TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1. Overview & Introduction
- 2. Prerequisites & Requirements
- 3. Getting Started
- 4. Step-by-Step Workflows
- 5. Core Features & Functions
- 6. Settings & Customization
- 7. Technical Information
- 8. Troubleshooting
- 9. Additional Resources
1. Overview & Introduction
Site Profiles in itslearning define what users can see and do within the platform. Each profile acts as a permission template that controls access to features, tools, and administrative functions across your entire itslearning site. When you access Profiles through the Administration tab, you'll see a comprehensive matrix showing all available functionalities with green checkmarks (✓) for enabled features and red crosses (✗) for disabled features.
The profile system allows you to create role-based access control for different user types - from System Administrators with full access to Guests with minimal permissions. This granular control ensures users only access the features they need for their specific role in your educational organisation.
2. Prerequisites & Requirements
Before configuring site profiles, ensure you have:
- System Administrator or Administrator profile with profile management permissions
- Access to the Administration tab in itslearning
- Understanding of your organisation's user roles and requirements
3. Getting Started
3.1. Accessing Profile Settings
- Log in to itslearning with system administrator credentials
- Navigate to the Administration tab
- Select Profiles from the administration menu
- The profile matrix will display showing all profiles and their permissions
3.2. Understanding the Profile Matrix
The profile matrix displays:
- Rows: Different functionalities and features available in itslearning
- Columns: Profile types (System Administrator, Administrator, Staff, Student, Parent, Guest)
- Indicators:
- ✓ Green checkmark = Feature enabled
- ✗ Red cross = Feature disabled
- Numbers = Specific limits or values
3.3. Understanding Configuration Scope
Many settings in itslearning can be configured at different levels:
- Community: Available outside your site
- Site level: Applies across you entire itslearning platform
- School level: Applies only within specific schools/hierarchies
- Disabled: Feature completely unavailable to the profile
When you see "Site/School" options, consider:
- Site level gives broader access but less control
- School level provides better privacy and organisation
- Start restrictive and expand access as needed
Examples of scope in practice:
| Setting | Site Level | School Level | Disabled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search for staff [In section 6.7. Privacy] | Can search all staff across platform | Can only search staff in user's school | Cannot search for staff at all |
| Create courses [In section 6.1 Courses] | Can create courses anywhere on site | Can only create courses in user's school | Cannot create courses |
| Initiate communication to students [In section 6.7 privacy] | Can message any student on platform | Can only message students in user's school | Cannot message students |
3.4. Default Profiles Overview
| Profile | Primary Purpose | Security Level | Typical Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| System Administrator | Full platform control | 100 | IT staff, platform managers |
| Administrator | Site/school management | 50 | School admins, principals |
| Staff | Teaching and content creation | 30 | Teachers, instructors |
| Student | Learning activities | 20 | Regular enrolled students |
| Parent | Child monitoring | 12 | Parents, guardians |
| Guest | Minimal access | 10 | Visitors, temporary users |
4. Step-by-Step Workflow
4.1 Modifying Existing Profiles
Objective: Update permissions for an existing profile
Steps:
- Access Administration > Profiles
- Locate the profile column to modify
- Click on specific permission cells to toggle enabled/disabled
- For settings with values, click to edit
- Review all changes before saving
- Save modifications
Result: Changes apply immediately to all users with this profile
Next Steps: Communicate changes to affected users if significant permissions were modified
5. Core Features & Functions
5.1. Basic Functionality
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Indicates whether the dashboard is available on the main landing page for this profile. | Enabled for all profiles except sysadmin and restricted guests | Users without dashboard access go directly to course list or other page in itslearning as defined by sysadmin |
| Calendar | Access to personal and course calendars | Enabled for all profiles | Essential for tracking assignments, events, and deadlines |
| Rooms and equipment booking | Ability to reserve physical resources | Disabled for all profiles by default | Enable when your organisation uses itslearning for resource management |
5.2. Communication & Collaboration
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messages | Indicates whether the internal message system is available for this profile. | Enabled for most profiles, often disabled for guests | Note! Group message in the message system is not the same as a mass message. |
| Search content | Ability to search for materials within courses | Enabled for all profiles | Indicates whether this profile is allowed to search for content in the Search box |
| Search users | Ability to find other platform users | Enabled for most profiles, disabled for External students | Allows users to search for other users in the Search box .Works with privacy settings to limit searchable users |
