Groups & Subgroups

Groups are a flexible way to segment and organize Members in your Academy, enabling targeted access, automated workflows, bulk communications, and reporting.

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Overview

Every Disco Academy has groups from the moment it launches. Some are created and maintained automatically by the platform (System Groups); others you create and manage yourself (Custom Groups). Groups control which apps Members can access, how Members appear in reports, and which assignment submissions Members can see. They are one of the most versatile building blocks in Disco.

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Group Types

There are two main categories of groups: System Groups and Custom Groups.

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Navigate to the Groups Page

The primary interface for managing all groups lives in the Admin space.

1. Click Admin in the left navigation.
2. Select the Members tab.
3. Click the Groups tab.

From here, you can search groups by name, sort by name or creation date, and filter by group type (System or Custom).

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Create a Custom Group

1. On the Groups page, click + Group in the top right.
2. Optionally upload an image for the group. The image appears in the Group Directory app but not in most other areas of the platform.
3. Enter a name for the group.
4. Optionally select a color tag.
5. Optionally add a description. Like the image, this surfaces primarily in the Group Directory app.
6. Choose a Visibility setting (see the section below before proceeding).
7. Add Members using the member table.
8. In the member table dropdown, optionally designate a Member as a Group Lead.
9. Click Create Group.

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Bulk Create Groups with CSV

Instead of creating groups one at a time, you can upload a single CSV to create Academy-level or Program-level groups in bulk. Each row in the CSV represents one group or subgroup. You can set the name, visibility, color, description, and parent group for each entry. Once the import is complete, you will receive an email notification confirming which groups were created and which, if any, failed.

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Prepare your CSV

Your CSV can include the following columns for each group:

• Name (required): The display name of the group
• Level: academy or program, depending on where the group lives
• Visibility: Controls who can see the group
• Color: The group’s color label
• Description: A short description of the group’s purpose
• Parent group: The name of the parent group, if this row is a subgroup

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Import Group CSV

1. Go to the Groups page in your Academy admin panel.
2. Click the dropdown arrow next to + Group in the top right corner.
3. Select Import CSV.
4. Upload your CSV file.
5. Click Import Groups.

Once the import runs, you will receive an email confirmation listing which groups were successfully created and which rows failed, along with the reason.

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Set Group Visibility

When creating a Custom Group, you must choose one of two visibility settings. This setting cannot be changed after the group is created, so choose carefully before saving.

• Everyone means Members added to this group can see their group membership throughout the Academy, including on their own profile. This setting is required if you want to feature the group in a Group Directory app or target it for private Events.
• Admin Only means Members will not know they have been added to this group. The group is invisible to them everywhere in the Academy, including their profile. Admin Only groups work in automations and control access to most apps. However, there are two hard limitations:
  • Admin Only groups cannot be featured in a Group Directory app.
  • Admin Only groups cannot be used to target private Events.

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Edit or Delete a Custom Group

To edit a group, open the row dropdown on the Groups page and select Edit. You can update the name, colour, image, description, and Members. You cannot change the visibility setting. To delete a group, open the row dropdown and select Remove Group. Deleting a group also removes any subgroups it contains.

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Assign and Manage Group Leads

Any Member with a standard community Member role can be designated as a Group Lead for one or more Custom Groups. Group Leads are not Admins, but they gain access to specific reporting capabilities scoped to the groups they lead. A Group Lead can:

• View the Members report showing all Members across every group they lead, including profile fields, Program roles, and completion data.
• Select Members and send bulk email messages or Slack DMs (if Slack is connected to the Academy).
• Access the Insights tab and run a group-level report showing each Member’s Program enrollment and completion progress.
• Send a bulk message to everyone in the group directly from the Insights report.

To assign a Group Lead, open the group detail drawer, go to the Members tab, and select Assign as Group Lead from the dropdown next to the Member’s name. To remove leadership status, select Assign as Group Member from the same dropdown.

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Create Subgroups

Subgroups let you organize Members within a group into smaller segments. Subgroups are one level deep: you can create a subgroup within a Custom Group, but subgroups cannot contain their own subgroups. All subgroups inherit the visibility setting of their parent group. Only Members already in the parent group can be added to a subgroup.

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Create a subgroup from the group detail drawer

1. On the Groups page, click a group name to open its detail drawer.
2. Click the Subgroups tab.
3. Click Create Subgroup.
4. Enter a name, select a color, optionally add a description, and add Members.
5. Click Create.

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Create a subgroup from unassigned Members

Members in a parent group who have not yet been added to any subgroup appear in an Unassigned Members row in the subgroup table.

1. Hover over the Unassigned Members row and open its dropdown.
2. Click Assign to New Subgroup.
3. The subgroup creation modal pre-populates with all unassigned Members. Adjust membership as needed and complete the form.

This is a fast way to create a final subgroup from everyone not yet organized.

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Create and Manage Program Subgroups

Program Subgroups (referred to as Product Groups in some areas of the platform) are subgroups created within a Program’s system group. They let you organize Program Members into smaller cohorts or sections and use those groupings for targeted access, reporting, and assignment visibility. Program Subgroups function like other subgroups. You can use them in automations, filter the Members page by them, and control app access with them. They cannot have their own subgroups. Only Members already registered for the Program can be added.

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Create a Program Subgroup as an Academy Admin

1. On the Groups page, find the system group for the Program (for example, “Web Dev 101 - All”).
2. Click the expansion indicator to see existing subgroups.
3. Open the system group detail drawer and click the Subgroups tab.
4. Click Create Subgroup and complete the form.

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Create a Program Subgroup as a Program Manager

Program Managers who do not have an Academy Admin role can only manage Program Subgroups from within the Program itself. They do not have access to the Admin Groups page.

1. Open the Program and click Settings to open the Program Settings drawer.
2. Click the Subgroups tab.
3. Click Create Subgroup and complete the form.
4. To edit or remove a subgroup, use the overflow option next to the subgroup name.

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Control Assignment Submission Visibility with Subgroups

Program Subgroups have a specific and powerful use in assignments: controlling which Members can see each other’s submissions. In the assignment settings, set Submission Visibility to Subgroup Members. With this setting active:

• A Member can only see submissions from others in the same subgroup.
• Program Managers and Instructors are subject to the same restriction unless they hold a community Owner or Admin role. Without that role, they must be a member of the same subgroup as the submitter to see that submission.
• Community Owners and Admins can always see all submissions, regardless of subgroup membership.
• If a Member belongs to multiple subgroups, they can see submissions from all of those subgroups.

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Use Groups Across the Platform

Groups connect to many other features in Disco.

• Automations: Filter automation conditions by group membership, or trigger automations when a Member is added to or removed from a group. For example, send a welcome email the moment a Member joins a specific group.
• App access: Restrict any community-level app, and most Program-level apps, to a specific group. Only Members in that group will see and access the app. When a Member is removed from the group, they automatically lose access. The curriculum app does not support group-level access restrictions.
• Group Directory app: Feature Custom Groups with “Everyone” visibility in a Group Directory app on your Academy home page. Admin Only groups do not appear in a Group Directory.
• Member filtering: The Members page, the Analytics section, and many other areas let you filter by group membership. This is the fastest way to locate a specific segment of your Academy.

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FAQ