> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.lena.africa/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Managing Collaborators
> How to add other teachers to your course, understand collaborator roles, and manage your course team on Lena.
You don't have to run your course alone. Lena lets you invite other teachers as
**collaborators** so they can help manage content and grading. You can also add
students as assistants to help with day-to-day course tasks.
**Only the course owner** (the teacher who created the course) can add,
remove, or manage collaborators. If you're a collaborator yourself, you
can't add other people.
***
## Collaborator roles
When you add someone to your course, you assign them one of three roles. Each
role has a different level of access:
| Role | Who it's for | What they can do |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Teacher** | Another teacher at your school | Full access — same as the course owner, except they can't manage collaborators |
| **Assistant** | A staff member at your school | Moderate access — can help manage content and support students |
| **Student Assistant** | A student helping with the course | Limited access — can assist with basic course tasks |
The **Lecturer** role also exists and has the same access level as Teacher.
Both appear as full co-instructors on the course.
### What each access level means
Teachers and Lecturers have the highest access level and can:
* View all course content, students, and grades
* Create and edit study materials, assignments, and quizzes
* Grade student submissions
* Post announcements and participate in discussions
* View all enrolled students
They **cannot**:
* Add or remove other collaborators (only the owner can)
* Delete the course
* Transfer ownership
Assistants can:
* View course content and student lists
* Help manage study materials
* Assist with grading
* Participate in discussions
They **cannot**:
* Manage collaborators
* Change course settings
Student Assistants have the most restricted access:
* View course content
* Assist with basic tasks assigned by the course owner
They **cannot**:
* Grade submissions
* Manage collaborators or course settings
***
## Adding a collaborator
Navigate to your course → **Settings** → **Collaborators**. You'll see any existing collaborators and pending invitations listed here.
A dialog will appear asking for the collaborator's details.
Type the email address of the person you want to add. This can be:
* An email of a teacher already registered at your school on Lena
* An email of someone who doesn't have a Lena account yet (they'll be invited to sign up)
Then select the role from the dropdown:
* **Teacher** — Add a second or additional teacher to take this course with you
* **Assistant** — Add a staff member to help in managing this course
* **Student Assistant** — Add a student to help in managing this course
Tap **Confirm** to send the invitation. The person will appear in your collaborators list with a **Pending** status.
You can add multiple collaborators — just repeat the process for each person
you want to invite.
***
## What happens after you send an invitation
When you add a collaborator, they receive an **email invitation** with details
about the course. What happens next depends on whether they already have a Lena
account:
1. They receive an email saying you've added them to teach the course 2.
When they open the Teacher App, they'll see the pending invitation 3.
They tap **Accept** to join or **Decline** to reject 4. Once accepted,
the course appears on their dashboard and they can start contributing
1. They receive an email inviting them to join Lena and teach the course
2. They sign up for a Lena account using the email you invited 3. After
signing up, they see the pending invitation in the Teacher App 4. They
accept the invitation and get access to the course
Lena sends the invitation by email, so make sure the email address you enter
is correct. The invited person must use that same email to sign up or log
in, otherwise they won't see the invitation.
***
## Viewing your collaborators
Go to your course → **Settings** → **Collaborators** to see everyone on your
course team. The collaborator list shows:
| Column | Description |
| ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | The collaborator's display name (shows "You" next to your own name) |
| **Email** | Their email address |
| **Role** | Their assigned role — Teacher, Assistant, Student Assistant, or Owner (you) |
| **Status** | Current state of their membership |
### Invitation statuses
Each collaborator or invitation shows one of these statuses:
| Status | Icon | Meaning |
| ------------- | ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Confirmed** | ✅ Green checkmark | They accepted the invitation and are active on the course |
| **Pending** | ℹ️ Info icon | The invitation was sent but they haven't responded yet |
| **Declined** | ❌ Red icon | They declined the invitation |
***
## Managing collaborators
Tap the **menu icon** on any collaborator's row to see available actions. The
options depend on whether they've accepted or are still pending.
### For confirmed collaborators
| Action | What it does |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Change role** | Update their role (e.g., change from Assistant to Teacher) |
| **Remove** | Remove them from the course entirely |
| **Transfer ownership** | Make them the new course owner (you become a regular collaborator) |
### For pending invitations
| Action | What it does |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Resend invite** | Send the invitation email again (useful if they didn't receive the first one) |
| **Remove** | Cancel the pending invitation |
**Transferring ownership** is a significant action. The new owner will gain
full control over the course, including the ability to manage all
collaborators. You will become a regular Teacher on the course and lose the
ability to add or remove collaborators.
### Changing a collaborator's role
1. Tap the menu icon on the collaborator's row
2. Select **Change role**
3. Choose the new role from the dropdown
4. Tap **Update** to confirm
The change takes effect immediately — the collaborator's access level is updated
right away.
***
## Accepting a course invitation (for invited teachers)
If another teacher has invited you to collaborate on their course, here's how to
respond:
You'll receive an email from Lena with the course name, course code, and the name of the teacher who invited you. The email includes a link to the Teacher App.
Log in to the Teacher App. You'll see the pending invitation with details about the course — including the school name, course title, faculty/department or grade, and the number of students already enrolled.
* Tap **Accept** to join the course. It will immediately appear on your dashboard, and you'll start receiving notifications for that course.
* Tap **Decline** if you don't want to join. The course owner will see your invitation status change to "Declined."
After accepting, you'll be subscribed to course notifications automatically
— so you'll get updates when students submit work, post in discussions, or
when the course owner makes changes.
***
## Notifications
Lena uses two channels to keep collaborators informed:
### Email notifications
* **Invitation email** — Sent immediately when the course owner adds you as a
collaborator
* Contains: course name, course code, inviting teacher's name, and school name
* Includes a link to the Teacher App to accept or decline
### Push notifications
* After you accept an invitation, you're automatically subscribed to the
course's notification topic
* You'll receive push notifications for course activity (submissions,
discussions, announcements) just like the course owner does
* These appear in the **Activity** tab of the Teacher App
If you don't receive the invitation email, ask the course owner to **resend
the invite** from the Collaborators tab. Also check your spam or junk
folder.
***
## Troubleshooting
* Verify you entered the correct email address - Ask them to check their
spam/junk folder for the invitation email - Use the **Resend invite** option
from the Collaborators tab - They must log in with the same email address
you invited
* Make sure you're logged into the Teacher App (not the Student App) - Check
that you're signed in with the same email the invitation was sent to - If
you just signed up, you may need to create a school profile first
* Only the course owner can remove collaborators - Contact the course owner
and ask them to remove you from the Collaborators tab
No. Collaborators must be part of the same school on Lena. The invitation
email is sent regardless, but the teacher must have a profile at your school
to accept and access the course.
Contact the new owner and ask them to transfer ownership back to you. Only
the current course owner can initiate a transfer.
***
## Related guides
* [Course Settings](/teachers/course-settings) — configure grade weights,
student groups, and more
* [Creating a Course](/teachers/creating-a-course) — set up a new course from
scratch
* [Glossary](/general/glossary) — definitions of collaborator roles, course
owner, and other terms