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Request a Microsoft Team - Staff Guide

The University of Leeds currently uses three different Microsoft Team types:

  • Minerva Class Teams
  • Class Teams
  • Other uses

If you are using a Microsoft Team where you intend to add students to use as a learning environment, it is recommended that you use a Minerva Class Team or Class Team.

You can’t change Team type once created, so ensuring the correct Team type is set up from the start is essential.


Minerva Class Team

These are  created directly from within a Minerva module, merged module or organisation by Instructors/Leaders, it is then linked and inherits the enrolment data so your students are added, and removed automatically. In this kind of Class Team, Instructors/Leaders are the owners of the team. If you want a Minerva Class Team, see Create and activate a Minerva Class Team for step-by-step guidance. You do not need to complete a request form for this kind of Class Team.

For popular modules that are taught more than once in an academic year, i.e. once in semester 1 and again in semester 2, you will need to create a new Minerva Class Team within the module area for each taught instance. See Create and activate a Minerva Class Team for step-by-step guidance.


Class Team

This type of team is not linked to a Minerva module, merged module or organisation, with these kind of Class Teams you will be responsible for adding and removing members. In this kind of Class Team, owners are referred to as teachers, and members are referred to as students. If you want this kind of Class Team please use the Request a Microsoft Teams form.

You will need to log in to the IT website using your University single sign-on credentials to be able to view and submit this form. If you are not signed in, you will be unable to search for or view this form.

If you have trouble opening the form from the link above, log directly into the IT website and search for Create a new Microsoft Team. You should then be able to select the request form from the search results.


Microsoft Team for Other uses

You can request this type of Microsoft Team to use as a collaborative space for a group of people, where you’ll manage the membership manually. If you need a Microsoft Team for other uses, please use the Request a Microsoft Team form.

You will need to log in to the IT website using your University single sign-on credentials to be able to view and submit this form. If you are not signed in, you will be unable to search for or view this form.

If you have trouble opening the form from the link above, log directly into the IT website and search for Create a new Microsoft Team. You should then be able to select the request form from the search results.

Preparing for the new academic year/semester

I had a Class Team for my module last year, do I need to create a new one this year?

  • If your Class Team was linked to a module’s Banner enrolment record last year, then yes.
  • If you created a Minerva Class Team from within a module in Minerva, then yes, as it retains a link with the enrolment from last year.

What happens to my existing Class Teams/Minerva Class Teams?

Class Teams and Minerva Class Teams created/requested in the previous year will remain available to you throughout the current academic year in case you have teaching you still need to deliver to these students (or if you want to copy content across to your new Class Team).

Previous year Class Teams and Minerva Class Teams remain linked in Banner to the enrolment record for that year.

Can my content be automatically copied across?

No, afraid not. If you want to reuse content from a previous academic year/or a different Microsoft Team, you'll need to manually copy the content from one Team to another. If you're not sure how to do this see the next question.

How can I copy/move content from one Class Team to another?

There are a couple of ways you can do this. As the owner of a Class Team you could download the files and folders from one Team and upload then into your new Class Team; step-by-step guidance is available on the Microsoft's support site: How to Move or copy files in Teams.

Alternatively, some find this a quicker and easier method, whilst using a PC, go to the Class Team that has the content you want to copy and click the three ellipses in the top right and choose Open in SharePoint.
You will then see the documents in your team and can choose to individual or multiple files and folders to move or copy to a new place. Place a check box next to each file and folder you want to move/copy and select either Move to or Copy to. The Places menu bar will then slide out from the left so you can choose which Team you want to move/copy the content to. You will see a list of all the Teams you are a member/owner of to choose from.

Do Minerva Class Teams/Class Teams have different functionality when compared to the 'Other' uses kind of Team?

There are small differences in functionality, a Minerva Class Team/Class Team has a Class Notebook and the Reflect app installed, whereas the other kind of Microsoft Team does not have these. Members are referred to as students in Class Teams/Minerva Class Teams.

For an in-depth look at the differences between the types of teams see, Choosing a Microsoft Team type on the IT website


You can find Minerva Class Teams guides on this site, there are also a number of Microsoft Teams help guides on the IT website. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, head on over to Microsoft’s Support website.