How to Add Instructors in Tutor LMS

Instructors create and teach courses in Tutor LMS. You can add them yourself, or let people apply through an instructor registration form and approve them. This guide covers both methods and the settings that control what instructors can do.

What an instructor is in Tutor LMS

An instructor is a WordPress user with the tutor_instructor role (the role name can be changed by developers with the tutor_instructor_role filter). Each instructor also has a status stored in the user meta _tutor_instructor_status: pending, approved or blocked. Instructors get their own dashboard on the frontend, where they create courses, see students, answer Q&A and, if revenue sharing is on, track earnings and request withdrawals.

Method 1: Add an instructor in the admin

1. Go to Tutor LMS > Instructors and click Add New Instructor.
2. Enter First Name, Last Name, User Name, Email Address, Phone Number (optional), Password and Retype Password, and a Bio if you like.
3. Click Add Instructor.

Instructors you add this way are approved immediately. To make an existing user an instructor, create the instructor with their details or change their role, then approve them in the Instructors list.

Method 2: Let people apply

Tutor LMS creates an Instructor Registration page with the shortcode [tutor_instructor_registration_form] when it is installed. You can choose a different page under Settings > Advanced > Instructor Registration Page.

Logged-in students can also apply from their dashboard with the Become an Instructor button, which you can show or hide under Settings > General > Instructor > Become an Instructor Button.

New applications appear in Tutor LMS > Instructors as Pending. For each, you can Approve or Reject the application; Tutor LMS notes that "the applicant will be notified via email either way". You can also block an approved instructor later.

Control what instructors can do

Under Settings > General > Instructor:

• Allow Instructors to Publish Courses: if off, instructors submit courses for review and an admin publishes them. Recommended for marketplaces.
• Allow Instructors to Trash Courses.

Under Settings > General > Others, Enable Marketplace turns your site into a multi-instructor marketplace. Revenue sharing is configured under Settings > Monetization > Revenue Sharing. See setting up a marketplace.

Co-instructors (Pro)

With the Tutor Multi Instructors add-on in Tutor LMS Pro, you can add more instructors to a course from the course builder's Basic tab ("Search to add instructor"). They can then edit the course and see its students.

Instructor profiles

Instructors have public profiles showing their bio, courses and ratings. The layout is set under Settings > Design > Layout. You can list instructors anywhere with the [tutor_instructor_list] shortcode. See Tutor LMS shortcodes.

For developers: reacting to new instructors

When someone registers as an instructor, Tutor LMS fires tutor_new_instructor_registered with the user ID. You can use it, for example, to notify your team in Slack or add the applicant to a CRM list:

add_action( 'tutor_new_instructor_registered', function ( $user_id ) {
    $user = get_userdata( $user_id );
    if ( $user ) {
        wp_mail(
            get_option( 'admin_email' ),
            'New instructor application',
            sprintf( '%s (%s) applied to become an instructor.', $user->display_name, $user->user_email )
        );
    }
} );

Frequently asked questions

Can an instructor also be a student?

Yes. Instructors can enroll in other courses, and Tutor LMS 4 lets them switch between instructor and student views in the dashboard.

Why can't my instructor see the dashboard menus?

Check that their status is approved. Pending and blocked instructors do not get instructor features.

Can I stop new instructor applications?

Hide the Become an Instructor button, remove the registration page from your menus, and disable the marketplace setting if you do not need it.