Groups | Brightspace Group Category enrolment types

In the Groups in Brightspace, it is possible to select an enrolment type for your group category according to your course design and activities.

Once an Enrolment Type is chosen, it is fixed. Therefore, it is not possible to change it anymore. However, you can add new groups to a Group Category.

# of Groups – No Auto Enrolments

  • To create a specific number of groups (specified under Number of Groups)
  • You select which and how many learners you enrol in each group
  • Use this enrolment type when you know how many groups you will create and which learners you want in each group

Groups of #

  • To create the minimum number of groups needed to place students in groups of a specific size (specified under Number of Users) 
  • If you enable auto-enrolment for new students and all of the existing groups are at maximum capacity, then the new students are added to a new group
  • Use this enrolment type when you know how many students you want in each group
Advanced Properties

For this option, Advanced Properties offers the possibility to:

  • Auto-Enrol New Users: Brightspace assigns all students who enrol to a group (students are assigned to the smallest group, a student without a group doesn't exist)
  • Randomise users in Groups: students are assigned randomly to a group. If this option is disabled, students will be assigned to groups alphabetically

# of Groups

  • To create a specific number of groups (specified under Number of Groups)
  • If you enable auto-enrolment into groups, learners are added using a bricklaying algorithm
  • If you disable auto-enrolment into groups, the specified number of groups are created, but no learners are enroled
  • Use this enrolment type when you know how many groups you want to create, but want the system to place the learners in groups
Advanced Properties

For this option, Advanced Properties offers the possibility to:

  • Auto-Enrol New Users: Brightspace assigns all students who enrol to a group (students are assigned to the smallest group, there exists no student without a group)
  • Randomise users in Groups: students are assigned randomly to a group. If this option is disabled, students will be assigned to groups alphabetically

Groups of # - Self Enrolment

  • To automatically create the minimum number of groups needed to accommodate users in groups of a specified size (using Number of Users)
  • Learners can enrol in a group from the Groups page when a group is filled by the maximum number of the specified number, a new group is automatically created for new users to self-enrol
  • Use this enrolment type when you know how many users you want in each group, and you want to allow users to choose their own groups
Advanced Properties

For this option, Advanced Properties offers the possibility to:

  • Set an Expiry Date to the possibility to self enrol
  • Allocate unenrolled users: automatically assign students who did not enrol to a group when the deadline is expired (but group capacity will not be taken into account!)

# of Groups – Self Enrolment

  • To create a specified number of groups in which learners can enrol (using Number of Groups)
  • Learners choose the group they want to enrol in from the Groups page
  • Use this enrolment type when you want to make a specific number of groups available for learners to join
Advanced Properties

For this option, Advanced Properties offers the possibility to:

  • Set an Expiry Date to the possibility to self enrol
  • Allocate unenrolled users: automatically assign students who did not enrol to a group when the deadline is expired (but group capacity will not be taken into account!)

# of Groups, Capacity of # - Self Enrolment

  • To create a specified number of groups with a specified number of enrolments per group (using Number of Groups and Number of Users)
  • Learners choose the group they want to enrol from the Groups page
  • A start date can be set from which students can enrol themselves
  • Group capacity can be edited until the expiry date; lowering the limit will not remove groups that have exceeded capacity in the new limit!
  • A visible description for the group can be added
  • Use this enrolment type when you know:
    • Number of groups to create
    • Number of users you want in each group
    • Users will choose their own groups
Advanced Properties

For this option, Advanced Properties offers the possibility to:

  • Set an Expiry Date to the possibility to self enrol
  • Allocate unenrolled users: automatically assign students who did not enrol to a group when the deadline is expired (but group capacity will not be taken into account!)

Single user, member-specific groups

  • To create a group with a single user where the first name and last name of the user will be used automatically as the group name
  • When a new learner is enroled in the course, a group is automatically created for them
  • Use this enrolment type when you want to create a private journaling space for a single user

Advanced Properties:

When creating a new group category in Brightspace the section Advance Properties is always available with an option whether you want or do not want to Make category and group descriptions visible to group members.

Additionally depending on which type of group enrolment you select two more options become available for you to choose:

Auto-enrol new users

When new students are enroled in the course after groups are set up, selecting this option will automatically add new students to the group with the fewest members.

This option is available for:

Randomise users in Groups

Selecting this option enrols students in random order. Clearing this option enrols students based on their alphabetical order in the Classlist.

This option is available for:

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You now know about Group enrolment types in Brightspace!