At a Glance

Your Canvas course roster is managed by various groups at MIT Sloan. Some enrollments are automated; others are not. This guide for teaching teams is broken down in two key parts:

  1. Definitions for each role available in Canvas
  2. Instructions on how to add, drop, or change the section of an enrollment for each role type

Tip: You must have a Canvas account at MIT in order to be enrolled in a Canvas course. To learn more on how guests can access Canvas, see How to Add a Teacher-Like Guest to a Canvas Course for teacher-like roles and How to Add a Cross-Registered Student to a Canvas Course for student-like roles.

Definitions (Student-like Roles)

The following table reviews the different roles in Canvas that have a base role of Student, which means they provide student-like access to the enrolled user. Determine the appropriate role for a user before enrolling them in your course.

Role Definition Use Case(s) Role Expires Same permissions as student role?
Student Student access to your Canvas course for official registrants. - - -
48-Hour Student Pass Temporary student-like access to your Canvas course. Give a student immediate, short-term access to your Canvas course so they can stay on track while they complete the official registration process. After 48 hours Yes
Listener Student-like access to your Canvas course for an officially registered Listener. - - No - Must pay for Study.Net materials
Non-Registered Participant
Student-like access to your Canvas course for a student with registration processing delays lasting longer than 48 hours.
 
Note: An official Student or Listener role will overwrite the Non-registered Participant role when MITSIS and Canvas sections match.
 Sloan Educational Services (SES) approves all Non-Registered Participant requests and provides Canvas access to the student at that time. - Yes
Pre-Registered Student Temporary student-like access to your Canvas course for an official pre-registrant. - 10 days after the term start date Yes
Waitlist Temporary student-like access to your Canvas course for a student who wants to register for your course after it reached capacity. - 3 days after the last add date of a term Yes

Definitions (Teacher-like Roles)

The following table reviews the different roles in Canvas that have a base role of Teacher, which means they provide teacher-like access to the enrolled user. Determine the appropriate role for a user before enrolling them in your course.

Role Definition Use Case(s) Same permissions as teacher role?
Teacher Teacher access to your Canvas course for appointed teachers who will be evaluated - -
Course Admin Teacher-like access to your Canvas course for staff supporting the Primary Course Admin (PCA) Administrative assistants who will co-support a course alongside the PCA Yes
Designer Teacher-like access to your course for instructional designers or simliar who will build your Canvas course Instructional Designers, Graphic Designers, Learning Experience Designers, etc. No - Cannot view grades
Faculty Observer Teacher-like access to your Canvas course for non-appointed, non-evaluated teachers who need to observe your content Guest Lecturers, PhD students, or somebody teaching or TA'ing the course in an upcoming semester No - Cannot view grades
Grader Teacher-like access to your course for grading student work Undergraduates or other student workers hired to assist with grading No - Limited to permissions required for grading student work
Mentor Teacher-like access to your course for anybody working with your students in a mentor capacity Executive coaches/field experts, and sometimes alumni. This role is mostly used by Lab courses. No - Limited to permissions required for interacting with students in a mentor capacity (e.g., grading work, sending messages via inbox, etc.)
Primary Course Admin (PCA) Teacher-like access to your Canvas course for staff that coordinates and builds the Canvas course Every course is assigned an Administrative Assistant as the PCA Yes
TA Teacher-like access to your Canvas course for TAs employed by MIT Sloan through the official TA appointment process TAs, RAs Yes

Instructions for Managing Enrollments

These tables for teaching teams outline how you can add, drop, or change the section of an enrollment for each type of Canvas role.

Note: You can manage certain roles yourself using the Membership Tool in Canvas. Other enrollments are managed by other groups at MIT Sloan to ensure accuracy and appropriate access to content.

Student-like Roles

Role Add/Drop from Canvas Change Section in Canvas Contact Support
48-Hour Student Pass Membership Membership Sloan Canvas Support
Listener Instruct student to complete Add/Drop/Change form Membership

Note: For section changes to a different Canvas site, make request to Sloan Educational Services.

Sloan Educational Services (SES)
Non-Registered Participant

Make request to Sloan Educational Services (SES)

 Membership

Sloan Educational Services (SES)
Pre-Registered Student Instruct student to complete Add/Drop/Change form Membership

Sloan Educational Services (SES)
Student Instruct student to complete Add/Drop/Change form Membership

Note: For section changes to a different Canvas site, make request to Sloan Educational Services.

Sloan Educational Services (SES)
Waitlist Membership Membership

Sloan Educational Services (SES)

Teacher-like Roles

Role Add/Drop from Canvas Contact Support
Course Admin Membership Primary Course Admin
Designer Membership Primary Course Admin
Faculty Observer Membership Primary Course Admin
Grader Membership Primary Course Admin
Mentor Membership Primary Course Admin
Primary Course Admin

Make request to the Academic Area Senior Associate Directors

Academic Area Senior Associate Directors
Teacher

Make request to Sloan Educational Services (SES)

Sloan Educational Services (SES)
TA Instruct candidate to set up TA employment

Sloan Student Funding