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Default Roles and Permissions

Learn about Seismic Learning's default roles and the permissions each one has

Michael Hughes avatar
Written by Michael Hughes
Updated over a year ago

In This Article


User Roles

Seismic Learning has four default roles: admin, manager, creator, and learner. Each role has a unique set of permissions that allow users to perform different tasks in the platform. These roles are the same across Seismic Learning, whether you're working in the training application or the Skills app.

Roles are assigned when creating a new user.

To edit a role thereafter, navigate to the People tab, then select the pencil icon next to a user's name.

You can also edit users' roles from their overview pages.


Default Permissions by Role

Admins have unrestricted access to all company data. Admins:

  • Can receive and complete assignments just like any other learner

  • Have automatic management rights for all people and groups

  • Can create, edit, and archive all people and groups

  • Have automatic ownership of all content in the system

  • Can create and edit Lessons, Paths, Certifications, and Practice Scenarios

  • Can create and manage all events in the system

  • Have full Skills administration rights

  • Can perform all program management actions, such as editing roles and permission settings, creating and editing tags and triggers, managing the image and content libraries, and customizing their tenant with primary and secondary branding colors

Admin permissions cannot be altered.


Manager roles are customizable and flexible. Every aspect of a manager's function can be tailored to his or her role in your organization. Managers:

  • Can receive and complete assignments just like any other learner

  • Can be granted management rights for people on a group-by-group basis

    • Can create, edit, and archive people in Custom Groups they manage

  • Can be granted ownership of content on an item-by-item basis

    • Can create and edit Lessons, Paths, Certifications, and Practice Scenarios

  • Can be named an instructor of an event

  • Don't have Skills administrator rights by default, but can be granted such rights

  • Cannot perform program management actions by default, but can be granted the ability to:

    • Edit company settings

    • Create and edit tags

    • Create and edit triggers

    • Create new Chrome extension mappings

    • Manage the image and content libraries

To make an initial assignment, managers must own content the content they wish to assign, and they can only assign it to users they manage. Once an assignment is made, managers can reassign or unassign it. They can also set due dates and send reminders to users they manage, whether they own the content or not.


Creators, like managers, can be extensively customized. But by default, creators are limited to those permissions that govern content creation. Creators:

  • Can receive and complete assignments just like any other learner

  • Have no people management rights by default, but can be granted management rights for people and groups

  • Can be granted ownership of content on an item-by-item basis

    • Can create and edit Lessons, Paths, Certifications, and Practice Scenarios

  • Can be named an instructor of an event

  • Don't have Skills administrator rights by default, but can be granted such rights

  • Cannot perform program management actions by default, but can be granted the ability to:

    • Edit company settings

    • Create and edit tags

    • Create and edit triggers

    • Create new Chrome extension mappings

    • Manage the image and content libraries

Creators are not able to assign content or monitor learners' progress, but they can be designated as specified graders on lessons they've created or with whom ownership has been shared.


Learners are restricted to just a few actions in the training and Skills applications. Learners:

  • Can receive assignments for Lessons and Paths

  • Can complete Lessons, Paths, and Practice Scenarios

  • Can complete Skills Self-Reflections, Coaching Plans and Tasks

Learners cannot access the gradebook, make assignments, or create content; and like admins, their default permissions and read-only and cannot be changed.


Custom Roles

If a user doesn't conform to any of the four standard roles, or sits somewhere between two of the, you can create a custom role to suit his or her responsibilities. Learn more about custom roles.


Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does the Skills app use the same set of roles and permissions as the training app?

A. Yes. In April 2023, legacy Skills-only roles such as admin and evaluator were retired. All other Skills roles were converted to align with user roles in the core readiness application. Managing two sets of roles unnecessarily burdened trainers. Merging the two into a single user management system helps them employ all of Learning's training and coaching features.

Q. Do Skills-specific permissions have to be granted or enabled in the Settings menu?

A. Admins in the core training app inherit Skills administration permissions; they enjoy unlimited account-wide access. Other users can be made Skills evaluators by selecting "Full Skills administration rights" in the role permission settings.


Questions? Contact the Support team at support@lessonly.com

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