> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.deandesk.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Discussions

> Real-time group discussions that are automatically created for your courses and programs.

<Info>
  **School-level feature** — managed within your school portal at `yourschool.deandesk.com`.
</Info>

Discussions give your courses and programs a built-in group chat. When you create a course or program, DeanDesk automatically creates a discussion group for it and adds the instructor as an admin. As students enroll, they are added to the discussion automatically — no setup required.

## How discussion groups are created

DeanDesk creates discussion groups automatically:

| When this happens...                  | DeanDesk creates...                                               |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A **course** is created               | A discussion group named **"\[Course Name] General Discussion"**  |
| A **program** is created              | A discussion group named **"\[Program Name] General Discussion"** |
| A **student enrolls** in a course     | The student is added as a member of that course's discussion      |
| A **student subscribes** to a program | The student is added as a member of that program's discussion     |

Instructors are automatically assigned as discussion admins. Course assistants are also added as admins.

<Note>
  You don't need to set up discussions manually. They are created as a side effect of creating courses and programs, and membership is managed automatically through enrollment.
</Note>

## Accessing discussions

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Students and teachers">
    Click **Discussions** in the sidebar to see all the discussion groups you belong to. Select a group to open the conversation.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Administrators">
    Admins can access all discussions from the sidebar. Admins also have a **Discussion Management** panel where they can create custom groups, manage membership, and moderate messages.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Sending messages

1. Open a discussion group from the sidebar.
2. Type your message in the input field at the bottom.
3. Press **Enter** to send.

Messages appear in real time for all members — no page refresh needed. You can also see when other members are typing.

## Discussion roles

Each member of a discussion group has a role that determines what they can do.

| Role          | Can post messages | Can edit own messages | Can delete others' messages | Can manage members |
| ------------- | :---------------: | :-------------------: | :-------------------------: | :----------------: |
| **Member**    |        Yes        |          Yes          |              No             |         No         |
| **Moderator** |        Yes        |          Yes          |             Yes             |         No         |
| **Admin**     |        Yes        |          Yes          |             Yes             |         Yes        |

* **Course/program instructors** are automatically assigned the **Admin** role.
* **Students** are automatically assigned the **Member** role when they enroll.
* Admins and discussion admins can promote members to moderator or admin.

## Custom discussion groups

School admins can create additional discussion groups beyond the auto-created ones.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Discussion Management">
    Navigate to the **Discussion Management** panel from the admin area.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new topic">
    Click **Create Topic**. Enter a name and description for the group.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set visibility">
    Choose **Public** (any user can join) or **Private** (members must be added by an admin).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add members">
    Search for users and add them to the group. Assign roles as needed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Custom groups can be organized by role (e.g., a teachers-only group) or for general school-wide discussion.

## Managing members

Discussion admins and school admins can manage group membership:

* **Add members** — search for any user and add them to the group
* **Remove members** — remove a user from the group
* **Change roles** — promote a member to moderator or admin, or demote them back

For auto-created course and program discussions, membership stays in sync with enrollment. When a student enrolls, they are added; the group always reflects the current class roster.

## Notifications

When a new message is posted in a discussion, all other members receive:

* **Email notification** with the sender's name and a preview of the message
* **Push notification** on the mobile app
* **In-app notification** in the notification feed

## Best practices

* **Use discussions for ongoing conversation.** Discussions are ideal for class Q\&A, study groups, and collaborative problem-solving. For one-time important updates, use [Announcements](/communication/announcements) instead.
* **Assign moderators in large groups.** For courses with many students, promote a trusted student or TA to moderator so they can help keep the conversation on track.
* **Keep custom groups focused.** Create custom groups for specific purposes (e.g., "Faculty Lounge", "Student Council") rather than broad, unfocused groups that no one checks.