Overview

The Teacher Username Format setting – labelled Lecturer Username Format in Higher Education mode – controls how Classter automatically generates account usernames when a new Teacher (Lecturer) profile is created.

Instead of requiring administrators to type a username manually for every new staff member, Classter reads this format template and proposes a username derived from the staff member’s personal data (first name, last name, or internal code). The administrator can accept the suggestion or override it before saving the account.

Applying a consistent format from the start saves time during onboarding, prevents ad-hoc naming conventions, and keeps staff account names uniform across the institution.

What This Setting Does

This setting holds a formula (a template string) that Classter evaluates whenever a new Teacher (Lecturer) account is created. The formula is made up of tokens that reference the staff member’s data fields, combined with optional parameters that control how many characters to extract.

The format is edited through a dedicated popup form, opened by clicking the three-dots button (…) next to the setting field. Inside the popup, a Check / Preview function lets you type a sample name and instantly see the username the formula would generate – before committing any change.

Available format tokens

The following tokens are the building blocks of the formula. They can be combined with each other and with static text (for example, a dot or underscore separator):

[SchoolPortal.FirstName(N)] – Takes the first N characters from the staff member’s first name.

[SchoolPortal.LastName(N)] – Takes the first N characters from the staff member’s last name.

[SchoolPortal.Code(N)] – Takes the first N characters from the staff member’s internal code / ID.

[SchoolPortal.Title(N)] – Takes the first N characters from the staff member’s title or display name.

[Year.Title(N)] – Takes N characters from the current academic year label.

N is a positive integer. Using a large number (for example, 10) effectively means “use the complete field value”. A separator character (such as a full stop or underscore) can be placed directly between tokens as a static string.

A special parameter form – (0,’ ‘) – instructs the system to extract only the first word of a name field, stopping at the first space. This is useful when staff members have compound first or last names.

Character conversion:

The popup form includes built-in conversion rules that can be applied to the generated result. Common conversions available include:

• Remove spaces (space converted to no character)
• Replace hyphens with underscores
• Remove apostrophes
• Convert accented or non-Latin characters to their Latin equivalents

These conversions ensure the generated username is compatible with standard login systems that do not allow special characters.

Duplicate handling

If the generated username already exists in the system, Classter automatically appends an incrementing number to make it unique. For example: jsmith, then jsmith1, then jsmith2, and so on. The administrator will see the deduplicated suggestion in the username field.

Where It Is Used

The setting is located at:

Main Settings > General Settings > Security Settings > Accounts & Roles > Teacher username format (or Lecturer username format in Higher Education mode)

The format is applied at the moment a new Teacher (Lecturer) record is saved for the first time. Classter evaluates the formula against the staff member’s data and pre-fills the username field with the result.

The administrator sees the suggested username on the account creation form and can accept it or type a different value before saving. If the format field is left empty or not configured, the system will not auto-suggest a username.

This setting does not retroactively change the usernames of existing Teacher (Lecturer) accounts. It only applies to accounts created after the format is saved.

Business Logic / Behavior

• The formula is evaluated once, when a new Teacher (Lecturer) profile is first created.
• The resulting username is a suggestion – the administrator can always override it manually before saving.
• If the generated username already exists, the system appends a sequential integer (1, 2, 3 and so on) automatically.
• The setting is configured per institution (per company). Different institutions within the same Classter environment can each use a different username format.
• Changing this setting does not affect accounts that were already created.
• The popup preview tool (Check button) allows testing the formula with sample names before applying changes.
• Bracket matching and pattern syntax are validated by the system when you save the format – an invalid pattern will be flagged.

K-12 Mode vs. Higher Education Mode

The behaviour of this setting is identical in both modes. The only difference is the label displayed in the interface: