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Managing Course Access in Canvas: Enrollments, Roles, and Requests

This page provides guidance on how enrollments are managed in Canvas, including automatic integration with Banner, adding assistants, managing access in development and organization shells, and understanding user roles like Observer.

Course Enrollments

For all credit-bearing courses, Canvas enrollments are automatically synced from Banner, our Student Information System (SIS):

  • Students are enrolled based on their course registration.
  • Instructors of Record are assigned based on Banner data.

Changes made in Banner—such as course adds, drops, or instructor assignments—are reflected in Canvas within approximately 24 hours. This ensures that Canvas rosters remain accurate and up to date.

Handling Incompletes and Course Extensions

To allow students with Incomplete grades to finish coursework, instructors can extend course access by changing the Participation setting from Term to Course and setting a new End Date.

Note: Not all instructors have permission to change Participation settings. If you do not see this option, contact CETL or ITS for assistance.

Learn more:

Adding Teaching or Academic Assistants

Instructors cannot manually add users to credit-bearing courses in Canvas. To add a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Academic Assistant:

  • Submit a request using the following form:
    Request for GA / Tutor Role Access in Canvas 

    FERPA Training is REQUIRED before access to student information can be granted. Please make sure your TA has completed their FERPA training BEFORE submitting this form. 

  • When submitting a Canvas access request, you will need the following:

    • Student Information
      • Name
      • Email
      • ID Number
      • Department
    • Course Information
      • Term and Year
      • Subject
      • Course Number
      • Section Number
      • CRN
      • Course Title
  • The form will then need to be digitally signed by the Student, Instructor, HR, and ITS.

Important:
TAs and Academic Assistants added through this process are granted read-only access to the course for grading purposes. They cannot edit course content.
If someone needs editing permissions, they should be listed in Banner as an instructor.

Development and Test Shells

Instructors may have access to development or test shells for building and testing course content. These shells are not tied to Banner and have different permissions:

  • The Instructor role in these shells cannot add users.
  • To add someone to a development shell, email our office with:
    • The Canvas course ID
    • The A-State ID of the person to be added
    • Requested role (Instructor, TA, Observer, etc.)

Organizations and Leader Role

Canvas also supports Organization shells, which are used for non-credit groups, departmental resources, or student organizations.

  • Instructors can be assigned the Leader role in these shells.
  • Leaders can add students or participants directly to the organization shell.
  • This allows flexibility for managing membership and participation.

To learn how to add users to an organization shell, refer to the official Canvas guide:
How do I add users to a course?

Observer Role

Instructors may notice users in their course with the Observer role. This role is primarily used by the Athletics Department to monitor the academic progress of student-athletes.

Observers can:

  • View course content
  • Monitor assignment submissions and grades
  • Track student participation

They cannot interact with course content or participate in discussions.

For more details, see:
What is the Observer role?

Contact Information

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)

For support with pedagogy, course design, development/test, and organization shells:
Email: CETL@AState.edu
Phone: 870-972-2334
Location: Dean B. Ellis Library, Suite 301

ITS Help Desk

For Canvas access issues, technical support, and Banner-linked course enrollments:
Email: itshelpdesk@AState.edu
Phone: 870-972-3933
Location: Dean B. Ellis Library, Room 149A-State Online Faculty Support

A-State Online (AOS) Faculty Support

For technical and pedagogical support for fully online degree programs:
Email: aos@astate.edu
Phone: 870-680-8464
Location: International Programs Building

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