Roles in Webcourses@UCF


Webcourses@UCF has several different user roles. If you need to add someone to an online course, start by answering the question: What do I need this person to do?

Not Sure Which Role Fits Your Needs?

If you are unsure which role will work best for your needs, please contact Webcourses@UCF Support.

Roles and their level of access in Webcourses

Student Perception of Instruction

Users with the Peoplesoft role of primary instructor (PI), secondary instructor (SI), or teaching assistant (TA) will be evaluated with a Student Perception of Instruction (SPI). Users with the Peoplesoft role of non-teaching TA (NoTchTA), undergraduate TA (UNGRADTA), undergraduate non-teach assistant (UNGRADNTA), and course manager (CM) will not be evaluated with a Student Perception of Instruction (SPI).

FERPA Training Requirements

Any user who needs to accesses student records in an online course must complete FERPA training. This includes the Teacher role, the Department role, and the Teaching Assistant role. FERPA training for the undergraduate non-teach assistant (UNGRADNTA) is encouraged.

Enroll in FERPA Training

  1. Sign on to myUCF using your NID and NID password
  2. Click on Employee Self Service.
  3. Select Learning and Development.
  4. Select Request Training Enrollment.
  5. Click on Search for Course Name, enter FERPA, and click the Search button.
  6. Click View Available Sessions.
  7. Click the Session number you wish to join, then click the Continue button.

Librarian Access

If you need to give a Librarian access to your course, then please email Webcourses@UCF Support at webcourses@ucf.edu from your ucf.edu email address with the person’s name, NID, role needed, and the course and section number.

Student Role

Students are automatically enrolled from PeopleSoft once they register for a course. Students are updated in Webcourses@UCF every few hours during add/drop, and overnight during the rest of the semester.

Observer Role

The Observer role can be used to enroll parents, mentors, and guests who would like to participate in a course but do not need to earn course credit. Observers have limited permissions that allow them to see what is going on in a course without interrupting the flow of daily course communication. Like students, Observers cannot view a course until it is published and the course has started.

The Observer Role is meant to be used to observe the actions of a particular student in a course section. When not assigned to an individual the Observer will appear on the people page as “Observing: nobody”. Observers who are not assigned to an individual in the course section may have issues following along in a class if the section uses perquisites to move from module to module.

Observers cannot interact with students unless an instructor sets the editing option on a Page to “anyone” then an advisor could edit the page just as a Teacher, TA, Designer, or Student in the course section could.

Please be aware that starting in the Fall 2018 semester and moving forward, the Observer Role is being used by Advisors to observe students in classes. To learn more about this initiative, please visit our Webcourses@UCF Observing Advisor FAQ for Faculty.

Enroll an Observer

Instructors have the ability to enroll observers in their courses.

  1. Click the People tab in the course navigation menu.
  2. Click the + People button at the top right of the page.
  3. Enter the users’ Email, NID (Login ID), or SIS ID (UCF ID/PID) and select Observers from the drop-down menu below it.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Once the NID is confirmed, click the Add Users button.

Designer Role

Designers can add course content and make changes but cannot interact with students or grades in any way. The Designer cannot edit grades, add/remove other users, publish a course, or access the faculty journal. Generally speaking, the Designer role is best suited for instructional designers or curriculum writers who write and manage course content.

Designer Enrollment

Contact your department scheduler to assign someone the Designer role through PeopleSoft using the Course Manager settings. If you do not know who your department scheduler is, please contact your department chair’s office.

Non-Grading Teaching Assistant Role

Non-Grading Teaching Assistants (NG-TAs) help manage content, discussions, and student groups, but do not have access to grading. NG-TAs are unauthorized to access student grades and can be limited to view a single section in a combined course.

NG-TA Enrollment

Contact your department scheduler to add individuals needing these roles to your course using PeopleSoft. If you do not know who your department scheduler is, please contact your department chair’s office.

Teaching Assistant Role

Teaching Assistants (TA) help manage content, discussions, student groups, and grades, but does not have the full access of a Teacher.

TA Enrollment

Contact your department scheduler to add individuals needing these roles to your course using PeopleSoft. If you do not know who your department scheduler is, please contact your department chair’s office.

TA Privileges

TA Restrictions

Teacher Role

Teachers have the highest level of access to a course. Teachers can add course content, make changes, and interact with students or grades with no limitations.

Teacher Enrollments

  • If this person is paid or compensated by your department or college, then your department scheduler can add them to your course using PeopleSoft. If you do not know who your department scheduler is, please contact your department chair’s office.
  • If this person is unpaid, a volunteer, or intern, please email Webcourses@UCF Support from your official UCF email address with the person’s name, NID, role, and the course and section number. It is the responsibility of the Instructor of Record and department to ensure that this person has completed FERPA training.