| Show extra user information to other users | View detailed profiles even when users restrict visibility | Enabled for administrators and staff | Allows users to see detailed information about another user, even if that user has selected not to share the information. This overrides individual privacy preferences and should not be granted to student users. |
| Allowed to send mass messages | One way mass message capabilitiy | Site level for administrators, disabled for others | Used for announcements to large groups - Admin can send one way messages to one or more hierarchies at a time. Not to be confused with group messaging in the message system. |
5.3. Content & Resources
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable library | Access to shared resource library | Enabled for Staff, disabled for External students and Parents | Allows users to access the library. Sharing permissions determine contribution level |
| Sharing permissions | Library contribution level | Community (admins), None (students) | This allows users to share elements to the library. Sharing permissions are: none, school, site, community |
| Allowed to give reviews | Rate and review library content | Enabled for staff and administrators | This setting allows users to write reviews of content in the library. |
| ePortfolio | Digital portfolio creation with blogs and pages | Enabled for Staff, often disabled for Students and Parents | Allows users to access the ePortfolio function. Options also include the availability for the ePortfolio to be public on the internet. ePortfolios include a blog and about me section |
| Personal settings | Profile customisation, email, notifications | Enabled for most profiles, disabled for Guests | Personal settings include user email, photo, alerts, and other details. Enables user autonomy over their account. See section 6.8 for individual settings details |
| Subscriptions | RSS feed subscriptions for updates | Enabled for most active profiles | Allows user to subscribe to RSS feeds such as calendar notifications, course notifications, etc. within the platform |
| Contacts | Personal address book feature | Enabled for staff and students | Allows user to use the Contacts tool – similar to an address book. |
| Allowed to share individual learning plans | ILP sharing capabilities | Enabled for administrators and staff | Special education and personalised learning |
| Allowed to use standard itslearning login | Use platform credentials vs external auth only | Enabled for most profiles | Users can log in with a username and password maintained in itslearning. For user profiles that use only external authentication to log in, disable this setting. When disabled, the option to change the password will also be hidden from users' personal settings |
| Start URL | Landing page after login | Dashboard (default), Course cards, or custom | Indicates the start page that users with this profile sees when logging in to itslearning. The default is 'Dashboard |
6. Settings & Customization
6.1. Courses
Course Creation
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create courses | Build new courses | Site level for admins, school for teachers | Allows users to create courses for either site or school. |
| Allowed to share a course as a template | Make course available as template | Site level for admins and often school level for staff | Allows users to share their course(s) as a template for other users |
| Create courses based on a template | Use existing templates | Enabled for staff | If templates are available, users will have access to a list of templates from which to create a course. |
| Allowed to apply a template to other courses | Update courses with template content | Enabled for admins and staff | Allows users to apply a course template to other courses. |
Course Access
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access to course | Enter and view courses | Enabled for most profiles | Basic course permission |
| Local course catalogue | Browse school courses | Enabled for most profiles | Indicates whether users with this profile will have access to the local course catalog. |
| Allow adding courses to the internal course catalogue | Publish to school catalogue | usually enabled for administrators and selected staff memebers | Indicates that the user can share courses in an internal course catalouge. That means students and staff can potentially enroll in courses they arent a part of. |
| Allow adding courses to the external course catalogue (Feature in development for GDP - not yet applicable) | Publish publicly | Restricted to administrators | External visibility |
| Enrol in courses | Self-enrollment capability | Site/school level, restricted for External students | Allows users with this profile to enroll themselves in any course. This can be restricted to the user's school,or opened up to all courses on the site. |
Course Features
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allowed to comment on announcements if comments are enabled | Can comment on course announcements | Enabled for all active users | Requires the teacher to open up announcements for comments |
| Allow to create Microsoft Team for course | Teams integration must be enabled for setting. | Disabled | Enables creation of Microsoft Teams for courses. Use caution when enabling broadly, as this can result in excessive Teams creation. |
| Create content with AI | AI-powered content tools if enabled on your site | Enabled for staff | Content creation assistance |
6.2. Files & Storage
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private files | Personal storage area | Disabled for System Admins, enabled for others | Allows users to access a private file area. |
