Administrative permissions determine who can view, manage, and act on faculty data within Scholarly. These permissions apply to unit leaders (such as Deans or Department Chairs) as well as to faculty affairs administrators who support departments without serving as official unit leaders.
There are two main ways to assign these permissions, depending on the person’s role.
Assigning Permissions to Unit Leaders (Deans, Chairs, Directors)
If someone is the official leader of a department, school, or college, you’ll assign their role from the Departments settings. This will both grant administrative access and display them as the unit leader in the Faculty Directory.
Go to Settings > Departments.
Locate the department or unit, then click the Edit icon.
In the Department Chair field, enter the person’s name.
Note: In settings, this field is always labeled “Department Chair,” even if the actual unit title is Dean, Director, etc.
Check the box Assign Department Admin Role.
Click Update Department to save.
The user is now:
Displayed as the department/unit leader in the Directory.
Granted administrative permissions for that department’s data and workflows.
Assigning Permissions to Faculty Affairs Administrators (Non-Leaders)
If someone needs administrative access to faculty data but is not the official unit leader, assign permissions from the Users settings.
Go to Settings > Users.
Search for the person by name or email.
Click the three-dot menu next to their name and select Edit.
Scroll down to the Permissions section.
Choose one of the following:
Institutional Admin — Grants access to all data across the institution.
Department Admin — Grants access to specific department(s). To assign:
Check the box(es) for the department(s) they should manage.
Save changes.
The user will now have administrative access at the level specified (institution-wide or department-specific).
Best Practices & Notes
Use the Department Chair field in Department Settings only for official unit leaders who should also appear in the Directory as the head of that unit.
Use the Permissions settings in Users for faculty affairs staff or other designated administrators who need access but are not unit leaders.
Multiple administrators can be assigned to the same unit if needed.
Historical permissions are preserved — ending a role does not erase prior access records.