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: 

 

 Getting Started - Canvas Account Creation Process 

 How Do I Change the Start and End Dates for a Course 

 

 

 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 149 A-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