| Web files | Public file sharing | Disabled for System Admins, enabled for others | Allows users to access the My web files function |
| Quota | Storage limit in KB | 51200 KB (50 MB) typical, 0 for guests | Indicates the maximum storage quota (in kilobytes) that is allowed for this profile. (1024 KB = 1 MB) |
6.3. Projects
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create projects | Initiate project spaces | Site level for staff, disabled for students | Collaborative workspaces |
| Access to projects | Join projects | Enabled for most profiles except System Admin | Participation in projects |
6.4. Profile Settings
Security Configuration
| Setting | Description | Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security level | Permission hierarchy | 10-100 (must be unique) | Higher = more privileges |
| Allowed HTML Code Level | Content creation restrictions | Less restricted / Restricted / Highly restricted | Controls embedded content |
| Role in hierarchy | Organisational position | Administrator / Teacher / Student / Guest | The role this profile has in a specific hierarchy. Available options are Administrator, Teacher, Student, and Guest. |
6.5. Administration
Warning!
The following permissions grant significant control over your itslearning platform. Exercise extreme caution when assigning these capabilities:
- Global settings: Can change platform-wide configurations
- User and access rights management: Can create, modify, and delete user accounts
- Hierarchy management: Can restructure your entire organisational setup
- Policy management: Can override all standard permissions
Recommendation: Limit these permissions to System Administrator profile only until you fully understand their implications.
Core Management
| Setting | Description | Typical Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global settings | Site-wide configuration | System Administrator only | Allows users to change the global settings for the entire site |
| Policy management | Permission overrides | System Administrator and School Administrators | Allows policy management for special situations. Policies override default profile or user settings. You can combine different settings in a policy and apply multiple policies to a profile, group, or user. It is recommended that administrators have access to this option |
| Course management | Oversee all courses | Administrators at site/school level | Allows users to manage courses. This can be set at the site or school level. |
| Project management | Manage all projects | Administrators at site/school level | Project oversight |
| User and access rights management | User administration | System Administrator | Allows users to add and edit users on the platform. This can be set at the site or school level. |
Specialized Management
| Setting | Description | Typical Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extension management | Third-party integrations | System Administrator | Allows users to configure third-party integrations and extensions |
| Extended data for apps' management | Advanced app settings | Administrators | Allows users to view extended data for apps within itslearning |
| Vendor access management | External vendor control | System Administrator | Allows users to manage vendor access within itslearning |
| Workflow management | Process automation | System Administrator | Allows users to enable/disable use of workflow functionality |
| Supervisor management | Mentor assignments | Administrators | Allows users the ability to manage supervisors. Supervisors are mentors and work with students (or teachers) to create individual learning plans. (Recommended at the local, or school, level.) |
| Hierarchy management | School/site structure | System Administrator | Allows users the ability to manage hierarchies. This implies adding, editing, and deleting hierarchies. Hierarchies are typically schools or subsites |
| Letter templates management | Communication templates | System Administrator, administrators and selected staff, depending on scope. | Allows users the ability to manage the letter templates available in itslearning |
| Bookings management | Resource configuration | Disabled by default | Allows users to add and edit resources available for checkout under the resource booking functionality. (Recommended at the local, or school, level.) |
| Parent dashboard management | Parent portal settings | Disabled by default | Gives access to parent portal where a parent is connected to its child's activities. Has its own setup. |
| Advanced Reporting | Analytics access | Administrators | Allows users access to the advanced reporting for the site. Advanced reporting is an add on available for your site, if interested in purchasing it please reach out to your itslearning representative. |
| API management | API configuration | System Administrator | Integration control |
| IMS Enterprise web services management | Integration services | System Administrator | IMS integrations |
| Term management | Academic periods | System Administrator and administrator. | Allows users the ability to manage terms. A term is a division of the year, a block of weeks during which the organisation holds classes. These divisions may be semesters, quarters, or trimesters, for example |
| Export management | Data export controls | Disabled for all | Data extraction |
| Role in Developer Portal | Developer access | Developer role only | API development |
