OneDrive Class Notebook - Teachers Can't Add Students

Question

We have a Class notebook that was created in OneDrive several years ago. Teachers were assigned to the Class Notebook. It all worked well, and the teachers were able to add students. Recently the only teacher that can add students is the one that created the Class Notebook, and it's also on their OneDrive. When the other Teachers try to add Students, it looks like it goes through, but when you look, they are never added. It stopped working in August. Most of the research I've done mentions teams now. Does this have to be done through teams now to work?

Answer 1

Hi @Burgess, Justin 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.       

This issue is due to recent changes in how Microsoft manages Class Notebooks created outside of Teams. Previously, co-teachers could add students even if the notebook was hosted in another teacher’s OneDrive. However, starting around August, Microsoft has shifted more of the Class Notebook management features into Teams and LMS platforms. As a result, only the original notebook creator (whose OneDrive it's stored in) currently has full permissions to add students. 

Here are a few options you might consider: 

1/ Use the Class Notebook Web App: 

• Go to https://www.onenote.com/classnotebook 
• Sign in with the account that created the notebook. 
• Select Add or remove students. 
• Select the notebook you're adding students to. 
• Type in a student's name, email address, or group name you would like to add from your school. 
• Confirm which students will have access to your Class Notebook. Anyone you added will receive an email with a link to their notebook. 
• For more details, you can refer to Microsoft’s official guide here: Add students to a Class Notebook in OneNote - Microsoft Support 
• Note: Only the notebook owner may be able to do this now. 

2/ Manual Sharing (Not Recommended): 

• You can manually share notebook sections via OneDrive links, but this does not create private student sections and may expose sensitive content if permissions aren’t set correctly.  

I hope this helps you better understand the current limitations around adding students to your Class Notebook. I'm glad to assist and truly hope the information provided has been useful in understanding what’s changed and how to move forward. 

Please feel free to reach out anytime if you need further assistance.  

If you found this post helpful, kindly consider marking it as the accepted answer. This helps others in the community who may be facing similar challenges find solutions more quickly. 

Thank you for your continued support and contributions to the forum.

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