Glossary

Key terms used across ADAdmin, listed alphabetically.

Active Directory (AD) Microsoft's on-premises directory service. ADAdmin can push user and group data into AD so that school computers, printers, and other network resources automatically recognise the right people.

Beacon Realsmart's helpdesk app for schools and trusts — support tickets, requests, and guidance. It's reached from the apps launcher in the top bar (and the Apps area), not a separate button. Beacon is enabled per trust or school by Realsmart — schools and trusts can't turn it on themselves. See Beacon access.

Capability One specific thing an admin can or can't do in the admin area — for example "reset passwords" or "change sync settings". ADAdmin has 15 admin capabilities, grouped into Users & groups, Sync & platforms, Data & privacy, and School & admin control, each switched on or off per admin from their Access tab. See Reduced admin access.

Cohort / Group The two words are used interchangeably in ADAdmin. A cohort is a named collection of users (e.g. "Year 7", "10 Maths 1"). Groups are synced to Google Workspace, Entra, and Active Directory so that sharing and permissions update automatically.

Entra (Microsoft Entra ID) Microsoft's cloud identity service (formerly Azure Active Directory). ADAdmin syncs users and groups to Entra for Microsoft 365, Teams, and related services.

Google Workspace Google's suite of apps (Gmail, Drive, Classroom, etc.). ADAdmin provisions accounts and groups in Google Workspace from the user and group data you manage here.

MAT (Multi-Academy Trust) A group of schools under common governance. When your account has access to more than one school you can use MAT overview mode to see and act across all of them.

MAT overview The cross-school view available to MAT-level admin accounts. Accessed via the school switcher in the top bar. Separate from the per-school view where you work on one school at a time.

MIS / School ID An optional external identifier from your Management Information System (e.g. SIMS, Arbor, Bromcom). Used to match records during imports.

Merge Combining two user records that represent the same real person (for example, a pupil who has duplicate accounts in different schools) into a single primary record.

Page walkthroughs Short, dismissable tours that point out what's on a page the first time you visit it. Turn them off, or replay every walkthrough from the start, from My profile → Page walkthroughs.

Pending suspension A status flag ADAdmin raises automatically when a user drops out of your MIS import (e.g. they've left the school) while their status is still Active. They're suspended automatically after a 24-hour grace period, so you get a chance to review first. See Users pending suspension.

Preset A ready-made starting point for an admin's capabilities — Full (everything) or Reduced (day-to-day user and group management only, with settings, sync changes, imports, exports, logs and managing other admins switched off). Choosing a preset resets every capability to that baseline; you can then fine-tune individual ones from there. See Reduced admin access.

Protected user A user marked Protected is excluded from automatic sync deletions. ADAdmin will not remove them from Google Workspace, Entra, or AD during a routine sync even if they are absent from the MIS data.

Reduced admin access An admin whose capabilities have been narrowed below Full — for example, someone who can manage users and groups and reset passwords, but not change settings, run syncs, or view logs. Set per admin, per capability, on their Access tab, starting from a preset and fine-tuning from there. It's enforced by the system itself — a reduced admin who types a restricted URL is refused, not just hidden from the menu. See Reduced admin access.

Smartsync The scheduled process that reads your MIS data and keeps ADAdmin's user and group records up to date. Turning Smartsync off for a user protects them from ADAdmin's automated sync-driven changes without altering their Status (below) — you'll see it as the Smartsync filter (On/Off), the Protected field on a user's Details tab, or the Smartsync on/off bulk actions; some older screens label the "off" state Locked.

Status A user's current state in ADAdmin:

Active — normal, included in all syncs
Pending suspension — no longer found in your MIS import; scheduled for automatic suspension after a 24-hour grace period, giving you a chance to review first
Suspended — account exists but is blocked from logging in to synced platforms
Deleted — soft-deleted; record is retained for history but the account is deprovisioned

Status is a separate field from Smartsync (above) — a user can be any status and independently have Smartsync on or off.

Two-factor authentication (2FA / MFA) An extra sign-in step beyond a password — a code from an authenticator app. A school can require it school-wide for staff, for students, or both, from School settings → Password, and an individual user's 2FA can be Set up, Enabled, or Disabled. See Require MFA for staff and students.

UPN (User Principal Name) The Microsoft login identifier, typically [email protected]. Used to match ADAdmin users to their Entra/Active Directory accounts.

Username The local identifier for a user in ADAdmin. Must be unique within a school. In Google Workspace it forms the @school.domain email address.

Wonde The third-party connector ADAdmin uses to read data from your school's MIS (SIMS, Arbor, Bromcom, and others) — the origin, source-of-truth data that Smartsync then reads to keep ADAdmin up to date. You can browse exactly what Wonde is sending for your school in Wonde data, useful for telling whether a problem is in the source data or in the sync itself. See Wonde data — view your origin data.