Admin can have this access.
  • For more information on Admin and Learner Impersonation, please read the User Impersonation article.
Engage In this section you will select with elements of the Engage module an Admin can View or Modify.
Manage*

In this section, you will select if Admin can View or Modify Message Templates, Tags, Files, Translations, FAQs, and Course Credit Types.

Note: If Content Library access has been purchased, View/Modify Content Libraries Permissions can also be found in this section.

E-Commerce In this section, you will select if an Admin can View Transactions and View or Modify Coupons. Other aspects of the E-Commerce module are configured through your Portal Settings and therefore can only be managed by a System Admin
Reports* In this section, you will select which Reports an Admin can view. View access will allow them to change filters and export the data. They will only be able to see the data that is allowed based on other related Role Permissions and their User Management settings defined in the specific User's Edit User menu. 
Special* In this section, you will select if an Admin can see certain Help & Support options.

 

Custom Admin Role Editing

In order for any Admin to be able to edit another Admin's User Profile, that User must have at least all of the same exact Permissions in order to do so. If even one Permission is configured for the target Admin and isn't configured for the editor, this option becomes unavailable.

If Admins need to be able to edit other Admins, this is important to consider when configuring Custom Admin Roles.

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