Access to Moodle - Overview


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Access to Moodle is handled primarily through SPIRE. Students, instructors, teaching assistants, and others who are associated with a class in SPIRE will automatically be enrolled in the Moodle course for that class. Instructors can also request or allow different types of access to a Moodle course for other users.

This page refers you to more detailed instructions about how people with different roles gain access to Moodle.

Course Access Handled Through SPIRE

Access for Students

Once a Moodle course has been requested and created, students who are registered in the class in SPIRE, including 5-College students, are automatically added to the Moodle roster. Moodle rosters are updated each hour with enrollment data from SPIRE. For more, see Access to Moodle for Students.

Note: If a student who is not registered for a class in SPIRE needs access to a Moodle course to complete an Incomplete or Independent Study, the instructor can Request Contributor Access. Instructors can also extend access to a closed Moodle course from a previous semester for a particular student (without re-opening the course) by adding the role of Student with Incomplete (see Assign Roles to Individuals in Your Moodle Course).

Access for Teaching Assistants

Graduate TAs must be listed in SPIRE as a Teaching Assistant, and Undergraduate TAs must be listed in SPIRE as Mdl/B Only (Moodle/Blackboard).

By default, all TAs automatically receive access to Moodle in the role of Non-editing Teacher, which allows them to access student resources and activities, as well as read and grade student submissions. If a TA needs to upload materials or add activities to a Moodle course, the instructor can add the Course Designer role for that individual. For more, see Access to Moodle for Teaching Assistants.

Access for Instructors, Co-Instructors and Other Instructional Staff

Faculty and other instructional staff associated with a class in SPIRE receive unlimited access to Moodle's design and teaching tools. This includes Primary Instructors and Section Assistants. For more, see Access to Moodle for Co-Instructors and Other Instructional Staff.

Note: Only Primary Instructors can request a Moodle course for a class.


Course Access by Special Request

Designer Access for Non-instructional Assistants

Instructors can make arrangements to allow Course Designer access for colleagues, staff, or student assistants who are not enrolled in SPIRE but will be helping to build the course. This role does not grant access to the gradebook. To arrange for Course Designer access, the Primary Instructor must complete the Course Designer Access form.

Contributor Access

Instructors can make arrangements for qualified individuals who have a NetID to participate in their course using the Contributor role. This access is intended for visiting scholars, on-campus guest speakers, student assistants who are not registered in SPIRE, students repeating the online component of a course, or students participating in the course as part of an Independent Study. To request Contributor access, the Primary Instructor for the course must complete the Contributor Access form.

Temporary Speaker Access

Instructors can request Temporary Speaker access for guest speakers who do not have an active UMass Amherst IT Account. Temporary access is granted for a maximum of one (1) week and enables a guest to participate in online discussions or chats. To request Temporary Speaker access, the Primary Instructor for the course must complete the Temporary Speaker Access form.


Course Access Managed by Instructor

Guest Access

Instructors can enable limited Guest Access to their own courses. Guests have read-only privileges and cannot interact with students or view student contributions to a course. For more, see Guest Access to Moodle Courses.

Assign Roles to Enrolled Individuals in Your Moodle Course

Instructors can add certain abilities for a user already enrolled in their course. For more, see Assign Roles to Individuals in Your Moodle Course.