Research Computing Services recommends adopting the course project directory structure and using the administrative group. This structure and group facilitate course data organization and management of student files while making it easier for RCS to provide support. This structure and group are optional and opt-in – the course instructor should indicate that they would like to use it when completing the semesterly course request form before the semester begins or by emailing help@scc.bu.edu.

The Course Admin Group

When an instructor chooses to use the course project directory structure, a second group is created to allow more granular access control to directories in the course project space. This group is typically called “classgrp-ta“, where “classgrp” is the academic course project name (e.g. “ma123” or “ec501”). This group is not an SCC course project or SCC research project with allocations and additional management – it is only a group used for access control of directories on the SCC within the “classgrp” academic course project.

  • classgrp – SCC Course Project has SU and storage allocations. Includes all members of the course: instructor, TAs/TFs, and all students.
  • classgrp-ta – Linux group that includes only the instructor and T.A./T.F.s. Membership in this group is based on the semesterly course request form or you can email us to make adjustments to it at any time.

The Directory Structure

When an instructor chooses to use the recommended project directory structure, the following directories (including permissions and ownership) are created in the academic course project SCC /projectnb space. This directory structure provides the basic functions typically required by an instructor for leading a class on the SCC. A description of directory attributes and purpose follows the table.

dir                         permission      owner           group       
-----------------------     ----------      ----------      ------------
/projectnb/projectname/     drwxr-x---      root            classgrp
 ┝ admin/                   drwxrwx---      root            classgrp-ta
 ┝ archive/                 drwxrwx---      root            classgrp-ta
 ┝ materials/               drwxrwxr-x      root            classgrp-ta
 ┝ projects/                drwxrwxr-x      root            classgrp
 ┕ students/                drwxr-xr-x      root            classgrp-ta
   ┝ student1/              drwxrwx---      student1        classgrp-ta
   ┕ student2/              drwxrwx---      student2        classgrp-ta

Description and purpose of directories

  • The top level /projectnb/projectname project directory is read accessible by all members of the course project, including instructor, T.A./.T.F.s and students.
  • The admin directory provides a space for the instructor and T.A./T.F.s to manage administrative files that is not accessible by students.
  • The archive directory contains directories for students that have been removed from the project. These student directories are automatically moved when a student is removed and automatically restored if a student is re-added to a course project. Data is retained for one year for compliance with Registrar policy.
  • The materials directory provides a space to share course materials with students. It is read-write accessible for both instructor and T.A./T.F.s while being read-only for students.
  • The projects directory provides a space for collaborative student projects. This directory is open and unstructured so that course members can create and manage their project needs.
  • The students directory is simply a container for the “student#“subdirectories.
  • The student# directories are owned (read/write) by individual students and are intended for the student to complete their work. In practice, student# would be a student’s BU username. The student# directories are not accessible by other students and are read-only accessible by the “classgrp-ta” group which allows instructors and T.A./T.F.s to check on work and provide support.