Brightspace Roles
Description and Permissions of Brightspace Roles
The following table includes detailed descriptions of the Roles that are available in Brightspace. We have also included the permissions associated with these roles to give you a better idea of what a user can and cannot access with a specific role.
| Role | Description | Content | Assignments | Discussions | Quizzes | Rubrics | Grades | Zoom | Classlist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor | Lead instructor and course developer Role. Visible in Classlist and has Discussion statistics. Full rights to all enabled tools in course offerings. Can't edit NavBar or Homepage, but can edit custom widgets. All instructors are set to this role automatically from Banner. | Can edit | Can create and view submissions | Can create, post, and view all submissions | Can create and view submissions | Can create and edit | Can view and manage all grades and gradebook settings | Can create meetings (with university license) | Can view, email classlist, and enroll certain roles (not students) |
| Staff | Exact same permissions as Instructor. This role should be used for any staff being added into Brightspace to differentiate users that are staff vs. faculty and/or part-time instructors at the Org level. Staff may need access to Brightspace in order to run programs and non-credit training courses. | Can edit | Can create and view submissions | Can create, post, and view all submissions | Can create and view submissions | Can create and edit | Can view and manage all grades and gradebook settings | Can create meetings (with university license) | Can view, email classlist, and enroll certain roles (not students) |
| Facilitator | Copy of Instructor role, however with added access to enroll users as a Student into courses. Should only be used in non-credit courses and training courses. Instructors teaching credit courses should not be assigned this role. | Can edit | Can create and view submissions | Can create, post, and view all submissions | Can create and view submissions | Can create and edit | Can view and manage all grades and gradebook settings | Can create meetings (with university license) | Can view, email classlist, and enroll certain roles including students |
| TA (Full) | Exact copy of Instructor role. Has access to the classlist, grades, can grade all assessments, and can edit Content. Can set up Zoom meetings if they also have a University license for Zoom. Can be enrolled into course offerings by Instructors, but cannot be removed. Contact the Software and Application Support Centre (sas@smu.ca) to remove TAs. | Can edit | Can create and view submissions | Can create, post, and view all submissions | Can create and view submissions | Can create and edit | Can view and manage all grades and gradebook settings | Can create meetings (with university license) | Can view, email classlist, and enroll certain roles (not students) |
| TA (Grader) | This role can grade Discussions, Assignments, Quizzes, add marks to the grade book, can create and manage Rubrics, and has access to Classlist. Cannot edit Content but can view it. Can be enrolled into course offerings by Instructors, but cannot be removed. Contact the Software and Application Support Centre (sas@smu.ca) to remove TAs. | Read-only | Can create and view submissions | Can create, post, and view all submissions | Can create and view submissions | Can create and edit | Can view and manage all grades and gradebook settings | Can create meetings (with university license) | Can view, email classlist, and enroll certain roles (not students) |
| TA (Grader - No quiz access) | Copy of TA - Grader, but access to quizzes is fully removed for this role. Can grade Discussions, Assignments, add marks to the grade book, and has access to Classlist. Cannot edit Content but can view it. Can be enrolled into course offerings by Instructors, but cannot be removed. Contact the Software and Application Support Centre (sas@smu.ca) to remove TAs. | Read-only | Can create and view submissions | Can create, post, and view all submissions | No access | Can create and edit | Can view and manage all grades and gradebook settings | Can create meetings (with university license) | Can view, email classlist, and enroll certain roles (not students) |
| TA (Read Only) | This role is based on Instructor but has read-only access on all tools. Has access to Classlist. Cannot view student Assignments or Quizzes, but can see the list of Assignments and Quizzes. Can View Discussions, but cannot post. Cannot see any Grades. Can be enrolled into course offerings by Instructors, but cannot be removed. Contact the Software and Application Support Centre (sas@smu.ca) to remove TAs. | Read-only | Can view list. Cannot view submissions. | Can view Submissions but not evaluate or post | Can view list. Cannot view questions or submissions | Can view | No access | No access | Can view |
| Student | Users with this role can participate and be graded in all activities. All students enrolled on Banner are automatically enrolled into courses in brightspace as this role. | Read-only | Can submit | Can submit | Can submit | Can view | Access personal grades | Can join course meetings | No access |
| Student - Extended Access | This role is for students who need access to a course past it's end date, for any reason, without having to open the course to all students. Instructors must request Extended Access for students at (sas@smu.ca). Student must be manually changed back to regular Student role at end of access period. | Read-only | Can submit | Can submit | Can submit | Can view | Access personal grades | Can join course meetings | No access |
| Peer Mentor | This role is based on the Student role and has many of the same permissions. Can participate in all activities to assist other students, but unlike the Student role can not be graded nor is officially registered in the course. Instructors can enroll Peer Mentors. | Read-only | Can Submit | Can Submit | Can Submit | Can View | No Access | Can join course meetings | No Access |
| Observer | Based on the student role. This role is for Deans/Chairs/Instructors who want to view course content for evaluation. Has access to released Content. No student info or grades. Appears on Classlist. Can be enroled by Instructor. Will only be added to a course with permission of instructor. | Read-only | No access | No access | No access | No access | No access | No access | No access |
| Invited Guest | Similar to Instructor role, but read only in all tools. Can see student submissions in all Assessments, but cannot evaluate. Can see student names and grades through Classlist and Class Progress. Can be enrolled by Instructors. | Read-only | Can view submissions but not evaluate | Can view submissions but not evaluate or post | Can view submissions but not evaluate | Can view | Similar view to student - Can see grade items that are visible | Can join course meetings | Can view |
Brightspace Support
The Software & Application Support Centre (SAS), located at Atrium 107, offers Brightspace training and support for students, staff, and instructors. To schedule an appointment, contact the SAS by email at sas@smu.ca, or by phone at (902) 496-8168. Drop-ins are welcomed at our office anytime from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5 pm.
