Managing user accounts is an integral part of delivering training on the Spark LMS, and managers can organise user accounts in a variety of ways. 

Accounts cannot be deleted on Spark. Changes made to Status can restrict access, visibility in reports or ability to receive communications, and are reversible. 

• Settings location
• Account
  • Account Type
  • Username
  • Password
• Status
  • Active or Inactive
  • Visibility
  • Can be issued training
  • Can be sent communications

Settings location

To get to the Account & Permissions tab for a user account:

• Select the ‘Users’ tab at the top of your dashboard,
  
  and then search for and click on the name of the user whose account you wish to manage;
• In the tabs on their account, click "Personal details & account", and then choose
  "Account & permissions";

Account

Account Type

The Account Type in the Account & Permissions settings allows you to manage if that user is a Trainee, Trainer, Marker, or Manager level account. Each account type confers a different set of permissions. 

Further details on the account types can be found in our Account Types article.

Trainer and Marker account types require additional features to be enabled for your LMS. Please contact your Account Manager for further details. 

Users will be set to "Trainee" level by default.

Promoting and Demoting Accounts

Promoting a user account will upgrade their permissions, and when confirmed will issue a system notification email to that user account to inform them of their permissions upgrade. 

To change them to a different account level:

• Select the "Change..." button on the right side of the Account Type option. On selecting this button, the options available to your LMS will appear, including a brief description of each role;
• Then, choose what account type to promote the account to;
• On selecting a new account type, a prompt message will appear requiring you to confirm the action.

When promoting an account to Manager level, this prompt will also include all of the permissions options you can set for that manager account, including how much visibility/access to the full Organisation Structure you wish to grant them. Please select these options carefully. 

Another option you may see is to demote the user account. This will appear if the user has already been granted higher level permissions. 

You can demote them by selecting the account level you wish to demote them to, and confirming the prompt that appears. A notification will not be issued on account demotion. 

Username (Feature Required)

The Username is an option that may be set for a user in place of an email address requirement for a login. This is an option that is often utilised alongside SSO setups as well, to facilitate smooth transitions between a client HR system and the Spark LMS. 

The Username can be set, managed, or auto-set (through SSO) in this field. 

Password

In addition to being able to check if a user has set the password for their account in the overview details bar at the top, this can also be reviewed and confirmed from within the Account & Permissions page. Located beneath the Account Type and Username (where available), the Password field will show and allow you to confirm if the user has set the password for their account or not. 

• No password yet chosen will indicate that they have not set the password for their account, and this also means that they have not yet accessed their account. 
• A series of dots in the Password field indicates that they have set the password for their account, and in doing so have signed into their account at least one time. 
  

If they have had trouble in setting the password for their account, or have lost the email to help them set their password, you can use the drop-down option to assist them. 

"Send choose password email..." will send a new email to the user with the link to help them set the password for their account. 

"Issue temporary password..." is a slightly more complicated step []

If the user has set their password already the options here change a little. 

We recommend advising users to reset their password using the Forgotten Password option on the login page if they are having trouble. This reduces the need for manager involvement only to when a user requires direct assistance. 

Status

The Status of an account can have a variety of effects for a User, such as removing the ability to log in, or  whether they can have training distributed or log in to their account. User accounts are created with all settings in the 'default' position, so changes are automatically applied when one status would normally affect or override another. For example, deactivating an account will affect other status settings that are set to "Auto" to follow suit and update to deny access or visibility. 

If an account is set with a status type as Manual, this will no longer auto-update and need to be managed manually until returned to the "Auto" option. 

Changing the Status settings of an account can cause issues for the user's ability to log in and access features. However, all changes are reversible, and a Manager level account is able to update the User account when needed. 

Active or Inactive

By default, all accounts in Spark are set to "Active". This allows the User to log into their account, and access Training and anything else that they have permissions for. 

To deactivate an account, select the "Inactive" option, and click "Save changes" at the bottom of the screen. 

Visibility

Visibility relates to the User's account being visible in search results on the Users tab, and if the data about their account and training will appear in reports. 

By default, this setting is set to Auto and will follow the settings of the overall account status. This can be overridden to set the account to Visible or Hidden manually. 

Can be issued training

Whether or not an account is able to receive training distributions can be managed using the "Can be issued training" option in the Status settings. This can be manually overridden to allow the account to receive or be denied training regardless of Active status. 

Can be sent communications

Communications allow accounts to be notified of changes to their account, such as being distributed new training or receive reminders. This can be manually overridden to allow or refuse communications to be sent to the user regardless of Active status.