Guest Access Policy for Moodle Course Websites

Guest Access grants view-only access to Moodle sites. Sites with Guest Access turned on can be completely open to the public, or secured with a password. Guests can see all the resources and activities in a Moodle site, but cannot post, participate in activities, or contact other students. There are serious legal concerns to consider when turning on Guest Access, so please review the guidelines below.

Faculty can request Guest Access for a Moodle site by completing this form. The IT Department will perform the checks specified below and will turn Guest Access on if circumstances permit.

Guidelines for Granting Guest Access

Protecting Student Privacy

It is the college’s and faculty member’s responsibility to ensure that the privacy of our students is protected in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

  • Students in the course will be notified and given 72 hours notice before Guest Access is turned on. We will honor any requests to leave the site private.
  • A permanent notice will be posted on the Moodle site indicating that guest access is in effect. Again, we will honor any requests from students who wish for the site to remain private.
  • If any students in the course have privacy holds on their accounts, Guest Access will not be turned on, or will be revoked if it is already in place.
  • Keep in mind that Guests will be able to see student names and photos when viewing certain activities such as Forums.

Protecting Copyrighted Materials

  • Distribution of copyrighted course material must be limited to course participants only.
  • Guest Access to the general public will not be granted for sites that contain links to copyrighted material.
  • Guest Access with a password may be granted upon request in this case. However, instructors should still limit the guests who have access to their course.

Guest Accounts

Guests can also be given their own log-in accounts to access Moodle sites when appropriate. This gives them student-type access. Five College community members can use their existing accounts, and Guest Accounts can be requested for individuals outside the Five Colleges. IT will still take steps to notifying students about guest access being in place, as noted in “Protecting Student Privacy”, above. To request a guest account, please enter an IT Ticket on theHub (use the "Datatel" ticket type) noting the individuals name, email address, and course they need access to. 

Last modified: Sunday, July 30, 2023, 10:37 AM