---
schema_version: "1"
id: e1cba19cb92d55c44b578b219a94822ee39c79e15db6babae315e70c8a959c75
title: Education Portal Security
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sfdo/264-0-0/ec_education_portal_security.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.ec_education_portal_security.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 5a0eacc4bc10a58530508af28981ab82a613c6ea18bf3f8f1f05d7b56be1cc64
description: Design and implement a security model for your portal.
products:
  - Education
release: "264"
---
# Education Portal Security

Design and implement a security model for your portal.

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small " summary="Editions Needed"><caption>Editions Needed</caption> <colgroup><col style="width:100%"></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions with Education Cloud</td></tr></tbody></table>

 
| User Permissions Needed |   |
| --- | --- |
| To set up security for an education portal: | Education Cloud Full Access |

- **[Portal Security Basics](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.ec_education_portal_security.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    The first step in setting up your education portal is to create a security model that works for your institution.
- **[Portal User Setup](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.ec_education_portal_security.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    Portal users must be users in your org and have an Education Cloud for Experience Cloud User license. Education Cloud for Experience Cloud User licenses require you to associate a role with an account.

## Portal Security Basics

The first step in setting up your education portal is to create a security model that works for your institution.

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small " summary="Editions Needed"><caption>Editions Needed</caption> <colgroup><col style="width:100%"></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions with Education Cloud</td></tr></tbody></table>

You can tailor your portal security using a combination of org-wide default sharing settings, permission sets, and sharing sets.

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-education_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/89403874-2a89-4126-b574-9db175c14f28/images/icon_note.png)

Note Portals support only the external users who don't work for your institution, like applicants, students, and alumni. Make sure that your security model accounts for these users. See [Securely Share Your Experience Cloud Sites with Guest Users](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleview?id=platform.networks_secure_community.htm&type=5).

## Portal User Setup

Portal users must be users in your org and have an Education Cloud for Experience Cloud User license. Education Cloud for Experience Cloud User licenses require you to associate a role with an account.

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small " summary="Editions Needed"><caption>Editions Needed</caption> <colgroup><col style="width:100%"></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions with Education Cloud</td></tr></tbody></table>

If your portal supports more than 50,000 users at a time, consider optimizing account roles for external users. See [Optimize Account Roles to Improve Performance and Scale](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleview?id=platform.networks_partners_optimize_roles.htm&type=5).

If you enable role optimization, portal users that belong to accounts owned by the same Salesforce user share a role. This consideration makes role-based sharing risky because the portal users can access each other's records. If you plan to optimize account roles, we recommend that you don't use role-based sharing.

Also consider the limits on the number of roles and community-based users that you can have in your org. See [Experience Cloud User Licenses](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleview?id=platform.users_license_types_communities.htm&type=5).

![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-sfdo-education_cloud-264-0-0-production-enus/89403874-2a89-4126-b574-9db175c14f28/images/icon_note.png)

Note Don't assign a community-based license to internal users.