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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.

If your role in a course changes (e.g., reassignment or removal), Canvas access may be affected. Confirm your Banner assignment and allow for the 24 hours for changes to reflect in Canvas. Contact the ITS Help Desk if the changes have not updated in that time frame.

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 ITS Help Desk form:
? Submit a Canvas Access Request

When submitting a Canvas access request to ITS, include:

  • CRN of the course
  • A-State ID of the user
  • The desired role the new user should have

This process ensures that HR can verify completion of required training (e.g., FERPA) before access is granted. This ensures secure and appropriate access to student data.

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

ITS automatically creates 5 development or test shells for new faculty. These shells are ideal for building content, testing tools, or preparing future courses. These shells are not tied to Banner and have different permissions:

Note: Development shells are not connected to Banner, so user additions must be requested manually.

To add someone to a development shell, email CETL 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
? Submit a Canvas Access Request

A-State Online 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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