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The LMS Steering Committee approved course permissions. They are based on compliance, FERPA, financial aid, and faculty use cases. In defining these roles, they were tailored to academic courses. Make sure to review the information carefully so you can pick the best role for your needs.
FERPA and Compliance Reporting
The roles we created with compliance in mind. There are a number of laws and guidelines we need to follow when providing access to an academic course. JHU is bound under FERPA, which protects student information (including names and course participation). Follow guidance from your registrar’s office and the FERPA training you received when providing access to courses.
Academic Versus Community Sites
Canvas supports two main categories of courses, academic courses and community sites, that have different rules and uses. One major difference is that Academic courses have “teachers” (cannot enroll students) and community sites have “leaders” (can enroll students) due to compliance issues.
Academic Courses
Academic courses are officially offered courses by a JHU division that are managed and enrolled through SIS. Community Sites are course sites that are not created by SIS.
- Course Creation: Courses tagged for Canvas in SIS and then are created.
- Naming: They always start with the division prefix, followed by the course code, section, and term (e.g. AS.100.100.02.SU24).
- Enrollment: Academic courses have teachers and students enrolled via SIS. “Teachers” or admins can enroll other roles such as TAs, Observers, and Guest Facilitators to support the course.
- Compliance: These courses need to follow JHU rules (relating to financial aid, copyright, and compliance), ADA, and FERPA. These guidelines determine who can access the course and what permissions they have.
Community Sites
These courses often are orientations, placement tests, lifelong learning, executive education, and many other uses.
- Course Creation: The course needs to be requested and approved by the division through our course request form.
- Naming: In Canvas all community sites start with CO. (community site) or LM. (connected to learnmore.jhu.edu, our catalog courses) followed by the division code (e.g., CO.EN._____ or LM.AAP._______)
- Enrollment: It is up to the “Leaders” of the course to manage enrollment in the course. Community sites do not have “teachers.”
- Compliance: Depending on the course usage, these courses may fall under a variety of different rules, policies, and guidelines. Talk to your division about how to best comply with guidelines around accessibility, privacy, copyright, and other elements.
Summary of Roles
This table provides a summary of the roles available in Canvas, what permissions they have, and who can enroll them. For more information on any role, select the role name in the table for details.
| Canvas Roles | Role Summary | Enrolled By | Can Enroll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teacher (academic courses only) | Can access all course content, manipulate course content, and grades | Academic Courses: SIS only Stage Courses: Admins | Guest facilitator, TA, Grader, Designer, Observer |
| Leader (community sites only) | Can access all course content, manipulate course content, and grades | Community Sites: Admins | Guest Facilitator, TA, Grader, Waitlisted Student, Designer, Observer, Student |
| Student | Can access all published course content. Submit assignments and quizzes Participate on the discussion board View their own grades | Academic Courses: SIS only Community Sites: Leaders, Admins | None |
| Waitlisted Student (new Canvas role) | Can submit assignments and quizzes Cannot participate in discussion, message other students in the class, or view announcements | Admins at a Teacher’s request or Leaders | None |
| TA | Can access all course content and manipulate course content and grades | Teachers, Leaders, Admins | None |
| Grader | Can view all published course content but not edit Can update grades | Teachers, Leaders, Admins | None |
| Designer | Can access all course content Can change any course content Cannot access the grade book | Teachers, Leaders, Admins | None |
| Observer | Can view course content that is published | Teachers, Leaders, Admins | None |
| Guest Facilitator (new Canvas Role) | Can view all published course content Cannot manipulate course content Can post to the discussion board Can see the People tab and email those in the class | Teachers, Leaders, Admins | None |
Questions on Roles
Contact your division for any questions on roles.