SEB Server: Institutions and Users

What this product is for

SEB Server is built to be shared. One server can host several institutions, each kept completely separate from the others. Within each institution, work is done by individual people with named accounts, each holding one or more roles that decide what they can see and change. Getting the institution and the user accounts right at the start saves a lot of confusion later.

Main features

• Multi-institution support, so departments or schools can share one SEB Server without seeing each other's data.
• An optional URL suffix per institution that lets each one have its own branded sign-in page.
• An optional logo upload per institution.
• Self-registration for new users, with the basic Exam Supporter role.
• Administrator-created user accounts for staff who need broader roles.
• Combinable roles, so one person can hold several roles at once.
• Activate and deactivate controls for both institutions and users.
• Per-user time zone, so dates and times display correctly for each person.

How to use it

Create a new institution

Only a SEB Server Administrator can create a new institution.

1. Sign in as a SEB Server Administrator.
2. Open the Institution section from the left-hand menu.
3. Choose Add Institution from the action pane on the right.
4. Enter a unique name. The name is mandatory and must not match any existing institution.
5. Optionally enter a URL suffix. This lets users reach your institution's sign-in page using a custom URL that shows your logo and theme.
6. Optionally upload a logo. PNG, JPG and JPEG are supported. The recommended size is around 300 pixels wide by 80 pixels high.
7. Use Save Institution to save without activating, or Activate Institution to save and activate in one step.

An inactive institution is hidden from everyone except its own Institutional Administrators and the SEB Server Administrators who can see all institutions.

Change the name or logo of an institution

An Institutional Administrator can edit the name and logo of their own institution. A SEB Server Administrator can edit any institution.

1. Sign in and open the Institution section.
2. Open the institution you want to change.
3. Choose Edit Institution from the action pane.
4. Update the name. To upload a new logo, click the upload icon next to the logo field, pick a file and choose Upload.
5. Save the changes.

Activate or deactivate an institution

An institution must be active before its users and configurations can be used. When you deactivate an institution, SEB Server also deactivates all user accounts, configurations and Moodle setups that belong to it. You will be warned and shown how many items are affected before the change goes through.

An Institutional Administrator cannot activate or deactivate their own institution; only a SEB Server Administrator can.

Register your own account

Anyone can register from the sign-in page.

1. Open the SEB Server URL.
2. Select Register on the sign-in page.
3. Fill in the form, including username, password and time zone.
4. Use Register to confirm.
5. Sign in with the new account to check it works.

The account will have the Exam Supporter role only. To prepare exams or manage other users, ask an Institutional Administrator to add the appropriate role.

Create an account for someone else

SEB Server Administrators and Institutional Administrators can create accounts for other people.

1. Sign in and open the User Account section.
2. Choose Add User Account from the action pane.
3. Fill in the first name, surname, username, email, time zone and password.
4. Select one or more roles in the User Roles field.
5. Save the account.
6. Pass the username and password to the new user securely, and ask them to change the password on first sign-in.

Edit an existing account

Administrators with user-account permissions can edit any account in their scope. Other users can only edit their own.

1. Open the User Account section.
2. Find the account using the filters above the list.
3. Double-click the row to open the account.
4. Choose Edit User Account, make the changes and save.

Change a password

1. Open the user account in view mode.
2. Choose Change Password from the action pane.
3. Enter the current password, then the new password twice.
4. Choose Save New Password.

If you are changing your own password, you will be signed out and asked to sign in again with the new one.

Activate or deactivate an account

Use the Activate User Account or Deactivate User Account action either from the user list or from the account view. A deactivated user cannot sign in.

Delete an account

Deletion removes the account permanently from the database. You will be shown a confirmation dialog that explains what else will be deleted along with the account.

1. Open the account and choose Delete User Account.
2. Choose what to include:
   • Only the user account.
   • The account and all its dependencies, including any exam configurations and exams the user owns.
   • The account and only the exam dependencies, keeping the exam configurations.
3. Optionally choose Show Report to preview exactly what will be deleted.
4. Confirm the deletion.

Common tasks

Promote a self-registered user to Exam Administrator. Sign in as an Institutional Administrator, open the user's account, choose Edit, add the Exam Administrator role and save.

Set up a colleague to support an exam on the day. Make sure they have an account with at least the Exam Supporter role active. They then need to be assigned to the specific exam by an Exam Administrator. See the article on setting up an exam for how to do that.

Lock out a leaver. Find the account and use Deactivate User Account. The account is preserved but cannot sign in. Use Delete only when you are sure the data is no longer needed.

Move someone to a new institution. Accounts can only belong to one institution at a time. Create a new account in the new institution and, if needed, transfer ownership of any exams or configurations by reassigning them to other users before deleting the old account.

Things to know

Roles can be combined. It is normal for one person to hold both the Exam Administrator and Exam Supporter roles, so they can prepare an exam and then support it on the day.

An account always belongs to exactly one institution. If your organisation has split into separate institutions on the same SEB Server, each member of staff needs an account in the institution they work for.

Date and time values are stored in UTC and shown in the time zone you set on your account. UK users should choose a UK time zone so that dates and times display correctly during British Summer Time and Greenwich Mean Time.

Deactivating an institution deactivates everything inside it, including users, exam configurations and Moodle setups. Reactivating the institution does not automatically reactivate every item, so use this action with care.

Deleting a user is final. The data is removed and cannot be recovered. If in doubt, deactivate the account instead.

Troubleshooting

A new colleague signed in but cannot see Exam Administration. They probably only have the default Exam Supporter role. Add the Exam Administrator role from the user account edit screen.

A user cannot sign in. Check that the account is active. Check that the institution it belongs to is also active. If the password has been forgotten, an administrator can change it from the user's account page.

I cannot find a user account that I know exists. Check the Status filter above the user list. By default the list may be hiding inactive accounts. Setting Status to All will show every account.

Frequently asked questions

Can students self-register?
Students do not need SEB Server accounts. They sign into Moodle as usual. Only staff who administer or support exams need SEB Server accounts.

Can I use my work email to sign in?
You sign in with the username chosen when the account was created. The email field is held only for information and is not currently used by SEB Server.

What happens if I forget my password?
SEB Server does not send password reset emails. An administrator must reset the password for you from the user account page.

Can I have one account that covers two institutions?
No. One account belongs to one institution. If you work across two institutions on the same SEB Server, you will need two accounts.

Summary

An institution is the container for all of your SEB Server work, and user accounts with the right roles are what let staff do that work. SEB Server Administrators create institutions and set up SEB Server-wide accounts. Institutional Administrators manage their own institution's users and assign the Exam Administrator and Exam Supporter roles.