Summary
- Microsoft Viva Learning is adding granular academy management permissions so tenant admins can assign Academy Managers to specific academies instead of granting tenant-wide academy management rights.
- Academy Managers will only be able to administer the academies assigned to them, improving delegated administration and governance.
- Viva Learning admins and academy administrators should review current ownership and decide which users should be assigned as Academy Managers for individual academies.
- No proactive technical configuration is required before rollout, but organizations may want to communicate the new delegation model to learning program owners and admins.
Primary Service: Viva
Admin Impact: Low
User Impact: Low
Release Start: 18 Aug 2026
Release End: 18 Aug 2026
Services: Viva
Category: Plan for change
Tags: Admin Action, New Feature, User Adoption
History
8/18/2026 Item Added to Message Center
Microsoft Message
We’re introducing granular academy management permissions in Microsoft Viva Learning.
Today, users with Manage Academies permissions can manage all academies across a tenant. With this update, tenant administrators can assign Academy Managers to specific academies. Academy Managers will only be able to manage the academies assigned to them.
This change enables delegated administration and more granular governance by allowing organizations to assign academy ownership to business units, learning teams, or content owners without granting tenant-wide academy management permissions.
Rollout schedule
General Availability (Worldwide): Available now.
Impact on your organization
Who is affected
- Viva Learning administrators
- Academy administrators
- Users designated as Academy Managers
Platforms and services
Microsoft Viva Learning
What will happen
- Tenant administrators can assign Academy Managers to individual academies.
- Academy Managers can manage only the academies to which they are assigned.
- Users who are assigned as Academy Managers will no longer require tenant-wide academy management permissions to manage their designated academies.
- Organizations can delegate academy ownership while maintaining centralized governance over academy administration.
Action required and recommendations
No action is required before rollout.
Administrators should review their current academy ownership and administration model and determine whether specific users should be assigned as Academy Managers for individual academies.
Consider communicating this change to learning program owners and administrators who currently manage academies in your organization.
Learn more
- Manage academies in Viva Learning | Viva Learning | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.