Overview

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By default, Canvas class rosters are pulled from Registrar enrollment data so students and staff not formally enrolled in a course will not be able to view the course Canvas site. However, so that they may access class resources instructors can add:

• Teaching assistants (TAs)
• Other instructional staff
• Auditors (students not formally enrolled / receiving a grade / receiving credit for a course)
• Staff observers

In most cases, instructors can give these individuals access to their course by assigning them the appropriate role using the Add TA tool available on the course homepage. 

You must have the Teacher or administrator role the class in order to be able to add TAs. The teacher role is typically reserved only for the instructor of record, and is therefore not an option for other users in the course. You will need to provide the teaching assistant's UC San Diego email and indicate what level of access you'd like them to have in the course.

Please note that role accounts (also may be referred to as departmental or test accounts) are not allowed in Canvas for security and privacy reasons.

Critical Concepts

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There are multiple access levels for instructional staff in Canvas:

• Grader: Manage and assign grades only; cannot edit or post content
• Course Designer: Edit and post content only; cannot manage or assign grades
• Teaching Assistant: Course Designer and Grader access; can manage course content and grades

A course participant with the Observer role can view course content and cannot submit assessments.

Please note:

• Instructors cannot add students to a Canvas course. Registered students will be added via an automated script.
• Users who are enrolled in the course as students cannot be given any other roles in the course. If you attempt to add a user who is already enrolled in the course, the add will display with the 'superseded' status.
• If a student has dropped the course in the past, the Add TAs tool will not successfully add them back as an Observer. Email canvas@ucsd.edu for requests to add Observers who were previously enrolled in the course.

Steps to Take

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Add Users to a Current Course

1. Go to your course homepage
2. Click the Add TA button in the right-hand sidebar
3. Type in the user's UC San Diego email address. Only use AD email address. Do not use alias emails or extensions, like "@eng.ucsd.edu" or "@health.ucsd.edu"
4. Select the appropriate role for the user from the dropdown list
   
   • The TA role allows user to add, edit, and delete content, as well as view, enter, and edit grades
   • The Grader role allows user to view, enter, and edit grades only
   • The Designer role allows user to add, edit, and delete content only
   • The Observer role allows user to view the course content
5. Click the Add Teaching Assistant button
6. The user will be added to the enrollment queue, which runs every two to three hours (Daily, 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.)

Add Users to a Past Course

1. Go to your course setting's page
2. Click the Add TA button in the right-hand sidebar
3. Type in the user's UC San Diego email address. Only use AD email address. Do not use alias emails or extensions, like "@eng.ucsd.edu" or "@health.ucsd.edu"
4. Select the appropriate role for the user from the dropdown list
   
   • The TA role allows user to add, edit, and delete content, as well as view, enter, and edit grades
   • The Grader role allows user to view, enter, and edit grades only
   • The Designer role allows user to add, edit, and delete content only
   • The Observer role allows user to view the course content
5. Click the Add Teaching Assistant button
6. The user will be added to the enrollment queue, which runs every two to three hours (Daily, 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.)

Manage Added Users in the Course

• You can check the status of any changes made to the added roles in the Status column of the table
• To change a user's access level, use the dropdown menu in the Access Level column
• To remove a teaching assistant from the Canvas course site, find the appropriate row in the table, and click Delete