Permissions allow users to access certain features of a course or project worksite, depending on their roles and on the decisions made by the site owner and the system administrator.
Roles are collections of permissions. Some roles allow the user to simply access or read content, while other roles allow for advanced changes, such as adding participants, editing the site's content, and changing permissions for other roles.
When you create a worksite or when one is created for you, you have the role with the most permissions and the broadest level of access. You can choose (within the limits established by the system administrator) which tools or functions (e.g., Forums, Schedule, Resources) you want the site to have. For many of these tools or functions, you can set permissions that allow or prevent users from seeing or performing certain tasks, depending on their roles.
For a summary of participant roles and how to find out what your role is, see Participant roles.
Roles may vary in name, depending on the application. However, in general, the creator of a project site, or the instructor of a course site, has full permissions and can add or delete content within a worksite.
Users who join an existing site have a more limited role. The permissions of this role allow for interaction in the site, such as creating Chat messages, but do not allow for advanced tasks, such as uploading files into Resources or creating assignments.
However, each implementation of the application will be different. System administrators can decide during implementation which roles to install, and which permissions these roles will have.
For help documentation about permissions and roles, see Permissions and roles.