Group Overrides in Moodle 4.0 onwards

eWorks has been alerted to an issue with Group Overrides that was introduced when Moodle moved to Moodle 4.0.

This issue affects Moodle 4.0, Moodle 4.0 MP1 and Moodle 4.1 currently.

The issue relates to:

Calendar Block:
Then Calendar block will show duplicate entries if the group override is set for a preceding month or longer (The original due date and the group override will both be seen on the calendar)
Note: If a group override exists within the same month, there are no issues.

Timeline Block:

The Timeline block will show duplicate entries when viewed under the default “Next 7 days” but no issues if this view is changed to “All”.

Please note this only affects the 2 blocks mentioned above. When a student clicks directly on the assignment, the correct date is shown and this will not affect their assignment submission in any way.

What we are currently doing:

eWorks have been working closely with Open LMS to try to find a suitable resolution or workaround for the Group Overrides issue. As the issue is linked to the Calendar API, it is very risky to make changes to the calendar that would not cause any adverse flow on effects to the rest of the Moodle site and as such it is in the best interests to ensure this resolved direct by Moodle themselves.

This is currently sitting with Moodle HQ and Open LMS will reach out to Moodle to try to prioritise this issue.

Tracker details can be found here:
https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-78470

https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-78664

Current possible interim workarounds:

Some of the possible workarounds include:

• Use user overrides in place of group overrides
• Remove the calendar if you believe this wouldn’t cause major issues to students.

Alternatively, to communicate this issue to your users, you may choose to:

• Utilise a banner to communicate the issue to end users
• Set up a user tour pop up to alert users and remind them of the issue
  (User tours can be deployed on the front page, dashboard or on first entry to a course)

eWorks are happy to work together with our clients to implement any of the above if required.