Self-enrollment

Self-enrollment is the method whereby users can choose to enroll themselves into a course, either immediately by clicking “enroll me in this course” or by typing in an enrollment key they have been given. The enrollment plugin needs to be enabled by the site admin in Enrollment plugins and has to be enabled within the course. The manual enrollment plugin has to be enabled in the same course as well.

Enabling self-enrollment in a course

2. Open the “eye” icon next to the Self-enrollment method:

Adding an enrollment key to a course

If you wish only a certain group of users to self enroll (and not anyone) then you can set an enrollment key which you then tell them to use when they access the self-enrollment screen. See section 1 of enrollment key for how to do this.

Adding a group enrollment key to a course

If you wish your users to enroll themselves directly into a group in the course then you can set a group enrollment key which you then tell them to use when they access the self-enrollment screen. See section 2 of enrollment key for how to do this.

The following settings may be changed by clicking the edit (hand/pen) icon to the right of the self-enrollment option in course settings > User links> Enrollment methods:

Setting the enrollment period

Tick the “enable” box to the right of Enrollment period and then choose your dates.

Enrollment duration

Set the amount of time a user enrollment is valid, starting with the moment the user enrolls themselves. If disabled, the enrollment duration will be unlimited.

Notifying users when their enrollment expires

It is possible also for users and/or instructors to be notified when enrollments expire by selecting either “Enroller only” or “Enroller and enrolled user” from the dropdown “Notify before enrollment expires” and a time in “Notification threshold”.

Editing individual enrollment times

It is possible to edit the date and hour of an individual’s enrollment from Course settings>User links >Course participants. This then brings up a screen where the date and time can be modified.

Unenrolling users who haven’t been active on the course

Choose from the drop-down to the right of “Unenroll inactive after…”

Deciding the maximum number of users in your course

Type the maximum number of users you want in your course in “Max enrolled users”. When this limit is reached, nobody will be able to self-enroll. If you leave the number at 0 then there will be no maximum number.

Allowing only cohort members to self-enroll

If you have cohorts set up, then you can restrict self enrollment to particular cohorts by selecting the name of the cohort from the drop down box, A member of the cohort can self-enroll as normal; whereas a non-member gets a message telling them they are not able to self-enroll.

Sending a welcome message to new users

If enabled, users receive the following message via email when they self-enroll in a course:

Welcome to {Course name}
If you have not done so already, you should edit your profile page so that we can learn more about you: {link to profile page}

If you want to send a different message, simply type it in the custom welcome message text box.

The following placeholders may be included in the message:

Course name {$a->coursename}
Link to user's profile page {$a->profileurl}
User email {$a->email}
User fullname {$a->fullname}

The welcome message may be sent from the course contact, the Keyholder or from the default no-reply address. If the course contact is chosen, and there is more than one user with the role, then the welcome message is sent from the course contact with the surname that comes first in alphabetical order.

Note: An admin can customise the message for the whole site by editing the welcometocoursetext language string. See Language customisation for further details.

Admin settings

The self enrollment plugin may be enabled or disabled throughout the site in Settings > Plugins > Enrollments > Manage enroll plugins.

Shared settings for all courses

The page Settings > Plugins > Enrollments > Self enrollment. contains options for defaults that admin can set:

• Require an enrollment key – if this box is ticked then all courses with self-enrollment enabled will need to have an enrollment key. The setting won’t save until the instructor adds a key – something to be aware of as this can cause confusion:)
• Use password policy – tick this box if you want enrollment keys set by instructors to follow the password policy of the site.
• Show hint – tick this box if you are prepared to allow the first letter of a key to be given as a “hint”
• Enrollment expiration action – specifies what happens when user enrollments reach the expiration date. Please note that option “Unenroll user from course” purges grades, group memberships, preferences and other user related data from the courses.
• Hour to send enrollment expiry notifications – specify hour for sending expiration notifications.

Default enrollment settings in new courses

These can be set in Settings > Plugins > Enrollments > Self enrollment but instructors in individual courses can alter them to suit their needs:

• Add instance to new courses – if admin selects this, then any new course created will include the self enrollment plugin
• Enable self enrollments- if this is enabled then users by default can self enroll into a course.
• Use group enrollment keys – the setting for group enrollment keys in a course will be set to “yes” by default
• Default role assignment – normally, when users self enroll, they have the user role. If necessary that role can be changed by default here – for example – if your LMS has a dedicated role you wish to use instead.
• Enrollment duration – this sets the default enrollment length for new courses (but again, may be altered by the course instructor.)
• Notify before enrollment expires – specifies if the instructor or optionally users should be notified before the expiration.
• Notification threshold – specify how many days should be users notified before the enrollment expiration.
• Unenroll inactive after- this sets the default time after which a user will be unenrolled if they haven’t accessed the courses. (Instructors may change this)
• Max enrolled users – adding a number here will specify the maximum number of users who can self-enroll into new courses. Instructors in the course can change this. If it is left at 0, there will be no maximum.
• Send course welcome message- if this box is checked then newly enrolled users will receive a welcome message by default.

Self enrollment method options

One course may contain multiple self enrollment methods. User may be enrolled once in each instance only.

• Custom instance name – specify custom enrollment method name.
• Enable existing enrollments – if disabled all users enrolled via this plugin can not access the course.
• Allow new enrollments – disable if you do not want to allow users to self enroll in the future.
• Enrollment key – specify key required for enrollment.
• Use group enrollment keys – optionally use group keys for enrollment too.
• Default assigned role – specify role to be assigned to users during enrollment, this can be changed manually after enrollment.
• Enrollment duration – specify enrollment length, this can be manually after user enrollment.
• Notify before enrollment expires – specifies if the instructor or optionally users should be notified before the expiration.
• Notification threshold – specify how many days should be users notified before the enrollment expiration.
• Unenroll inactive after- specify time after which a user will be unenrolled if they haven’t accessed the courses.
• Max enrolled users – adding a number here will specify the maximum number of users who can self-enroll into this course.
• Only cohort members – optionally restrict this enrollment method to members of a specified cohort.
• Send course welcome message- if this box is checked then newly enrolled users will receive a welcome message by default.
• Custom welcome message – specify custom message if necessary.

Self enrollment capabilities

• Configure self enroll instances (enroll/self:config)
• Manage enrolled users
• Unenroll users from course
• Unenroll self from the course