> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.chamilo.org/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.chamilo.org/3.x/administration-guide/admin-guide/users/user-roles.md).

# User Roles

Chamilo uses a role-based permission system. Each user is assigned a role that determines what they can see and do on the platform.

## Platform-Level Roles

These roles control access to platform-wide features:

| Role                              | Description                                                                                                                                                  |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Learner (Student)**             | The default role. Can enroll in courses, access learning content, submit assignments, and take exercises.                                                    |
| **Teacher (Trainer)**             | Can create and manage courses, add content, grade students, and view course-level reports.                                                                   |
| **Sessions Administrator**        | Can create and manage sessions (i.e. time-based course packages), enroll users in sessions, and assign tutors. Cannot access general platform settings.      |
| **Human Resources Manager (HRM)** | Can view tracking and reporting data for assigned users. Used for supervisors who need to monitor employee training but not manage content nor the platform. |
| **Portal Administrator**          | Full access to all platform administration features. Can manage users, courses, sessions, plugins, and all settings.                                         |
| **Global Administrator**          | Same as Portal Administrator but with access across all access URLs in a multi-URL (i.e. multi-tenant) setup.                                                |
| **Anonymous**                     | A special role for visitors who are not logged in. Can access public courses and content if enabled.                                                         |

## Course-Level Roles

Within a course, users have specific roles:

| Role                 | Description                                                                                        |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Student**          | Default course role. Can access content, take exercises, submit assignments.                       |
| **Course assistant** | Has limited management permissions within the course. Can help manage content and moderate forums. |
| **Teacher**          | Full control over the course: manage content, tools, settings, and enrollment.                     |

## Session-Level Roles

Within a session, additional roles exist:

| Role              | Description                                                                                                        |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Session tutor** | Oversees all courses within a session. Can view tracking across all courses in the session.                        |
| **Course tutor**  | Teaches a specific course within a session. Can manage content and track learners for that course in that session. |

Note: This role was called "coach" in Chamilo versions before 3.0. As of Chamilo 3.0, "coach" has been replaced by "tutor" everywhere in the platform's interface and documentation — a tutor is a person who helps learners through a course, not a personal coach. The underlying setting names in `Configuration settings` still contain "coach" for backward compatibility (for example `add_users_by_coach`), but their labels now read "tutor".

## Assigning Roles

When creating or editing a user account in the administration panel, you select their platform-level role. Course and session roles are assigned when enrolling users in courses or sessions.

## Role Hierarchy

Higher-privileged roles inherit the capabilities of lower-privileged roles:

* An administrator can do everything a teacher can do
* A teacher can do everything a student can do
* Session-level roles (tutor) provide additional capabilities only within their assigned session

## Tips

* **Use the principle of least privilege** — Assign users the minimum role they need to perform their tasks
* **Use Sessions Administrators** for delegated management — If you have staff who need to manage training sessions but not the entire platform, give them the Sessions Administrator role instead of full administrator access
* **Use HRM for supervisors** — Human Resources Managers can monitor training progress without having access to modify courses or platform settings
* **Roles creation** — Chamilo 3.x has the internal structure ready for the creation of new roles, but the feature lacks more testing for wide release. It can be enabled through [Official providers of Chamilo](https://chamilo.org/providers).