The following descriptions explain the enrollment type options available when creating a new category and provide conceptual information on when you should use them.
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Note: Groups have a maximum enrollment of 200 users. If there are more than 200 users in a course, you can create new group categories; there is no limit on the number of group categories in a course. |
Enrollment type: # of Groups – No Auto Enrollments
Selecting this option creates a specified number of groups, for which you can add any number of users using the Enroll Users page.
Use this enrollment type when you know how many groups you want to create and which users you want in each group. Select this option when you have a teaching model that divides course participants into specific learning levels or when you want to divide users by skill or interests.
Enrollment Type: Groups of #
Selecting this option creates the minimum number of groups needed to place users in groups of a specified maximum size. More groups are created when they are needed to accommodate users. In the Members column of the Groups table, capacity markers display in the form x/y, where x is the number of enrolled students and y is the capacity.
Use this enrollment type when you know how many users you want in each group. Select this option when you have assignments that require work to be divided between a specific number of users, or when you can only accommodate a set number of users in a lab or work area at one time.
If users are enrolled before groups are set up and the Can be auto enrolled into groups option is enabled, users are added using a brick laying algorithm. For example, if a maximum group size of 5 users is chosen for a class of 23, then 5 groups are created. The first user is added to Group 1, the second to Group 2, and so on. The sixth user returns the enrollment sequence to Group 1. Groups 1, 2 and 3 have 5 users and Groups 4 and 5 have 4 users. If a new user enrolls later, they are put in Group 4.
If you also enable the Auto-enroll new users option and all of the existing groups reach their maximum size, new users are added to a new group. Because there is no way to know how many new users will join, all new users are added to the same group until it is full. This is called a bucket-filling algorithm because the limits of one group must be met before creating another group.
If users are enrolled after groups are set up, users are added to groups using a bucket-filling algorithm because there is no way for the system to determine how many groups in total are needed. For example, if a maximum group size of 5 users is chosen for a class in which 23 users eventually enroll, the first five users are added to Group 1, the sixth through tenth user to Group 2, and so on. After 23 users are enrolled, groups 1-4 have 5 users and Group 5 has 3 users.
If the Can be auto enrolled into groups option is cleared, the minimum number of groups needed to create groups under the specified size are created with no users enrolled in them. If no users are enrolled in the course, one group is created. You can enroll users using the Enroll Users page.
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Note: If a learner is unenrolled from a course, and new learners enroll in the course, and the original learner re-enrolls into the course, the group the original learner was in will exceed the maximum number of learners. This is done to ensure learners are able to maintain the work they contributed to previously. If you would like to maintain a strict number of learners per group, reorganization of groups after unenrollments and re-enrollments must be done manually. |
Enrollment type: # of Groups
Selecting this option creates a specified number of groups.
Use this enrollment type when you know how many groups you want to create, but want the system to place users in groups for you. Select this option when you want group membership to be indiscriminate, or when classroom, resource, or teaching assistant availability restricts the number of groups you can have.
If the Can be auto enrolled into groups option is enabled, users are added using a brick laying algorithm, regardless of whether they enrolled before or after the groups were created. For example, if a class has 23 users and 5 groups, the first user is added to Group 1, the second to Group 2, and so on. The sixth user returns the enrollment sequence to Group 1. Groups 1, 2, and 3 have 5 users and Groups 4 and 5 have 4 users. If a new user enrolls later, they are put in Group 4.
If the Can be auto enrolled into groups option is not enabled, the specified number of groups are created with no users enrolled in them. You can enroll users using the Enroll Users page.
Enrollment type: Groups of # – Self Enrollment
Selecting this option creates the minimum number of groups needed to accommodate users in groups of a specified maximum size automatically. Users choose the group they want to enroll in from the Groups page. In the Members column of the Groups grid list, capacity markers display in the form x/y, where x is the number of enrolled students and y is the capacity.
