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SharePoint Web Delivery Platform
Before diving into the details about permission, let's make sure you understand SharePoint. SharePoint is a web-based collaboration platform developed by Microsoft. It integrates with Microsoft Office and allows organizations to manage documents, collaborate on projects, and store information securely and accessible. A SharePoint Hub connects a curated selection of SharePoint Communications sites, called associated sites, into one cohesive group of sites that contain an overarching hub navigation and integrated search through all of its sites' content.
An Explanation of the UTK Employee Hub
The UTK Employee Hub is a collection of SharePoint sites designed to provide University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) employees with streamlined access to essential resources and information. By consolidating various services into a single, user-friendly interface, the UTK Employee Hub serves as an invaluable tool for faculty, staff, and administrators. Learn more about UT's Digital Transformation initiatives.
UT Knoxville Employee Hub Access
Active employees within the UTK ecosystem, including faculty, staff, and students, can access the UT Knoxville Employee Hub. Read-only access is granted through an active directory group created specifically for the employee hub. This employee active directory group is updated daily and includes the following employees, campuses, and institutes:
Campuses and Institutes with access to the UTK Employee Hub
- UT Knoxville (UTK)
- UT Space Institute (UTSI)
- UT Institute of Agriculture (UTIA)
- UT System (UTSA)
- Institute for Public Service (IPS)
- UT Foundation (UTFI)
What Constitutes an employee for the purposes of the UTK Employee Hub?
- Regular and term employees
- Pending employees
- Graduate assistants, graduate teaching assistants, and graduate research assistants with employment status *
- Student assistants with employment status *
* Please note that active graduate and undergraduate students who DO NOT have an employment status with the Knoxville campus WILL NOT have access to the UT Knoxville Employee Hub. However, for SharePoint sites that reside outside of the UTK Employee Hub, you may grant access to everyone with valid campus credentials while excluding public access. Read more about sharing further in the article.
When does someone become entitled?
Employee data is provided by IRIS (through 2024) and DASH (beginning 2025). Once an employee is updated in the system, they are granted access within 2-3 days as their employment information syncs to all the IT systems.
Pending employees can be added to DASH (previously IRIS) before the employee’s hire date. See the KB article “NetID: Obtain a NetID for a New Hire Before They Start Work” for detailed information.
Check an employee’s status in the UT Online Directory.
Technical Details: Once this entitlement is set on the LDAP directory, it is synced overnight to Active Directory and used to add users to the “privilege” group that allows access to the UT Knoxville Employee Hub. The entitlement is removed when a person is terminated from employment. This group is automatically managed based on employment data; employees cannot be manually added.
What about Emeritus Faculty, Staff Retirees, Friends, and special statuses? Do they have access?
- Faculty and Staff Retirees without active appointments DO NOT have access.
- Faculty and Staff Retirees with active term/temp appointments DO have access.
- Emeritus Faculty members with active appointments DO have access.
- Friends with employee titles, such as pending employees, adjunct faculty, and emeritus faculty, DO have access.
What if I need to share content with the entire campus or just my department?
By policy and intent, the UTK Employee Hub needs to remain an intranet system for all employees. SharePoint Communications sites are an available option for publishing web-based intranet content, news, and announcements with a larger or smaller group of people. SharePoint Teams sites are also available when you need a group of people to actively chat, share, co-create, and manage group content and calendars. Anyone with a UTK Microsoft 365 account can create a SharePoint Communications or Teams site. Once the site is created, the site owner can manage permissions at the site level, meaning you can allow anyone in the UT system to access your site or create a select group of members.
Consult the OIT SharePoint Support Team to learn more about SharePoint sites, roles, and permissions that best suit your needs. UTK-branded SharePoint Communications sites are also available upon request.