I updated a user's auth method from 'No Institution' to 'AUTldap (AUT University)'. When I searched for the user name under Manage Users -> User Search, the user's record under the column of Institution was still showing 'No Institution'. Although, the auth method information does show correctly on the Account settings page. The mahara version is 1.2.4.
Here is Richard's reply to this issue:
The problem is with the user account settings page, which basically assumes that the admin knows what they're doing, and allows you to do silly things like giving a user an auth method from an institution that she/he doesn't belong to.
We should add code to stop auth methods from other institutions from showing in the auth method dropdown
Do we think that switching to an auth method to one in a different institution should enrol that user in the institution. I think this would be a better approach so that you can hit two birds with one stone if you are just wanting to move one user (otherwise you would have to first add the user to the institution, then change the method).
Also, if we hide methods from other institutions, the admin might not know why they are not there.