Pre-Assigning Breakout Rooms

Only the host (usually the instructor) can create breakout rooms. If you intend to use breakout rooms and need assistance from your ZA or TA, decide how you would like that person to create and handle them so you can teach.

It's possible to pre-assign participants to Zoom breakout rooms, but the process has limitations. An easier way is assigning breakout rooms during a session.

Challenges associated with pre-assigned breakout rooms include:

  • Capitalization differences within email addresses may cause some breakout room assignments not to stick.
  • Participants who join using a different email address than the one you've pre-assigned cannot enter.
  • Pre-assigned breakout rooms created for recurring meetings will only work if applied to the series. You can't edit an individual meeting in a recurrence and apply unique breakout room assignments.
  • Participants joining from the web browser (even if logged in to Zoom) will not be pre-assigned.

If you have a strong reason for pre-assigning breakout rooms despite these challenges, do the following:

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal Links to an external site.. (This option is not available within Canvas.)
  2. Click on Meetings in the left-hand menu, and click the Edit icon next to the desired meeting.
  3. Under Meeting Options, select Breakout Room pre-assign.
  4. Choose whether to upload a pre-formatted CSV file or click + Create Rooms.
  5. A pop-up window will open if + Create Rooms is clicked. In this window, a host can add rooms and enter student email addresses for assignment to a room.
  6. Click Save.
  7. When the meeting is in session, the host can click on the Breakout Rooms icon to view, adjust, and open the pre-assigned rooms.