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Differences Between Main Admin, Admin, and Teacher Accounts
Differences Between Main Admin, Admin, and Teacher Accounts

Compare the functionality of a main admin, admin, and teacher account.

Monica Burke avatar
Written by Monica Burke
Updated this week

This article outlines the differences between Main Admin, Admin, and Teacher accounts. Below is an outline of which modules are available in which accounts.

Main Admin

Admin

Teacher

Dashboard

✔️

✔️

District

✔️

✔️

Home

✔️

Classes

✔️

✔️

✔️

Lessons

✔️

✔️

✔️

Bookshelf

✔️

✔️

✔️

Assessments

✔️

✔️

✔️

Gradebook

✔️

✔️

✔️

Plans*

✔️

✔️

✔️

Reports

✔️

✔️

Control Center

✔️

Help

✔️

✔️

✔️

*Note: Plans is available to participating districts. Contact your Otus Client Experience Partner if you are interested in adding Plans to your district!


Main Admin Accounts

The Main Admin account includes administrative capabilities that are not accessible from any other account type, while still having access to the same features as a teacher and admin account.

General Information:

  • Each district has one Main Admin account. This is the account that controls district-wide account settings.

  • The Main Admin account has a module called Control Center, which is not available in any other account type.

  • The credentials to this account should only be shared with those who require access to Control Center (building level principals, curriculum superintendents, etc..). We recommend that these credentials are dispersed with caution, as changes to some settings in Control Center will impact many, if not all district users.

  • The Main Admin account is set up during Onboarding with your Otus Client Experience Partner.

Specific administrative capabilities for the Main Admin Account available in the Control Center include:

  • Downloading exports

  • Creating and editing grading scales

  • Use of mastery settings

  • Choosing available standards

  • Creating admin users

  • Managing admin permissions

  • Creating custom standards

  • Bulk uploading family information

  • Bulk uploading profile pictures

  • Use of academic sessions and grading periods

  • Turning on integrations such as Turnitin


Admin Accounts

Admin accounts have the same capabilities as teacher accounts but also have additional administrative capabilities.

General Information:

  • Any teacher account can be given admin permissions, which would officially designate them as an Admin (their account will switch from a teacher account to an Admin account). This is done through the Main Admin account.

  • Admins are given site (school) specific permissions.

  • Admins will only have access to the students, teachers, and classes rostered with the sites they have permission for. These permissions can be changed within the Main Admin account.

  • Admins can give recognitions*, assign groups**, assign/unassign lessons, assign/unassign/grade assessments, create plan templates, share bookshelf resources, and post on a blog within any class in the sites they have permissions for. Admins have access to all teachers' classes (including assigned assessments, assigned lessons, gradebooks, and student lists) that are rostered in the sites they have permissions for.

  • Admins do not have a Home Module with a notification feed, but rather a Dashboard Module. See below.

* Admins can assign both district and teacher-created recognitions.

** Admins can only assign district-created student groups. While an admin can see teacher-created groups if they look at a specific class or student, they are not able to assign teacher-created student groups.

The administrative capabilities of an admin account are:

  • Dashboard - View data for the sites the admin has permissions for, including user logins and assessment and standards activity.

  • District Module - Admins can access the sites they have permissions for, which includes the students and teachers in those sites. They can also view and manage district student groups, district teacher groups, and district recognitions.

  • Analytics - Admins can run 3rd party, attendance, recognitions, assessment, and standards analytics reports for any student/class rostered in the sites they have permissions for.

  • Reports - there is a Reports tab in the Analytics menu in admin accounts. Admins have the ability to run queries, historical reports, and report cards for any classes/students that are rostered in the sites they have permissions for.


Teacher Accounts

  • View the notification feed in their Home Module.

  • Manage students in their classes.

  • Create and assign lessons.

  • Utilize the bookshelf to organize and share resources.

  • Create, assign, and grade assessments.

  • Use the gradebook to view and manage grades and standards performance for classes.

  • Use the plans module to monitor student progress on various plans created by the district.

  • Utilize the blog to communicate with the students in each class.

  • Use the analytics module to run various reports: 3rd party data, attendance, recognitions, assessments, and standards.

  • Visit the Help Center to search through our Knowledge Base.

What is unique to a teacher account?

  • Home Module - a teacher account has the notification feed on the home page. Admin and main admin accounts have a Dashboard Module instead.


FAQ and Troubleshooting

Click to see FAQ and troubleshooting Details

Can a user have a teacher account and an admin account?

Since only one account type can be assigned to a user, a single account can't be both a teacher and an admin. Visit this article to learn more information on how teachers can also use admin accounts.

Can admins be added as co-teachers to classes?

The only account type that can be added as a co-teacher is the teacher account. Because admin users have a different account type, they can't be added as co-teachers.

Can admins assign teachers to district-created teacher groups?

Yes. Admin accounts have the ability to assign a teacher to a district-created group (as long as that teacher is rostered in one of the sites they have permission for).

Can admins change their own permissions?

No - admin permissions must be changed in the Control Center of the Main Admin account.

Is the Main Admin account the only way to give a teacher admin permissions?

No - if you use our chat feature, any Otus Client Success Specialist you speak with can change admin permissions. Your Otus Technology Coach can also adjust these for you.

Can teachers run report cards?

Currently, report cards can only be generated from an Admin or Main Admin account.


Related Resources

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