4th Court and Microsoft Teams

This article explains how Microsoft Teams complements 4th Court by providing a collaborative workspace for departmental teams. You’ll learn:

• Why use Teams alongside 4th Court

• How to structure your Team (Teams, Channels, and their purposes)

• The three channel types (Standard, Private, Shared) and when to use each

Refer to this article when setting up or managing Team sites for your department/projects.

Why Use Teams alongside 4th Court

1. Scope of Communication

   • 4th Court (SharePoint): Intended for college‐wide announcements and resources that everyone in College may need.

   • Teams: Designed for department‐specific or project‐specific collaboration, conversations, file editing, and real-time coordination among immediate team members.

2. Granularity of Collaboration

   • If a document or announcement is relevant to all staff, students, and fellows, it belongs on 4th Court.

   • If you need to co-author files, discuss day-to-day tasks, or run team meetings, you’ll do that in Microsoft Teams.

3. Integrated Document Libraries

   • Each Teams channel comes with its own document library (backed by SharePoint).

   • Teams channels and 4th Court departmental sites can interlink files - a Teams file can be surfaced on 4th Court, or vice versa.

Teams Structure: Teams vs. Channels

A Team is a top-level workspace (e.g., a department or project), while Channels are dedicated spaces within that Team for specific topics or groups. Channels help keep conversations and files organized under the broader Team umbrella.

Team

• • Represents a department, committee, or project.

  • Example: “IT Department,” “Catering & Hospitality,” or “Admissions Project Team.”

Channels (Subspaces within a Team)

• Allow you to separate conversations and file stores by topic or audience.
• Each channel has a chat area (for posts and replies) and a dedicated document library.

There are three types of channels.

1. Standard Channels

• Who Sees It: All members of the parent Team.

• Use Case:

  • Topics or workflows that involve everyone in the department.

  • Examples:

    • "General Announcements" (department‐wide news)

    • "Daily Operations" (ongoing tasks for all team members)

• Features:

  • Automatically includes all Team members in the channel’s conversations and document library.

  • Great for open, transparent discussions and shared file management.

Tip: If you need separate spaces for two distinct functions (e.g., “Parcels” vs. “Visitor Management”), create two Standard Channels so file libraries and chat histories stay organized.

2. Private Channels

• Who Sees It: Only a subset of the Team (explicitly invited).

• Use Case:

  • Confidential workstreams or focused projects requiring restricted membership.

  • Examples:

    • IT’s “Networking Team” (where only the networking subteam sees those discussions/files)

    • HR budget planning (only HR leads and finance officers)

• Features:

  • Own document library, visible only to invited members.

  • Conversation threads that are invisible to anyone not in the private channel.

Tip: Use a Private Channel when you need to securely work on sensitive content (e.g., contracts, budgets).

3. Shared Channels

• Who Sees It: Anyone who has been given explict permission (either inside or outside the parent Team), this can also include users external to the college (any user with a University account).

• Use Case:

  • Cross‐departmental or cross‐college collaborations that require a shared workspace without full Team membership.

  • Examples:

    • IT collaborating with UIS (University Information Services).

    • A joint procurement committee with members from multiple departments.

    • A leadership subcommittee (e.g., “DB’s Direct Reports” where heads of department across College meet).

• Features:

  • Separate document library accessible to all Shared Channel members.

  • Conversations, files, and OneNote notebooks in that channel are accessible only to channel members.

  • Creation: Only the IT team can create Shared Channels. To request one, email the IT helpdesk with a brief use case.

  • Management: Once created, a Shared Channel “Manager” (usually the requestor) will be given Owner rights to add and remove users from that channel.

Tip: Request a Shared Channel when you need to bring in colleagues from other departments or colleges, without making them full members of your parent Team.

When to Use Each Channel Type

Channel Type	Members	Visibility	Typical Use Cases
Standard	All Team members	Everyone in the Team	Department-wide announcements, general discussions
Private	Subset of Team members (invited)	Only invited members	Confidential subprojects, sensitive discussions
Shared	Invited (from Team and beyond)	Only invited members (across College/University)	Cross-department/College collaboration

 

Getting Started with Teams

1. Set Up Standard Channels

   • Identify 2–4 core topics for your department (e.g., “General,” “Events,” “Documents”).

   • Create Standard Channels accordingly—each will automatically have its own document library.

2. Create Private Channels as Needed

   • If any subteams need a private workspace (e.g., HR, Networking, Finance), have the Team Owner create a Private Channel and invite the appropriate members.

3. Request Shared Channels for Cross-Team Work

   • Contact the IT Helpdesk with:

     • Subject: “Shared Channel Request: [Your Department/Project]”

     • Body: Describe why you need a shared workspace with another department or college (e.g., “Need a Shared Channel with UIS to coordinate software rollouts”).

   • IT will create the channel and assign a Shared Channel Manager who can then add/remove members.

4. Organize Tabs & Integrations

   • Within each channel, add Tabs (e.g., Planner, OneNote, Forms) to surface relevant tools.

   • Pin frequently accessed files or pages from 4th Court to channel Tabs for quick reference.