Creating and Modifying Categories and Groups

Relevant to: faculty and staff

This article contains information considered accurate at the time of publishing. Technology updates, changes in University security practices, policies and procedures may effect the information in this article - updates to articles are scheduled on a periodic basis and will address any required changes.

Introduction

To organize and manage related groups, use categories. For example, you can have a category for Assignment 1, Assignment 2, Seminars, Remedial Help, and Book Reviews.

Before you create a new set of groups, you must set up a category and create restricted work areas for the groups.

For classes requiring semester-long journals with one-on-one discussion between student and instructor, the recommended group enrollment type is "Single-User, Member-Specific," as this will automatically create a private group for every student, including students who are added into the course after the semester begins.

Create a Category

To view a video of the content in this section, use this link.

  1. From the course homepage, click on Tools in the navbar and select Groups.
  2. On the Manage Groups page, click the New Category button.
  3. Enter a Category Name and Description.
  4. Select an Enrollment Type from the drop-down list.
    • See the section below about the different Enrollment Types.
  5. Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, enter the Number of Groups to create, the Number of Users per group, or both.
  6. To apply a distinctive prefix to each group name and code in the category, enter it in the Group Prefix field. If you do not fill in this field, the prefix defaults to "Group".
  7. Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, to automatically enroll students in groups, select Auto-enroll new users.
  8. Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, to randomly place students in groups, select Randomize users in groups. If you do not choose this option, students are placed alphabetically based on the class list.
  9. Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, to make the description of the groups visible to learners from within their groups, select Make category and group descriptions visible to group members.
  10. If you select an Enrollment Type that supports self-enrollment, to set enrollment availability times, select the Set Self Enrollment Start Date and/or Set Self Enrollment Expiry Date check boxes and select dates from the mini calendar field.
  11. If you select Set Self Enrollment Expiry Date, but you want all learners who do not enroll before the expiry date to be enrolled, you can select Allocate unenrolled users after Self Enrollment Expiry Date to automatically, randomly, and evenly distribute them into the available groups. This option adds group members beyond the capacity of groups, if applicable. The automatic enrollment recurs at a set interval after the expiry date to ensure that all learners are assigned to a group. Note: Enable the options in the Create Workspace area only after you've customized your group names. The Discussions areas are then created with the customized group names right away, and you do not have to edit their names manually later.
  12. Click Save.
  13. To customize individual group names, click the group and enter a new group name.
  14. Click Save.
  15. To set up discussion areas, locker areas, and assignments with the customized group name, click on the View Categories drop-down list and select the category you want. The page will refresh to show information about that category.
  16. Click on the chevron next to the category name and select Edit Category.
  17. In the Create Workspace area, select Set up discussion areas, Set up lockers, and/or Set up assignments.
  18. If you select Set up discussion areas, you will see a Forum drop-down menu. Select the forum in which you want to create restricted topics, or create a new one.
  19. Click Save.
  20. On the Create Restricted Topics page, do one of the following:
    • If you want instructors to manage each topic individually, select the Create one topic per group radio button. Learners can only see topics assigned to their group.
    • If you want to enable instructors to manage all activities and assessments from one topic, select the Create one topic with threads separated by group radio button. Learners can only see threads from their own group. Give the topic a title and description.
  21. Click Create and Next.
  22. Click Done.

Note: Assignments can be created on the New Category page by selecting the Set up assignments check box, and choosing a submission type. When the new category is saved, you are taken to the Create Assignments page to complete the assignment creation process.

Enrollment Types

There are several different methods to enroll students into groups. The enrollment methods differ in how students are enrolled (automatic upon student enrollment and enrollments by the instructor).

The Enrollment Types are essentially options for how many groups you will be creating, how many students per group, and how they will be enrolled into the group or groups. There is different required information requested depending on the Enrollment Type selected. There are seven Enrollment Types:

  1. # of Groups - no auto enrollments: Select this type when there are specific, predefined number of groups you need to create for the category. The instructor determines how many learners/students to enroll per group and which students are in each group.
  2. Groups of #: Select this type when you want to specify number of learners per group (for minimum number of groups). With this type, you also have the option to "Auto-enroll new students" (under "Group Options"). For example, if you would like three students per group, new groups will be added to accommodate newly enrolled students so there are never more than three students per group.
  3. # of Groups: Select this type when there are specific, predefined number of groups you need to create for the category and to randomize the enrollment of learners into the groups. Brightspace will automatically and randomly enroll students into the groups.
  4. Groups of # - Self-Enrollment: Select this type when you want a specific, predefined number of students per group and want students to select their group. This type is helpful when you have an activity in which you have separate groups for each topic and want a limited number of students per group.
  5. # of Groups - Self-Enrollment: Select this type when you want a specific, predefined number of groups and want students to select their group. This type is helpful when you have an activity in which students can select a group based on their chosen topic.
  6. # of Groups, Capacity of # - Self-Enrollment: Select this type when you want students to select their group and want a specific, predefined number of groups and students per group.
  7. Single User – Member Specific: Select this type if you want to provide a private space for each student. A group is automatically created for each new learner when they are enrolled in the course. This is the recommended setting for courses with semester-long student "journals" that will require regular one-on-one discussion with the instructor.

Create a Group

To view a video of the content in this section, use this link.

  1. From the course homepage, click on Tools in the navbar and select Groups.
  2. On the Manage Groups page, from the View Categories drop-down list, select the category you want to add a group to.
  3. Click on the chevron next to the category name and click Add Group.
  4. If you do not want to use the default name provided, enter a group name.
  5. If you do not want to use the default group code provided, enter a group code.
  6. Enter a description for the group.
  7. Click Save.

After clicking Save, the Groups tool displays the category and provides you with a prompt that your group, or groups, are being created in the background and that you will be notified once the group, or groups, are created. This notification appears as an update alert in the minibar that indicates that the group, or groups, have been created.

Modify a Category

To view a video of the content in this section, use this link.

  1. From the course homepage, click on Tools in the navbar and select Groups.
  2. On the Manage Groups page, from the View Categories drop-down list, select the category that you want to modify. The page will refresh to show information about that category.
  3. Click on the chevron next to the category name and select Edit Category.
    Note: Once a category is created, you cannot change the Enrollment Type, Number of Users, or Restrict Enrollments to fields.
  4. Make the needed changes and click Save.

Modify a Group

To view a video of the content in this section, use this link.

  1. From the course homepage, click on Tools in the navbar and select Groups.
  2. On the Manage Groups page, from the View Categories drop-down list, select the category that the group you want to change belongs to. The page will refresh to show information about that category.
  3. Click on the group name. You can edit the Group Name, Group Code and Description.
  4. Click Save.
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