Canvas Roles

Role Descriptions and Requests

On this page you can explore the various Canvas Roles: their purpose, the permissions or “what they can and can’t do” within your course(s), and how the process works for adding these roles to your course(s). Please read about the Canvas Role before creating a ticket, as there are different requirements and procedures for some roles.

Role Descriptions

Learn about Canvas roles and specific requirements for making role requests.

Teacher

  • The Teacher’s role is the primary instructor for the course. Teachers have all course-level permissions, including the ability to Add, Edit and Delete all content in a course; Edit course settings. The Teacher role is created in ctcLink. We cannot manually add the Teacher role, this is done at the division level. Teachers can access future or earlier courses with the same abilities.
  • The Teacher role is assigned by the Division Dean, or the Office of Academic Affairs as this is an automated process. The Teacher’s role applies to everyone within the course. EvalKit is used for the Teacher role.

Associate Teacher

  • The Associate Teacher role has the same permissions as the Teacher role. Associate Teachers have all course-level permissions, including the ability to Add, Edit, and Delete all content in a course; Edit course settings. An Associate Teacher role is added manually with a request by the Teacher; The Teachers approval is required. Send a request to manually add individuals with active Canvas user accounts via a TDX ticket. Remember to Login into the ticketing system to use the Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request form.
  • The Associate Teacher role is assigned by creating a TDX ticket.
    • The request must be submitted by the course owner, who is the Teacher. In cases where the instructor is unavailable to make their own request a Dean or the Office of Academic Affairs can make this request.
    • Only the course owner, the Teacher can request someone to be added to a course that has ended. There are no exceptions to this policy.
    • If you need to copy the content of another instructor’s course, the owner (Teacher) of that course will have to put in a request in writing to grant you permission per Article 10 on Materials Ownership.
    • When creating a TDX ticket include Username, User email, Course ID, Course quarter, explanation, and approval email.  The Associate Teacher role can access all the content within the course.
    • Once the new Canvas Role is added to your class, we recommend that all students be informed of the additional person and their purpose for being added to their class.
    • Review the faculty agreement on course review and evaluation between Bellevue College and BCAHE here: Asynchronous Online Course Observation Guidelines.

Librarian

  • The Librarian role is only available for college Librarians. Librarians support research projects/capstones including resources, copyright, and plagiarism tips. Librarians recommend a variety of informational materials, digital resources, research guides, and database navigation. Send a request to manually add individuals with active Canvas user accounts via a TDX ticket. Remember to Login into the ticketing system to use the Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request form.
  • The Librarian role is assigned by a request created by the original Instructor (content owner) in agreement with the Division Dean, or the Office of Academic Affairs.
  • The Librarian role is assigned by creating a TDX ticket.
    • When creating a TDX ticket include Username, User email, Course ID, Course quarter, explanation, and approvals.
    • The Librarian role can view all content and interact within the course.
    • Once the new Canvas Role is added to your class, we recommend that all students be informed of the additional person and their purpose for being added to their class.

Instructional Designer

  • The Instructional Designer role is requested for content creation. This role can Add, Edit, and Delete events on the course calendar; Manage course content; Create and Edit assessing rubrics; Manage [Add/Edit/Remove] assignments and quizzes, course files, and groups. Send a request to manually add individuals with active Canvas user accounts via a TDX ticket. Remember to Login into the ticketing system to use the Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request form. View our Canvas User Roles and Permissions At-A-Glance.
  • The Instructional Designer role is assigned by a request created by the original Instructor, the Division Dean, or the Office of Academic Affairs by a TDX ticket. The Instructional Designer role request requires the Division Dean or the Office of Academic Affairs approval. When creating a TDX ticket include Username, User email, Course ID, Course quarter, explanation, and required approval. The Designer role can view contents of the entire course.

Note

An Instructional Designer will need to complete the Canvas 101: Teaching with Excellence workshop and complete FERPA training. You can review the session dates and enroll directly in the OETA-01: Canvas 101 Teaching with Excellence workshop.

Observer

  • The Observer role has limited permissions that allow them to view what is happening in a course. Observers can View section content and Discussions; View and read announcements; View the calendar; Join conferences, if invited; Join collaborations, if invited; View personal inbox; Send conversation messages to the instructor and students; View and read discussions; View files unless they are locked; View pages and contribute if the instructor enables the Anyone can edit it setting; View quizzes index page; Send a request to manually add individuals with active Canvas user accounts via a TDX ticket. Remember to Login into the ticketing system to use the Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request form.
  • The Observer role is used for course review and evaluation. Find details about the agreement between Bellevue College and BCAHE in the Asynchronous Online Course Observation Guidelines.
  • The Observer role is assigned by the original Instructor, the Division Dean, or the Office of Academic Affairs by a TDX ticket. When creating a TDX ticket, include Username, User email, Course ID, Course quarter, explanation, and approvals. The Observer role applies to everyone within the course.
  • Once the new Canvas Role is added to your class, we recommend that all students be informed of the additional person and their purpose for being added to their class.

What Observers Cannot Do

  • View a course until the Start Date/Time when the course is Published
  • Comment on announcements or discussions; Submit assignments or quizzes; View course rosters
  • Send conversation messages to students in the course they are not Observing
  • View locked files or folders
  • Join groups
  • View unpublished courses

Note

Instructors can complete the Employee Canvas Orientation. Staff and Observers must complete FERPA training and Employee Canvas Orientation by creating a TDX ticket to be enrolled.

Review the faculty agreement on course review and evaluation between Bellevue College and BCAHE here: Asynchronous Online Course Observation Guidelines.

Class Assistant

  • Please check with your Dean, and get a Dean approval before requesting the Class Assistant role. The Class Assistant role has limited permissions: can view Announcements, Can send messages to the entire class(no individual messages) thru the Canvas Inbox, View & Post to a Discussion. CAs must have either already completed the course or be unlikely to take it in the future. Send a request to manually add individuals with active Canvas user accounts via a TDX ticket. Remember to Login into the ticketing system to use the Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request form.
  • The Class Assistant role is assigned by the original Instructor, the Division Dean, or the Office of Academic Affairs by a TDX ticket. When creating a TDX ticket include Username, User email, Course ID, Course quarter, explanation, and approvals. The Class Assistant role applies to everyone within the course.
  • Once the new Canvas Role is added to your class, we recommend that, you hide the People Tab in the left navigation, and all students be informed of the additional person and their purpose for being added to their class.

Note

Class Assistants cannot view a course until the Start Date/Time when the course is Published. Class Assistants cannot be students in the course. CAs must have either already completed the course or be unlikely to take it in the future. Staff and CAs must complete FERPA training and Employee Canvas Orientation by creating a TDX ticket to enroll.

Student

  • The Student Role is a participant in the course between the Start Date and the End Date of the quarter. This role is automatically assigned.
  • The Student role is assigned at course Registration completion. The Student role applies to everyone within the course.

Note

The Student role cannot view a course until the Start Date/Time and the course are Published. The Student Role can only view a course past the End Date.