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Making a Course, Project, or Club Non-Joinable

Any public or private group on the OpenLab can be made non-joinable. You can also think of this as a group being made invitation-only. However, this only affects who can become a member of the group; who can view the group and its content still depends on the group’s privacy settings. 

For example, a public, non-joinable group would still allow any visitor to view the content on the group’s profile, such as Files and Discussions. This can be useful for projects like university committees, because while participants are limited to committee members, they may want to make their work visible to the City Tech community. 

For a private, non-joinable group, the only difference is that when the group is non-joinable, users cannot request membership; they must be invited by a group administrator. In either case, content on the group profile is still only visible to members. 

Making Your Course, Project, or Club Non-Joinable or Joinable

To change this setting for your course, project, or club, first go to the profile. Then, click on “Settings” in the menu that appears on the right side of the group profile if you are using a computer. If you are using a mobile device, click on the three red lines near the upper right corner of the page to access this menu. Find the submenu that appears at the top of the Settings page and then click on Settings again.

Next, scroll down until you find the box that says “Privacy Settings: Membership.” In this area, you will see a checkbox. If the box is checked, anyone can join (if your group is public) or request membership to (if your group is private) your course, project, or club. If the box is not checked, your group will be non-joinable, with membership by invitation only.

Make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Save Changes” when you’re done!