LearningLevels
Lightning-fast Azure Entra ID onboarding for schools: SSO in under an hour

Lightning-fast Azure Entra ID onboarding for schools: SSO in under an hour

By Nils Marti, CTO •
#it-admin#entra-id#azure-ad#sso#provisioning

Lightning-fast Azure Entra ID onboarding for schools: SSO in under an hour

For school IT admins: onboard LearningLevels with Azure Entra ID in under an hour. Provide secure SSO for staff and students, keep user lifecycle centralized in Entra ID, and avoid the maintenance burden of self‑hosting an LMS like Moodle.

Why IT teams prefer Entra ID SSO with LearningLevels

  • Secure access: Centralized SSO via Azure Entra ID (OIDC) and conditional access.

  • Zero password sprawl: Users sign in with their existing school account.

  • Clean lifecycle: Keep users and group membership in Entra ID; optional Just‑In‑Time (JIT) provisioning.

  • Minimal footprint: No local servers, no patch cycles, no DB backups, no reverse proxies to babysit.

Technical onboarding: under an hour

Typical steps your IT can complete in 30–60 minutes:

  1. Register an app in Azure Entra ID

  • Create an Enterprise app or App registration.

  • Configure the redirect/callback URL provided by LearningLevels.

  • Copy client ID/tenant info and issuer/metadata URL.

  1. Choose protocol and map claims

  • OIDC SSO supported.

  • Map email, name, and optional role/group claims.

  • Optional: pass a stable unique ID for user linking.

  1. Assign users and groups

  • Assign the app to the staff and student groups that should have access.

  • Optional: test with a small pilot group first.

  • Bulk import (optional): we provide a helper script to generate a user import CSV from Entra ID exports, so you can pre-create accounts immediately.

  1. Test and go live

  • Perform a test login.

  • Verify the expected role/permissions.

  • Roll out to the target groups.

Optional: automated user lifecycle

  • JIT provisioning: keep user creation/deactivation synced with Entra ID without manual steps.

How this compares to self‑hosting your LMS (e.g., Moodle)

Self‑hosting an LMS can be great for control, but it adds recurring work:

  • Server and OS updates

  • PHP and plugin updates

  • Database maintenance and backups

  • Web server/reverse proxy, TLS certs, WAF rules

  • Storage scaling and monitoring

  • Performance tuning under load (exams, term peaks)

  • Security hardening, patch response, log ingestion

With LearningLevels you offload all of the above. Your ongoing tasks reduce to:

  • Manage access in Entra ID (groups and policies)

  • Review audits centrally in Microsoft’s admin tools

  • Optional: adjust SSO claim mappings if your org changes

Privacy and compliance

  • Consent-first analytics and logging designed to reduce noise (no PII in client events).

  • GDPR/Swiss privacy alignment and clear consent flows on the public site.

  • Data minimization: only essential identity data for authentication and access.

What you’ll need

  • Azure Entra ID admin permissions to create/assign the app

  • Redirect URL and metadata from LearningLevels

  • Test staff/student account for verification

Get started

Want a guided 30‑minute setup call? Contact us and we’ll walk through all steps live and verify SSO end‑to‑end.