--- title: "Free Lab Access for Instructors" slug: "free-lab-access-for-instructors" updated: 2024-09-25T20:32:57Z published: 2024-09-25T20:32:57Z canonical: "docs.skillable.com/free-lab-access-for-instructors" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.skillable.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Free Lab Access for Instructors We have great respect for instructors and want to assist them in preparing for Class by giving them access to labs. They can easily access labs free of charge, but at times Organizations are billed when they bypass the designs built into the platform. ## Best Practices The platform supports free of cost access to labs for users with the instructor role in two ways: 1. Instructors assigned to teach a class have access to the labs and course activities before and during class. 2. Instructors can access courses to launch labs, to open content and activities at any time. 3. Do not issue training keys for instructors to access labs because training keys create billable items: enrollments, subscriptions, and course assignments. ## Free lab launch methods for instructors For instructors, access to labs has been built into the platform to be free of charge by the following two methods. ### Assign an instructor to teach a class Once an instructor is assigned to teach a class, they automatically get access to the content in the class. Labs can be launched at any time prior to class through the end of the class. #### Access labs through a class 1. Select **Calendar** from the top navigation menu to open the Instructor Calendar. 2. Navigate to the **class date** and select the **class name**. 3. Under the **Activities** section select on the **lab name** to open the lab page. 4. Select the **Launch** button to open the lab. ### Open a course to launch labs Instructors can view all Course to available to the organization they belong to, and they can access labs directly from the course page at any time. #### Access labs through a course 1. Go to the **Find Courses** search page. 2. Search for the **course** and select on the **course name** in the search results. 3. On the Course page under the **Activities** section select on the** lab name** to open the lab page. 4. Select the **Launch** button to begin the lab. ## Billable lab launch methods for instructors There are a couple of ways that instructors can be given access to content and launch labs that are automatically billed. *Instructors should only be assigned content using these methods with the understanding that it will incur a charge.* ### Enroll an instructor into a class Your organization is billed for all users enrolled into a class when the class starts. The system does not take into account the user’s role, all it looks for is that the user has the Enrollment status of Enrolled and that the class has started. ### Assign a subscription or a course assignment Self-Paced learning is billable for all users; this applies to course assignments and subscriptions. Once the Course Assignment is created, either by an administrator, a training key, or opened from a Subscription, it is added to billing; the system does not take into account the user’s role, all it looks for is that a course assignment has been created. A class is a scheduled instructor-led event with a start and end time/date. Typically, these include lectures and hands on activities such as labs. An organization is assigned to each entity in the TMS, such as, users, classes, subscriptions, and courses. The organization is a basis to determine access given based on roles within the organization and management over the organization. Bundles together content to then be set up for training through classes, subscriptions, and course assignments. Courses can include labs, videos, SCORM, LTI, external links, assessments, and documents. Courses must be assigned to a Content Provider and a Publishing Group to be available to set up for training. An enrollment is the student registration for a class. Enrollments have multiple statuses, but only the Enrollment Status of Enrolled gives a student access to class. Within the enrollment the student will access the labs and activities and if set up digital courseware and virtual classroom for their class. Self-Paced or On-demand training is associated with course assignments or subscriptions. Users are assigned training which can be accessed at any time by the learner at their leisure. Outside guidance or mentorship is often not provided with this type of training. A course assignment delivers self-paced access to a course. A course is assigned to a student giving immediate access to the student. It can be accessed at any time for the duration of the assignment. The assignment duration begins and is billed when it is created. A subscription is an assignment to an individual for access to a set of courses for a set amount of time for self-paced access. Students can choose which courses to access from the subscription, which then open as a course assignment, and they can access the courses at any time for the duration of the subscription.