| Learning objective repository management | Standards management | Site level administrators | Allows users to add locally created standards to the platform for users to use in their course. Adding of these standards can be done via an Excel file. I already changed |
| Manage settings for learning-objectives reports | Assessment configuration | System Administrator only | Progress tracking |
| Attendance manager | Attendance tracking | Site level administrators | Student attendance. An attendance manager can be set for |
6.6. Default Settings
| Setting | Description | Typical Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic logout time | Inactivity timeout in minutes | 180 (admins: 30, others: 80) | Determines when users with the profile are automatically logged off after inactivity. For profiles with the hierarchy role 'Administrator', the default time is 30 minutes. For other profiles the default time is the same as before, 80 minutes. Maximum allowed inactivity is eight hours. The warning dialog is displayed 20 minutes before logout |
| Email recipient limit | Bulk email restrictions | Unlimited or specific number | Indicates the maximum number of users that users with this profile can send messages to simultaneously. (0 = unlimited) |
6.7. Privacy
Search Permissions
| Setting | Description | Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search for staff | Find teachers/admins | Site / Restricted to school / Disabled | Privacy controlAllows users with this profile to search for staff/students/guests in the platform. This can be disabled, or if enabled, set to site level or school level. |
| Search for students | Find students | Site / Restricted to school / Disabled | Student privacy |
| Search for guests | Find guest users | Site / Restricted to school / Disabled | Guest visibility |
| Search for members in own courses and projects | Find classmates | Enabled for most profiles | Allows users with this profile to search for members of their own courses and projects in the platform. This overrides the other general search settings. (e.g you can search for students in your class, but not outside it if the profile otherwise restricts search for students) |
Initiate Communication
| Setting | Description | Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initiate communication to staff | Contact teachers | Site / Restricted to school / Disabled | Allows users with this profile to initiate communication to staff in the platform. This can be disabled, or if enabled, set to site level or school level |
| Initiate communication to students | Contact students | Restricted to school typically | Allows users with this profile to initiate communication to students in the platform. This can be disabled, or if enabled, set to site level or school level |
| Initiate communication to guests | Contact guests | Restricted to school typically | Allows users with this profile to initiate communication to guests in the platform. This can be disabled, or if enabled, set to site level or school level |
| Initiate communication to members of own courses and projects | Contact classmates | Enabled for most profiles | Allows users with this profile to initiate communication to members of their own courses and projects in the platform. This overrides the other general "initiate" settings. (e.g you can initiate communications for students in your class, but not outside it if the profile otherwise restricts communication with students) |
| Send email externally | Email outside itslearning | Enabled for most profiles | Allows users with this profile to send e-mail externally |
6.8. Person Profile
| Setting | Description | Typical Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allow to change profile picture | Update profile photo | Enabled for all profiles | Allows users to upload and change their profile picture |
| Allow to change email address | Modify email-adress in system | Enabled for all profiles | Disable the setting to prevent users with this profile from changing their email address in itslearning. Important: If users are managed via integration, this setting has no effect. Email addresses cannot be changed in itslearning and must be updated in the external source system |
| Detailed user information | Extended profile fields | Allow to edit for most profiles | Gives the option to enter more information in the profile like adress, phone number etc. |
| Show detailed user information about other users | View others' extended profiles | Enabled for admins and staff | Gives the ability to see all profile information on a user, even if they have restricted tha sharing option in the profile. Do not give to student profiles. |
6.9. Synchronisation
| Setting | Description | Configuration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Map from profile | External role mapping | System Administrator / Administrator / Staff | Indicates that during synchronization or import this profile is mapped to a profile in the import. For example: During an IMS import, the role Learner is mapped to the Student profile. In this case you would enter Learner in the Map from Profile field |
7. Technical Information
7.1. Security Levels
Security levels create a permission hierarchy where higher levels can override lower levels:
| Security Level | Profile Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | System Administrator | Highest level - full platform control |
| 50 | Administrator | Site/school management |
| 30 | Staff | Teaching and content creation |
| 20 | Student | Standard student access |
| 12 | Parent | Child monitoring |
| 10 | Guest | Lowest level - minimal access |
Important: Each profile must have a unique security level.
