Canvas Course Roles and Permissions

Tags Canvas

The chart below provides detailed information about the Canvas course roles and their corresponding permissions.

Schools and departments may assign Canvas Administrators who have unit-specific permissions to access Canvas.
Permissions Student Teacher/
TA		 Support Designer Grader Observer

Add, edit, and delete events on the course calendar

  Permission denied.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.
Add/remove other teachers, course designers, or TAs to the course  Permission denied.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.
Add/remove students from the course (custom courses only)  Permission denied.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.

Manage course content

  Permission denied.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.
Post and view discussions  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.
See a list of users  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.
View and edit all grades  Permission denied.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.
Send and receive email  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission granted.  Permission denied.  Permission denied.

Student Role

  • Primary use: Students enrolled in a course site. Students must enroll through the Registrar for credit-bearing courses via CAESAR; students may be enrolled directly in non-credit-bearing courses in Canvas.
  • Permissions: The Student role has permission to view course content and engage in course activities, including the ability to submit assignments, participate in discussions, and view the course roster.
  • Limitations: Students cannot manipulate settings for a course.

 

Teacher Role

  • Primary use: Instructors assigned to teach a class.
  • Permissions: Teachers have all course-level permissions, including the ability to add, edit and delete all content in a course, edit course settings, and view and edit student grades.
  • Limitations: Teachers cannot add or remove students from credit-bearing courses where registration is controlled by the Registrar’s Office via CAESAR.

 

Teaching Assistant (TA) Role

  • Primary use: TAs assigned to a specific class section.
  • Permissions: TAs have permissions equivalent to the Teacher role. They have all course-level permissions, including the ability to add, edit and delete all content in a course, edit course settings, and view and edit student grades.
  • Limitations: TAs cannot add or remove students from credit-bearing courses where registration is controlled by the Registrar’s Office via CAESAR.

 

Support Role

  • Primary use: Department or other support staff.
  • Permissions: The Support role has permissions equivalent to the Teacher role. Users with the Support roles have all course-level permissions, including the ability to add, edit, and delete all content in a course, edit course settings, and view and edit student grades.
  • Limitations: Support cannot add or remove students from credit-bearing courses where registration is controlled by the Registrar’s Office via CAESAR.

 

Designer Role

  • Primary use: Department staff, content providers, and other instructional support staff.
  • Permissions: Create course content, discussions, announcements, assignments, quizzes, and other content features.
  • Limitations: Designers cannot add other individuals to a course and cannot access grades or Registrar data.

 

Grader Role

  • Primary use: TAs or other staff.
  • Permissions: Graders can view submitted student work and enter grades and comments. They can also view files, announcements, assignments, gradebook, and quizzes.
  • Limitations: Graders cannot manage course content, manage messages, view discussions, view question banks, or view student pages.

 

Observer Role

  • Primary use: Peer tutors or other non-enrolled individuals who have reason to view a course’s content.
  • Permissions: Observers have access to view course content. This role can be linked to a student enrolled in a course in order to monitor his or her progress in a course.
  • Limitations: Observers have no permission to edit or participate in course activities. They cannot view student rosters or grades in a course.
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Related Services / Offerings (3)

Canvas
Northwestern’s learning management system, Canvas, allows Northwestern instructors to deliver course materials, manage grades, and create learning activities and allows students to submit assignments and tests and view grades.
Canvas Administrator Roles and Permissions
Resources for members of Northwestern University responsible for supporting courses, departments, programs, or schools in Canvas.
Canvas Course Support
Canvas offerings support the management and sharing of class materials (e.g., videos, documents, spreadsheets, etc.) and support student assessments, along with facilitating learning through collaboration.