Set which user type can edit the title of a Subject

Overview

This article explains the application setting that controls who is allowed to edit a Subject’s (Course’s) title and About information from the My Courses area used by teachers. It defines whether this right belongs only to administrative staff, or is also extended to teaching staff.

What This Setting Does

This setting determines which type of staff member is allowed to edit the title and the About description of a Subject (Course) when working from the My Courses area. It offers three levels of access, each one wider than the previous one:

• Employees (Staff/Admin) only
• Employees, plus the Course Supervisor (the Teacher assigned as the main/supervising teacher of that Subject)
• Employees, the Course Supervisor, and any Teacher who has access to that Subject’s edit screen (this is the default option)

Whichever level is selected, Employees/Staff members always keep the ability to edit. The setting only ever adds more people on top of that; it never removes editing rights from administrative staff.

The default value of this setting is ‘Teachers’.

Main Settings / General Settings / Teachers Portal Rights / Basic Settings / Set which user type can edit the title of a Subject

If Employees is selected only employees can change the info. If Supervisor is selected, both supervisor and employees can edit the info. If Teachers is selected then Teachers, Supervisor and Employees can edit it.

Setting -> Active For Teachers (Figure 1)

Figure 1

Setting -> Inactive for Teachers

The Title field is disabled. (Figure 2)

Figure 2

Where It Is Used

This setting applies in the My Courses area, on the screen where a Subject’s (Course’s) details are edited – specifically its title and its About tab. The About tab holds descriptive information that Students and Parents see when they open the Subject, such as a short overview or presentation text.

The setting itself is configured under Administration > Settings > Core Settings > Teachers Portal Rights > Basic Settings.

Every time a Teacher opens the Edit screen of one of their Subjects, Classter checks this setting to decide whether the title can be changed, and, depending on the option chosen, whether that particular Teacher is one of the people allowed to make the change.

To reach the Edit screen of a Subject at all, a Teacher must already have access to it – typically because they are the Subject’s assigned Teacher or Supervisor, or because a related setting allowing enrolled Teachers to edit Subjects has been turned on (see Notes).

Business Logic / Behavior

The three available options and who they allow to edit are summarized below:

Business rules that apply:

• The three levels are cumulative: each one includes everyone from the level(s) before it. ‘Teachers’ is the widest setting; ‘Employees’ is the most restrictive.
• Employees/Staff can always edit the title and About information, no matter which option is chosen.
• Students and Parents are never given editing rights through this setting – they can only ever view the About information, not change it.
• The default configuration is ‘Teachers’, meaning that unless changed, all Teachers with access to a Subject’s edit screen can update its title and About description.

Examples

Example 1 – Default setting (Teachers): At Alpha Institute, this setting is left on its default value, Teachers. Maria P., a Teacher of the Subject ‘Introduction to Biology’, opens her My Courses area, edits the Subject, and updates the About text to mention an upcoming field trip. Because the setting is set to Teachers, she can save the change herself, without needing help from the school office.

Example 2 – Restrictive setting (Employees): At Meridian Academy, the administration noticed that a few Teachers had accidentally changed Subject titles, which caused confusion in student timetables. The school office (an Employee/Staff role) changes this setting to Employees. From that point on, only office/admin staff can edit a Subject’s title and About text. When George S., a Teacher, opens the same Edit screen, the title field is no longer editable for him, and he has to ask an administrator to make the change instead.

When to Use

When to Enable

Keep or select ‘Teachers’ (the default) when teaching staff should be able to independently keep their Subject’s About information current – for example adding a short description, learning outcomes, or announcements – without needing the school office to make each change.

Select ‘Course Supervisor’ when this responsibility should be limited to a single point of contact per Subject. This fits larger academic teams where several Teachers are assigned to the same Subject, but changes should stay centralized to avoid conflicting edits.

When to Disable

Select ‘Employees’ when the Subject’s title and About text must remain consistent and controlled by the school office – for example when titles are standardized across the institution and used in printed timetables, certificates, or transcripts, and unsupervised Teacher edits could create inconsistencies.

Notes

Related setting: ‘Enable Subject editing for enrolled Teachers’/MyCourses_Enable_Subject_Editing_For_Enrolled_Teachers (Administration > Settings > Core Settings > Teachers Portal Rights > Basic Settings) controls whether a Teacher who is not the Subject’s main Teacher/Supervisor can reach the Subject’s Edit screen in the first place. This works alongside the current setting: a Teacher needs edit access first, and this setting then decides whether they are allowed to change the title and About information.

This setting behaves the same way whether the institution is working in standard (K-12) mode or in Higher Education mode – there is no difference in how the editing rights are applied between the two.