Canvas: User Roles & Permissions


In Canvas Courses at Auburn University, user permissions define access to specific features and functionalities. Roles are collections of these permissions established at the account and sub-account levels. Instructors cannot modify the permissions associated with any given role.

In a Canvas course, individuals in the Teacher and Teaching Assistant (TA) roles are authorized to view and edit student grade information. Librarians, on the other hand, have permission to access the class roster. Those assigned these roles by the instructor of record must first complete FERPA training through ElevatEd.

User Roles Overview: 

A user's permissions are based on their assigned role(s). Since roles and their permissions are additive, if a user holds multiple roles in a course, the combined permissions of all assigned roles will apply.

Roles and their Descriptions

USER ROLE

DESCRIPTION & PERMISSIONS
TEACHER Instructor(s) of Record: This role is automatically assigned to individuals listed as Instructor of Record in Banner. They are granted the Teacher role within Canvas, providing them comprehensive access to all features.
TA

Teachers have the authority to designate individuals as Teaching Assistants (TAs). This role is reserved for authorized persons who are graduate employees. TAs can do most of what teachers can do, including viewing all student info and grades, but they cannot select final grades, publish the course, or add LTI tools.


It's important to note that undergraduates are not eligible to be enrolled as TAs in any course.
LIBRARIAN This role is designated for librarians responsible for instructional tasks within the Canvas platform. Librarians can access the class roster.
DESIGNER This role is suitable for support personnel, instructional designers, or Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) who aid in constructing the course by adding materials and managing course content. They can access and create course content, including pages, modules, announcements, assignments, discussions, quizzes, and web conferences.
UNDERGRADUATE SUPPORT This role is tailored for Supplemental Instruction Leaders or peer tutors who aid instructors in various capacities. Derived from the Designer role, it grants fewer permissions. Undergraduate Support personnel, including peer tutors, can create announcements, message students, and add or edit course files, facilitating practical assistance while respecting boundaries. If you wish to enroll someone in an undergraduate support role, please contact bighelp@auburn.edu.
STUDENT

This role is automatically assigned to students officially enrolled through Banner, the university's enrollment system. It's exclusively added by Banner, ensuring accurate representation of enrolled students within the course. Students can view students in their course, send messages to the entire class or individual members, create and post in discussions, create student collaborations, and create web conferences.


If you require additional individuals with Student-like permissions but aren't officially enrolled, please liaise with the Office of the Registrar to add them to the appropriate audit role.
VIEWER This role is designed for any Auburn University member requiring Read-Only access to a course. It enables teachers to share their course design and information with other teachers or administrators. Viewers can view pages, files, announcements, and discussions (but cannot create a discussion or post to the discussion board). Viewers cannot see the list of students or any graded activities in the course, such as assignments and quizzes. If you wish to enroll someone as a Viewer, please contact bighelp@auburn.edu.

Detailed Permissions in Canvas by Role:

For more details on permissions in Canvas at Auburn University, please see the drop-down chart below.

Auburn University Canvas Permissions
Permissions in Canvas by Role
ABILITY  IN CANVAS TEACHER TA LIBRARIAN DESIGNER VIEWER UNDERGRADUATE SUPPORT
Add, edit, and delete events on the course calendar ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Add/remove other teachers, course designers, or TAs to the course ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Add/remove students to the course ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Change course state ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Create student collaborations ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔
Create web conferences ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Delete any enrollment in the course ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Delete student groups ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Edit grades ✔ ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Manage all course content ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Manage discussions ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Manage learning outcomes ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Manage questions ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Manage quizzes ✔ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
Manage rubrics ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Manage sections ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Manage users ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
Post to announcements ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔
Read SIS data ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