Skip to main content
OU Mapping connects organizational paths from Clever or ClassLink to organizational units (OUs) in GoGuardian. Use it when the structure in your rostering provider does not match the OU structure that GoGuardian uses for staff access. An OU mapping can assign a staff member’s Assigned Org Unit and, when the corresponding restriction is enabled, set OU access for GoGuardian Teacher or GoGuardian Admin. These settings serve different purposes and can use the same mapping without granting the same type of access.

​
Understand How OU Mapping Works

Each OU mapping connects a Clever or ClassLink path to a GoGuardian OU. During a sync, GoGuardian uses that connection to determine which OU applies to integrated staff members from the mapped path. Depending on your integration settings, a mapping can update the following fields:
Assigned Org Unit does not replace GoGuardian Teacher or GoGuardian Admin OU access. Assigned Org Unit controls access in Org Management. The product-specific OU settings control access to students in Teacher or Admin.

​
Choose Which OU to Map

Map the rostering path to the OU that matches the access the staff member needs.
  • Map to a student OU when the same mapping must set Teacher or Admin access to students in that OU.
  • Map to a staff OU when Assigned Org Unit needs to represent the staff member’s location and the mapping is not being used to assign product-specific student access.
If staff accounts and student accounts are stored in separate OUs, one mapping may not represent both the staff member’s location and the student OUs they need to access. In that case, use the mapping for the access that must stay synchronized, then add the other OU permissions manually or by CSV.

​
Understand How Assigned Org Unit Is Set

GoGuardian uses the following order when setting Assigned Org Unit:
  1. A manual change in Org Management or a bulk CSV upload takes priority and persists through future syncs.
  2. If Set Assigned Org Unit is selected for OU Mapping, the mapped GoGuardian OU populates the field for integrated staff in that mapping.
  3. If no mapping sets the field, a Google Admin Console sync populates it from the user’s Google OU only when the field is blank or set to the root OU (/).
This order prevents an automated sync from replacing a more specific assignment that your organization has already configured.
Organizations that already had at least one OU mapping when Set Assigned Org Unit was introduced have this setting selected automatically. Review existing mappings before changing the setting so that staff access does not change unexpectedly.

​
Override or Reset an Assigned Org Unit

To use a more specific OU than your directory or rostering provider supplies, update Assigned Org Unit manually in Org Management or through a bulk CSV upload. Manual assignments remain in place during future Google Admin Console, Clever, or ClassLink syncs. To return a staff member to automated assignment, clear their Assigned Org Unit value. The next sync repopulates the field from the applicable OU mapping when Set Assigned Org Unit is selected. If no mapping applies, Google Admin Console can repopulate the field from the user’s Google OU. Before a sync, confirm that the mapping points to the OU that represents the access you want to automate. After the sync, review the staff member in User Management and verify that Assigned Org Unit and any product-specific OU permissions show the intended OUs.

Sync Rosters with Clever, ClassLink, or OneRoster

Connect a rostering provider and configure OU sync and product-specific OU restrictions.

Bulk Update Permissions by CSV

Apply manual role and OU permission changes to multiple staff accounts.

Sync Organizational Units from Google

Configure Google Admin Console as the source for your GoGuardian OU structure.

Manage User Accounts

Review and update individual staff accounts in Org Management.
Last modified on September 3, 2026