Understanding the hierarchy:
- Higher security levels can access and modify settings of lower security levels
- Only System Administrator (100), Administrator (50), and Staff (30) profiles have administrative capabilities
- Student (20), Parent (12), and Guest (10) profiles are end-user profiles with no administrative access to other users
- Security levels determine which administrative functions are available
- When creating custom profiles, assign security levels between existing levels (e.g., 28 for Teaching Assistants would be between Staff and Students)
7.2. HTML Code Restrictions
Three levels of HTML permission affect content creation in rich text areas (assignments, discussions, pages, etc.):
| Level | Allowed Content | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Less restricted | Common HTML, iframes from whitelisted domains, full formatting | Trusted content creators (administrators, staff) |
| Restricted | Basic formatting, tables, images, media | Standard users (most staff and students) |
| Highly restricted | Minimal HTML (bold, italic, underline, paragraphs only) | Untrusted or external users (guests) |
Important considerations:
- For security reasons, itslearning restricts which HTML tags and attributes can be used
- Users with highly restricted HTML level cannot add images, links, tables, or media to their content
- Iframes are only allowed from whitelisted domains and only at the "Less restricted" level
- If users report that formatting options are missing or not working, check their profile's "Allowed HTML Code level" setting
Note: Third-party embedded content (such as H5P) may not display correctly and will appear as placeholder text regardless of HTML level setting.
7.3. Storage Quotas
- Quotas measured in kilobytes (1024 KB = 1 MB)
- Apply to private files and web files
- Course materials don't count against individual quotas
- Consider total platform storage when setting quotas
7.4. Integration Considerations
When using external authentication:
- Email addresses cannot be changed if managed externally
- Profile mapping ensures correct permission assignment
- Regular synchronisation maintains consistency
- Test mappings with sample imports before full deployment
8. Troubleshooting
8.1. Common Permission Issues
Problem: Users cannot access expected features
- Cause: Profile permissions not properly configured
- Solution:
- Review the profile matrix for the affected user's profile
- Verify the specific permission is enabled (green checkmark)
- Check if policies are overriding profile settings
- Ensure user is assigned to the correct profile
- Prevention: Document profile requirements before implementation
Problem: Users have too much access
- Cause: Overly permissive profile or incorrect assignment
- Solution:
- Audit the profile permissions
- Reduce unnecessary permissions
- Verify security level is appropriate
- Check for policy overrides granting extra access
- Prevention: Follow principle of least privilege when configuring profiles
8.2. Profile Conflicts
Problem: Security level conflicts preventing profile saves
- Cause: Two profiles with the same security level value
- Solution: Assign unique security level to each profile (10-100 range)
- Prevention: Maintain documentation of assigned security levels
Problem: Inheritance issues with hierarchy roles
- Cause: Incorrect role in hierarchy setting
- Solution: Ensure hierarchy role matches intended user type
- Prevention: Plan hierarchy structure before implementation
9. Additional Resources
Related Articles
(Under creation)
Support Resources
- Service Status: Check current itslearning service availability at https://status.itslearning.com/
- Ideas Portal: Submit feature requests at https://ideas.itslearning.com/
- Roadmap: View upcoming features at https://itslearning.com/global/roadmap/
Contact Information
For additional support with profile configuration, reach out to your itslearning contact