About Permissions

Permission groups control what information (screens and data fields) and functions a user may access. Users may only be assigned to one permission group. Institutions may create as many permission groups as fit their needs though the more permission groups the more labor-intensive upkeep required. Campus Café delivers a set of permission groups based on functional role, such as admissions and registrar. These groups are model examples and will likely need to be adjusted based on the institution’s specific business processes. Campus Café recommends copying these groups to preserve the delivered groups as examples.

When new features in Campus Café are launched, new permissions are often added. However, these are typically not turned on in permission roles by default to allow institutions to evaluate whether they wish to implement the feature and provide any necessary training.  

Permission to activities can be controlled by setting permission group access to activity tracking templates.

Webinar Recording

Create Permission Group

1. Navigate to Admin > Permission Maintenance
2. Click Add Group; the below screen appears
   
3. In the Group Name box enter a short name (e.g. IASFACULTY)
4. In the Description, enter a description
5. In the Default Semester, optionally enter the default semester to show in drop downs such as course registration.
6. In the Default Dashboard, optionally enter the default dashboard to show upon log in to the system. If no dashboard is chosen, the value in Entry_Page in Adjustable Text Maintenance will be shown. (Please note the Student dashboard is under development and should not be selected.)
    NOTE: For the default dashboard to take effect, the Refresh Data Cache must be run. This automatically runs each night but may be run manually by navigating to Admin > Refresh Data Cache > reload data
7. In the Default Texting Member:Template select an activity tracking template that will be used to send a text message if no other activity tracking template is chosen. Texting requires a third-party contract with MessageMedia.
8. Click Save

Copy Permission Group

Copying a permission group will duplicate all access of the original group. This is helpful if creating a group from a delivered group or creating a tweaked version of an existing group.

1. Navigate to Admin > Permission Maintenance
2. In the Copy from Group choose the group to model the new group on
3. In the Copy to Group box enter the new group’s name
4. In the New Group Description box enter the new group’s description
5. Click Copy Group

Assign Permissions to Permission Group

Campus Café is divided into smaller parts (modules) to minimize the number of restrictions that must be inserted into a permission group. These modules can be thought of as roles within the permission group. By assigning modules to a group, it is possible to “permit” a module implicitly. The user is then only able to access the objects in that module. The security administrator may then remove or restrict the user from functions within the module as necessary.

Modules include broad areas such as admissions, registration, alumni, faculty and student. The global module provides access to features common across the system (e.g. the ability to change their own password) while the my info module provides access to information unique to the individual (e.g. their own transcript).

Master List of Permissions

Before assigning permissions to a role, familiarize yourself with the permissions available.

1. Navigate to Admin > Permission Maintenance
2. Click View All Permissions
3. A list of permissions appears along with their associated module. You can optionally use the search box to locate a specific permission or export the list to Excel by clicking the Excel button

Assign Permission to Group

Permissions provide or prevent the specific access desired. Note that many permissions are interrelated. For example, providing access to the profile page is one permission but providing the ability to see the birthday is another.

Permissions are generally provided when the module is granted to the group unless specifically removed or restricted to read only.

1. Navigate to Admin > Permission Maintenance
2. In the first column, click the permission group to assign a permission
3. In the second column, click the module to assign
4. Click Add
   
5. With the module still selected, click Edit Group Permissions
6. In general, if a permission is in the box on the left the user has access to the information (screen) or function. To prevent access to a screen or function, check the box next to the permission and click Add Read Only (RO) or Click Add No Access (NA). In the below example, the user will not see the FERPA informational screen upon login.
   
7. In general, permissions take affect immediately although the user will be required to log out and log in to see changes.

Edit Permission Group

1. Navigate to Admin > Permission Maintenance
2. In the first column, click the permission group to edit
3. In the second column, click the module to edit
4. In the third column, click Edit Group Permissions
   
5. In general, if a permission is in the box on the left the user has access to the information (screen) or function. To prevent access to a screen or function, check the box next to the permission and click Add Read Only (RO) or Click Add No Access (NA). To allow access to the screen, select the permission in the second column and click Remove.
   
   

No access to FERPA screen

Access to FERPA screen
 Note the permission is no longer in the second column.

Delete Permission Group

Deleting a permission group will completely remove it from the system. Before being deleted, all users assigned to the permission group must be assigned to other groups.

1. Navigate to Admin > Permission Maintenance
2. In the first column, click the permission group to delete
3. Click Delete Group
4. Click OK to confirm deletion

Permissions Reports

Campus Café provides a search screen and delivered base reports to view users and permissions. The search screen is best for identifying users in a specific group or small cohorts of users. The base reports offer more detail.

User Search

1. Navigate to Admin > User Search
2. Search by any combination of last name, first name or permission group
3. Maximum results supported is 9,999
4. Click Submit
   To edit a user's permission group or username, click the magnifying glass to the left of the user

Base Reports

1. Navigate to Faculty/Staff > Base Reports or SSRS Reports depending on your version of Campus Café
2. Enter your report credentials. These are unique from your username and password.
3. Click OK
4. Click the System folder
   • The Permissions Listing by Group and Module shows all permissions assigned to the selected permission group(s).
   • The SYUSER by Permission Group report shows all users created within the specified date organized by permission group.

Tracking Permissions

Tracking permissions provide access to workflow template members (activities) and allow users to select the activity from activity tracking buttons and view activities.

Add Tracking Permission

1. Navigate to Admin > Tracking Perms
2. Click New Tracking Perm
3. In the Group Id box enter the permission group name
4. In the Member drop down, select the member
5. Optionally check Read Only to provide the group access only to view the members
   (Selecting read only will make all activities within the member read only)
6. Optionally choose a specific template to exclude
7. Click Create
8. Repeat the process for other members the group will need access

The below example will provide the permission group IASFACULTY with access to the academic alert member and associated workflows.

Edit Tracking Permission

1. Navigate to Admin > Tracking Perms
2. Check the box next to the entry to edit
3. At the top of the page, click Edit Selected
4. Make any adjustments
5. Click Update

Delete Tracking Permission

1. Navigate to Admin > Tracking Perms
2. Check the box next to the entry to delete
3. At the top of the page, click Delete Selected