Organizations can be used to control which locations users can see and use within SimCapture. While permissions determine what actions a user can perform, organization assignments determine which locations are available to them. This distinction can be useful when you need to limit recording, livestreaming, or session management activities to specific rooms or spaces.

How Location Organization Assignments Work

In System Setup, administrators can associate an Organization with a Location. When a location is assigned to an organization, only users who belong to that organization can see and access that location.

This means organization assignments act as a location-level visibility filter. Users who are not members of the associated organization will not see the location on the dashboard or have the ability to use it for recording or livestreaming activities.

Example

An institution wants two administrators to manage livestreaming in a single simulation room and prevent them from accessing all other rooms.

A common approach would be:

• Create a dedicated organization, such as Livestream Room Admins .
• Assign the desired location to that organization.
• Add only the two designated administrators to that organization.
• Assign all remaining locations to a separate organization used by other administrators.

As a result:

Relationship Between Permissions and Organization Assignments

A common question is whether course permissions override organization-based location restrictions. They do not.

Permissions such as Start, Join, and Manage Course Sessions control what a user can do within a course. They do not grant access to locations that are hidden by organization assignments.

For example:

• A user may have permission to start and manage course sessions.
• However, if they are not part of the organization associated with a location, that location will not be available to them.
• Because the location is not visible, they cannot use that room for recording, livestreaming, or session activities.

Think of it this way:

• Permissions determine capabilities.
• Organizations associated with locations determine visibility and access to locations.

A user must satisfy both requirements:

1. Have the necessary permission to perform the action.
2. Have access to the location through organization membership.

Understanding Course Access vs. Session Access

When managing permissions, it is important to understand the difference between course-level access and session-level access .

Course Owners and Course Contributors

Course Owners and Course Contributors have permissions that apply across an entire course and its associated content.

These permissions can control actions such as:

• Viewing recordings
• Managing participants
• Managing evaluations
• Running reports
• Managing course sessions

Session Owners and Session Contributors

Session Owners and Session Contributors are separate from course-level permissions and apply only to an individual recorded session.

A Session Contributor may be granted access to a specific recording session without receiving access to other sessions within the same course.

How Course Contributors Affect Session Access

When a session is associated with a course, users assigned as Course Contributors are automatically included in the session's People list based on their course-level permissions.

For example, if a Course Contributor has permission to view recordings within a course, that access is automatically applied to sessions associated with that course.

The Session Contributors section in the session's People tab allows you to add additional users to a specific session when needed.

This makes it possible to:

• Grant access to one recording session without granting access to the entire course.
• Include evaluators, reviewers, or faculty members who only need access to a particular session.
• Maintain broader course permissions separately from one-time session access requirements.

Default Permissions Are a Starting Point

Many organizations use default permission settings to streamline course management.

Default permissions are designed to apply a recommended set of access rights whenever a Course Contributor is added. These settings help reduce administrative effort by ensuring most users receive the permissions they typically need.

However, default permissions are not permanent and are not set in stone .

Administrators can modify permissions for individual Course Contributors at any time to meet the needs of a specific course.

Important Considerations

• Organization-based location assignments control location visibility.
• Permissions do not override location access restrictions.
• Course-level and session-level access are managed separately.
• Course Contributors can automatically receive access to associated sessions based on their course permissions.
• Session Contributors can be added to individual sessions without granting broader course access.
• Default permission settings can always be adjusted on a per-user or per-course basis.
• Organization filtering is currently location-based and does not provide time-based restrictions. If a user can access a location, they can generally access it whenever they have the appropriate permissions.

Best Practice

Use organization assignments to control which locations users can access and use permissions to control what actions they can perform within those locations and courses.

Configuring organization assignments and default Course Contributor permissions together provides a scalable way to manage access while reducing ongoing administrative effort.

If users report that they cannot find a location on their dashboard, verify both:

1. Their organization memberships.
2. The organization associated with the location. 

In many cases, a location visibility issue is caused by an organization mismatch rather than a missing permission.