Restricting Access with Affiliations - Genius CE & Enterprise

Member vs Manager of an Affiliation

In the context of Genius CE and Enterprise, affiliations refer to the various organizational units or groups that comprise learners. Within these affiliations, there are designated roles, primarily that of the Manager, who acts as the administrator of the affiliation. The Manager can filter their view specifically to the affiliation they oversee. A user can hold one of the following roles:

• a Member of an affiliation, or
• a Manager of an affiliation, or
• Both a Member of an affiliation and a Manager of an affiliation simultaneously.

To illustrate these roles, let’s consider a hypothetical organization outlined below:

Manager (Affiliation Role): In the example provided, a manager assigned solely to the HR affiliation possesses the authority to oversee all operations and individuals associated with that specific HR affiliation. However, this HR affiliation manager does not have visibility into the Payroll or IT affiliations, nor can they access any affiliations that are hierarchically superior to HR, such as Operations or Production/Sales. Conversely, a manager of the Operations affiliation can view everything within Operations and all subordinate affiliations, including HR, Payroll, and IT.

Member (Learner): Referring back to the example, a member of the HR affiliation can access training offerings that are specifically available to HR members. In addition, they can explore all other training opportunities, which include searching the course catalog for available courses and viewing assigned training or courses that align with their affiliation.

A Manager and a Member of Affiliations: In the example above, a user can be a member of the Operations affiliation while simultaneously holding the position of manager for the IT affiliation.

By default, backend users—those who are not learners—have access to all affiliations. Backend users include anyone who can manage Genius features, such as administrators, managers, and individuals with custom roles.

Where can you find affiliation information about an account?

• When searching for a learner, you can utilize the global search feature located in the top right corner. After selecting the learner, you will be able to view their affiliation assignments. It's important to note that a learner can only be a member of one or more affiliations; however, an admin can add learners to multiple affiliations. Any changes or reassignments related to affiliations can be managed through the Learners section by navigating to Learner Information and selecting 'Edit'.
• When searching for either a learner or a user, navigate to the Administration tab and select the "Find Users" option. You can apply filters to refine your search and obtain data regarding each user’s affiliation details, including both member and manager information for their respective affiliations.

How to Restrict Access to Specific Affiliation(s)?

A super-admin should typically handle the assignment of affiliations, although it can also be permitted for other roles. A super-admin account has comprehensive access to all affiliations and is responsible for managing users, roles, and permissions. There are two primary methods to restrict access:

From the Admin Level Access:

1. To initiate the process of assigning users to specific affiliations, log in to the system as an administrator.
2. Navigate to the Administration section and select Find Users. This menu displays all accounts created within the system.
3. Search for the users you wish to configure. The filters located at the top of the screen will help narrow down your search results.
4. Ensure that the selected user has the appropriate level of permissions assigned (a role).
   • If the user is assigned solely the learner role, backend restricted access will not be effective. Learners only have access to the learner dashboard and no additional functionalities.
   • To enable the necessary access, assign an appropriate role to the selected account. In most instances, the default AFFILIATION (Manager) role will suffice for extended tasks. However, if the default permissions associated with that role do not meet the required access levels, an admin can create and assign a custom role. Examples of such roles may include Training Officer, Reporting Unit, Accounting, etc. Each specific role will maintain a consistent set of permissions across all affiliations.
   • Locate the Manager of the affiliation menu and select the affiliations that the account should manage. After making your selections, be sure to save your changes.

To review all managed affiliation assignments, follow the steps outlined below:

1. Navigate to the Administration section and select [Association] Manager of Affiliation. This screen will display all current affiliation assignments. Despite the term 'manager', this pertains to every role that can manage specific backend information related to an affiliation. The assigned role ultimately defines the actual permissions granted.
2. To add more affiliations, look for the link labeled “Add New Manager” at the top of the screen under filters. This will prompt a pop-up screen that includes a drop-down menu of all available users and affiliations.
3. Once you have made your selections, save the changes. Note that only one affiliation can be assigned per record from this view. To assign additional affiliations to the same account, you will need to repeat the process of adding a new record.

If you need to remove all affiliation assignments and restore access to all affiliations, follow these steps:

1. Locate all records associated with the specified account.
2. Click on the ‘Edit’ icon next to each record.
3. Select the ‘Delete’ button to completely remove access/restriction, or choose another affiliation if you are reassigning.

Important: The menus available on the backend (non-learner) side are governed by role access and permissions. For more information on access levels, please refer to this link.

Note: Assigning a role via Admin access does not automatically create the association for the user in Genius 2.1. In some older or customized versions of Genius, this association may be established automatically.

From the Affiliation Level Access:

Any backend role that has access to one or more affiliations is empowered to add a new affiliation manager, provided that this permission is enabled for their role.

1. Navigate to the Affiliation menu and select the desired affiliation from the list.
2. In the affiliation information menu, locate the ‘Add Manager’ option.
3. Complete the form for the new user. This action will create a new user account within the system. If the account already exists, the addition of the manager must be performed by an admin or an authorized account that has access to all users.
4. Once the changes have been successfully saved, the new manager will receive an email containing their login information and will automatically be assigned to the affiliation under which the account was created. Additional affiliation accesses can be added by an authorized user (admin) at a later time.

Can Managers Be Assigned to the Affiliation in Bulk?

At present, there is no functionality available to assign the AFFILIATION (Manager) role or any other custom role to multiple users in bulk. Additionally, there is no option to apply bulk restrictions simultaneously.

However, an admin can prepare a CSV file formatted according to specific requirements, which includes all role and affiliation assignments, and submit it to the support or account representative. This file can then be processed on the backend. The required file format typically includes:

• An identifier for the account (such as username, email, or another unique ID),
• An identifier for the affiliation (which could be the name, affiliation index, or another unique ID), and
• The role (exact role name).

If accounts need to be created from scratch, additional user profile data may be required.