myUMBC Fall 2011 Update for Group Admins

This past Friday (July 29), we pushed out an update to myUMBC that made some changes to how users can interact with and how admins will manage Groups in myUMBC.  Please take a few minutes to review the changes to make sure you’re getting the most out of your group.

The Short Version

The Long Version

• Editor Role Removed
  We have removed the editor role in light of the changes listed below.  All existing editors have been converted to members.  If someone needs the ability to edit all content within your group, they will need to be promoted to an admin.

• Spotlights
  The Spotlights tab is now for admins only.  Any spotlights posted will appear on the Home tab.  The Home tab is now always turned on.

• New Access Setting
  The “Membership” and “Public” settings of groups have been rolled into a single setting called “Access” that better fits the way people were using groups and how we plan to evolve group tools in the future.  You can choose one of three access levels:

• Open - for wide open groups that want to encourage as much participation as possible.  Group content is visible to anyone (logged in or not), and anyone logged in can join the group to post content and leave comments.  Group admins can still restrict which tools are enabled and allow members to post.

• Closed - for groups where a relatively-small group of people are responsible for the distribution of content to the broader community.  Group content is visible to anyone (logged in or not), but members can only join if invited by a group admin.  Closed groups also allow non-members to “follow” them.  See the following section below for more information.

• Private - for groups that want to collaborate only amongst themselves.  Only members can see group content and must be invited by an admin.

• Following Groups
  Closed groups now allow non-members to “follow” them.  When following a group, a person will receive the same notification emails whenever new content is posted, just like if they were a member.  Followers are not members though and will not see any content you have restricted to members only and cannot leave comments or post new content within the group.
  
• Followers of a group are considered “public”, just like the members of an Open group and listed at the bottom the Members tab.

• If your group has set the Members tab for members only, the Members tab will still appear for non-members, but only Followers will be shown.

• On the Members tab, each follower has a Promote button which will allow an admin to convert the follower into a full member.

• Similarly, each member of a closed group can be demoted into a follower.

• Rethink Your Group Member Strategy
  With the ability to follow groups, we recommend that existing groups review how they want to use their group as a communication tool moving forward.  If you only want a select number of people to be able to post and leave comments, close your group and encourage others to follow your group.  If you prefer anyone and everyone to leave comments (and potentially post new content), open your group and encourage others to join your group.

• Tools & Access Settings
  We redesigned these settings to make them more straightforward and to make settings more consistent across groups.

• You can no longer rename tabs.

• The Home tab is always enabled, visible by anyone and cannot be moved.

• If a tool is enabled, it will show on the group’s Home tab.
• The two drop downs used to grant read and write access have been replaced with two checkboxes:
• Anyone can read? - If checked, members and non-members can read the content of this tab.  If unchecked, only members can read the content.
• Members can post? - If checked, members are allowed to post new content.  If unchecked, only Admins can post.

• The Members tab is always enabled and cannot be moved.  If your group is Open, anyone can see the members.  If your group is Closed, you can choose if anyone can see the members, but followers are always shown.

• If your group is Private, only members can see tabs.

• Group Tagline
  Groups can now set a tagline that will appear in the Group Directory.

• Group Directory
  myUMBC now has a vastly improved Group Directory to make it easier for people to find groups they’re interested in joining or following.

• You must enable the Directory? option on the Settings tab of your group to be listed.

• Only Open and Closed groups can be listed in the directory.

• If you choose to be listed, you can choose up to two categories to be listed under.  If you do not choose a category, you will be listed as Uncategorized.

• The “search” feature of the Group Directory searches your group’s name, tagline and description.

• Group Kinds
  myUMBC now classifies groups as one of three kinds.  By separating the kinds of groups, we will be able to add custom functionality for different kinds of groups.
• Interest Group - A general purpose group.

• Institutional Group - A group managed by a department or for university-sponsored content.

• Student Organization - A group managed by an official student organization.
• We converted all existing groups to the appropriate kind based on the information we had available to us.  If you kind is incorrect, please let us know.

• Advanced Membership Options (Institutional Groups Only)
  Institutional groups have the ability to automatically add members based on specific criteria or through CSV import. Members added using these options will not be able to leave the group, but will still be able to disable notifications from the group. This will provide a compelling option for organizations with a large, yet clearly defined, set of individuals that they want to communicate with.

• This functionality is disabled by default and can only be enabled by myUMBC admins.
  
• Enabling these options requires a consultation with myUMBC to ensure they are used with the most effectiveness.

• If you are the admin of an institutional group and would like to use one of these import options, contact myumbc@umbc.edu.

• Group Subscriptions to External Content for Interest Groups
  Interest groups are still able to subscribe to external content feeds and have new content posted within their group, but are no longer able to have content pulled in from those feeds posted to the Community automatically.

• Retiring Groups
  If you no longer need your group, you now have the option to retire it from the Settings tab, under Retire.  Retiring your group is irreversible, so be careful.