Instructors can group students into teams for privacy. Private conferences are not accessible by all users. Each student assigned to a group can only access that group through a username/password check. Inside the group area, students have access to a private discussion board, group e-mail, and sometimes a private chat room. If you do not have access to a group conference, there is no way for you to browse or contribute items to it. The instructor or administrator can set up private conferences and grant access to particular individuals or groups of users.