Roles and their function in Moodle
A role is a collection of permissions that is assigned to course participants and define a user's ability to do something on any Moodle space.
Roles are assigned automatically to some participants on a Moodle space - students are enrolled from SITS with a Student role; module leaders will be assigned the Course Leader role. Additional users can be enrolled manually and assigned other roles via the Participants tab.
More information on roles is available at Moodle Docs.
In this guide:
Roles summary
Permissions in Moodle are complex and there are more individual differences between roles than can be covered in this guide. When allocating roles manually, we recommend using the role with the lowest level of permissions required to perform the tasks.
Roles can be assigned at the course (space) and course category (department) levels. They can also, in some circumstances, be assigned at an activity level.
| Role / Permission | Enrol users with role(s) below | Edit course settings, access logs | Add / Edit course content | Grade students | View grades | View course |
| Manager (category level) | ||||||
| Course Leader | ||||||
| Editing Teacher | ||||||
| Non-editing Teacher |
||||||
| Marker | ||||||
| Course and Gradebook Viewer | ||||||
| Course Browser | ||||||
| Student | Personal grades only |
Switching role
Manager, Course Leader and Editing Teacher roles see a different version of their Moodle spaces from students; for example, options to edit, move and add content are visible and the layout will be affected.
Use switch role to in order to check that what you have created works logically and as you expect for a student.
- Click on your name in the top right-hand corner. This will open a menu which gives access to your profile and preferences.
- Select Switch role to... at the bottom of the menu.
- Click on Student in the main area of the page.
- The Moodle space will now appear as a student would see it (with some slight caveats due to permissions and the disabling of scripts).
Be aware that switching role doesn't always give a completely accurate view of a use with that role. It will depend on your own role in the system and what you are trying to view.
Returning to normal role
- Click on your name in the top right-hand corner.
- Select Return to my normal role at the bottom of the menu.
You will need to turn editing back on once you return to your normal role.