Departments & Services
The Departments & Services feature allows you to create departments as a new type of group and showcase them in a customized, searchable Directory. Unlike regular groups, users will have access to department information, content, and general feed without requiring membership.
How Departments Differ from Regular Groups
Open Access: Unlike regular groups that require membership, department pages are fully accessible to all logged-in users. This includes all group sections that are typically restricted to members—such as Members, Documents, Photos, Newsletters, Useful Links and more—as well as the group general feed.
Custom Department Lists: Administrators can create and share multiple customized department lists within their Hubs—something not available with regular groups.
How to Set Up Departments & Services
Step 1: Create a Department Group Type
We differentiate departments from regular student groups based on the group type assigned to them. Regular groups, such as student clubs or organizations, will have a group type where the 'type' field is set to 'group'. In contrast, departments will use a group type where the 'type' field is set to 'department'. This distinction allows the platform to recognize and categorize each accordingly, enabling features specific to departments when applicable. You can create as many department group types as needed, allowing flexibility in naming and organizing them (e.g., Academic Departments, Student Services, etc)
Go to the Admin section.
Click on Settings, then select Custom Values.
Filter the Custom Values by Group Type
Scenario 1: Creating a New Department Group Type
Click on Create Custom Value
In the Type dropdown, select Department.
In the Value field, enter the name of the department group type (e.g., Department).
Click Save to apply the changes.
Scenario 2: Updating an Existing Group Type
If you already have a group type that you would like to use for departments, you can update it instead of creating a new one.
Locate the existing group type in the list.
Edit the entry and change the Type field from Group to Department.
Click Save to update the configuration.
Setting a group type to 'Department' makes all associated groups' information and general feed accessible to any logged-in users, without the need for membership.
Step 2: Create Departments & Services
To create a Department or a Service, simply assign the group a ‘Department’ group type:
Go to the Group Settings or Create Group form.
In the Group Type dropdown, select a group type under the ‘Department Groups’ section
What happens when I set a Group to a Department?
When you set a Group to a Department, it becomes visible to all logged-in users on the platform. This means:
The group’s general feed, page, and all sections (such as Members, Documents, Photos, Newsletters, etc.) are visible to all logged-in users. However, you have control over which menu sections are displayed and can hide any that aren't relevant.
By default, anyone can post in the feed. If you prefer, you can limit posting permissions to officers only by adjusting the Settings on the group page.
If you later set the Department back to a regular student group, access becomes restricted to group members only. All page sections and the feed will only be visible to those who have joined the group.
Step 3: Create a Directory of Services
Create a centralized list of departments and services to help students easily discover and access campus resources.
Go to the Admin section.
Click on Hubs and Manage the Campus Hub.
Drag and drop the "Departments & Services" widget from the widget panel on the left into the app to add it.
Select the Department types and/or individual departments to be included in the directory. By default, this widget displays all groups assigned with a 'Department' group type.
Click Save
You can create multiple Department Directory listings in a single hub. Any lists created cannot be copied to other Community Hubs and must be recreated in each.
Tips & Best Practices for Department Pages
Rename "Officers" to Match Your Terminology
By default, group managers are labeled as "Officers." For departments or services, you may want to use a more suitable term such as "Staff".
To update this label:
Go to the Group Page
Click on Settings
Edit the Officers section
Change the "Officer" name to your preferred term
Titles can be added as a Custom Officer Position & will be displayed next to the person’s name in the Officer/Staff listing.
Using a Template When Creating New Department Groups
If you have a standard set of settings you'd like all departmental groups to use—such as visibility or default features—we recommend creating a Department Group Template.
Here’s how:
Create a new Department group and configure it with your desired settings
Once your template is finalized, avoid using the 'Create New Group' option from scratch. Instead, Duplicate your template group to maintain consistency. If you're uploading multiple groups at once, include the
group_template_acronymcolumn in your upload file to automatically apply the correct template during the import.
Sharing Surveys, Photos, Documents, Newsletters and Useful Links
All of these items can be shared individually on your group page by clicking the ‘Access Rights’ button on the individual item or the group folder (for Photos & Documents).
To share them with everyone on the platform, make sure the ‘Group Page’ option is selected and the content is accessible to ‘Everyone’.
Close Membership & Hide Departments from Group Listings
To avoid confusion, we recommend closing membership for your department groups. To do this, go to the group’s settings and select the option to Close Membership.
If you’d like your departments to appear only in the dedicated Directory of Services and not on the main Group Sign-Up page, you can also enable the Hide from Group List option in the group’s settings.
Please contact support@campusgroups.com with any questions.