Keywords: enrol, self-enrolment, password, key

What is it?

The enrolment key is a password which gives any logged in Moodle user (think: potential student) access to your course.

Why use it?

They are useful because they can be memorable, given out to students, but also prevent others from accessing your course materials.

Who can use it?

Tutors and Course Administrators can set them.

Students and other staff use them to log in, depending on what roles the staff set up to access the course via enrolment keys.

Before I start...

Think of a suitable password. Make the key easy for someone else to copy/write down but don't set it to the same as the course or module title as these are too easy to guess. You may click the Unmask option to view your key in plain text. For example, a colour e.g. 'purple' is easy to spell, doesn't use any special characters, but is difficult to guess.

How do I set one up?

Go to the Participants tab in the top course menu then choose Enrolment methods in the drop-down menu below. The Enrolment methods page will show you a summary of which methods are enabled. Where a method appears in light grey it has been deactivated. To set up an enrolment key in a course for the first time, unhide the Self enrolment method from the list then click the Settings cog. This will bring up a series of options for you to configure, such as:

enrolment key (if left blank, anyone can enrol into the course),
enrolment duration,
start/end dates for the self-enrolment to be open,
maximum number of enrolled users, and
course welcome message - which is emailed to all new students in your course (and can be an effective introductory touch).

To edit an existing self-enrolment method, click on the cog icon alongside Self enrolment. This will load a page of options, including where to set the Enrolment key. If no key is set, you may enter any key phrase or term into this area.

Further help

Further guidance on Enrolment key is available from Moodle Docs.

If you find any inaccurate or missing information you can even update this yourself (it's a communal wiki).

If you have a specific question about the tool please contact the Digital Education team.

Caution

When selecting a suitable enrolment key:

Don't use the course code or name.
Don't use something too complicated. E.g. stick to all lowercase letters, no special characters and something easy to spell.

Examples and case studies

- None at this time

Questions & Answers

- None at this time

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