The background is that S4H run a Moodle Open Week. This is for registered users (they register with the School), and have access to a specific Moodle course. They usually use WAA accounts. However, there are a number of admin issues with this approach, which make it more difficult to implement. Therefore, we are considering a new approach.
Talisen has mulled over an opportunity to use the external database authentication. The approach is;
The school have a database (excel / csv file) that is connected to the external database option for authentication in Moodle.
They make the changes, i.e., name, email, username, password – and this is uploaded nightly. A week after the open week is completed then the link is severed. They still access their local data but we remove the accounts from Moodle.
They would also like a way of batch enrolling (auto) enrolling these people on the specific Moodle course.
A number of checks and balances need to be put in place to manage and reduce risk. For instance,
- set a maximum quota (100 usernames)
- user type is student only
- they can only access courses in the School for Health Category
- the account codes will be S4H001 to S4H100
The time frame for this is …
- The open week is 11th – 15th May
- they’ll start registering people week commencing 27th April
So … how are we going to implement this?
- can the external authentication have the constraints raised above?
- how are we going to auto enrol them in the course?
- what database are they going to use at the S4H end?
Posted by andyoutandabout 