Use this enrollment type when you know how many users you want in each group, but you want to allow users to choose their own groups. By default, users cannot self-enroll in more than one group. Select this option when you want users to choose their groups based on friendship, learning style, schedules, or geographic location.
If there are no users enrolled in your course at the time of creation, then only one group is initially created. You can use the Edit Category page to add additional groups. Add additional groups if you want to ensure all users have options when forming groups.
Enrollment type: # of Groups – Self Enrollment
Selecting this option creates a specified number of groups, which users enroll in from the Groups page.
Use this enrollment type when you want to make a specific number of groups available for users to join. Select this option when you want to organize groups on specific topics, which users can join based on interest, or for creating groups that are responsible for specific aspects of a larger project, which users can join based on knowledge or task preferences. By default, users cannot self-enroll in more than one group at one time.
Enrollment Type: # of Groups, Capacity of # – Self Enrollment
Selecting this option creates a specified number of groups with a specified number of enrollments per group. Users choose the group they want to enroll in from the Groups page. In the Members column of the Groups table, capacity markers display in the form x/y, where x is the number of enrolled students and y is the capacity.
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Note: You can increase or decrease the capacity for self-enrollment groups after they have been created, and prior to the group sign-up expiry date and time. Decreasing a group size to an amount smaller than has already signed up for a group will not re-allocate users to other groups, so you must assign those users manually to other groups. However, increasing or decreasing the group size affects all groups in the category. You cannot change the size of only one group. |
Use this enrollment type when you know how many users you want in each group, you want to allow users to choose their own groups, and you want each group to have a maximum number of users. Select this option when you want users to choose their groups based on areas of interest or responsibility in larger projects, but you want to limit membership in each group to a certain number of users.
Enrollment Type: Single user, member-specific groups
Using this option creates a group with a single user where the first name and last name of the learner is the name of the group. When a new learner is enrolled in the course a group is automatically created for them.
Select this option when you want to create journal type groups with a single member.
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Note: This enrollment type must be enabled by your administrator using configuration variables. If you are not able to use this option, contact your administrator. |
Video: Overview of Group Enrollment Options
Best practices for group enrollment
To illustrate best practices for group enrollment, the following scenario includes a class of 185 users.
Your latest assignment requires users to use a software program that is only available in certain labs which must be booked and supervised. You book 4 labs that can hold 50 users each and create 4 corresponding groups.
You select the following group options:
- For the Enrollment Type, you select # of Groups and set the Number of Groups to 4.
- You leave both Auto-enroll new users and Randomize users in groups cleared because new users will not be joining your course and you are not worried about having an unbiased distribution of users, since group membership will not influence users’ grades.
- You select Set up discussion areas and create discussion forums where users can post and answer questions about the computer software.
- You leave Set up lockers and Set up assignments cleared because you do not want users collaborating on their projects and you already have your assignments organized.
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Note: On the Enroll Users page, if the option is configured, an Advanced Search Options link displays. Organizations can create their own custom search and enroll page using Brightspace APIs that opens in a new browser window via this link. Instructors can use this custom search and enroll page to filter students according to certain criteria, such as age or demographic data, to determine who to put into each group. |
In the following scenario, you have a class of 29 users.
Your latest assignment requires that users research a particular topic, write a report on it, and hold a seminar for the class. You know that you want users to work in groups of 5, but you want to give them some flexibility in choosing both who they work with and what topic they work on.
You select the following group options:
- For the Enrollment Type, you select Groups of # - Self Enrollment. You set the Number of Users per group to 5 and rename each of the 6 groups after the topic the group will work on.
- You select Set up discussion areas and create discussion topics for each of the groups. You associate the topics with a grade item and tell users that you expect them to communicate with each other on their progress and concerns in the discussions topic for their group. They receive individual grades based on their participation.
- You select Set up lockers and encourage users to save their collaborative work in their group Locker area.
- You select Set up assignments and create separate assignments for each group's Research Notes, Report, and Seminar Notes. You associate the assignments with grade items and assign the same grade to all members of the group.