Canvas Course Role Permissions

Below are summaries of the available user roles in Canvas courses and their permission. For a full description of the varies roles please see the Official Canvas Course Role Permissions document

  • Teacher
    Teachers have full visibility, access and control over course content and student course data. They can enroll  other users and publish and un-publish the course. Teachers cannot create new Canvas courses or delete existing ones. Teachers, however,can reset the course, which erases all content. 
  • TA
    Same permissions as Teacher, however, TAs cannot add other Teachers or TAs. They cannot publish, un-publish  or reset the course. Note: TAs can see all student data (such as grades). If you want another instructor who is not the official instructor of record, to view your course, use a role like Designer or Copy. These roles do not expose student course data.
  • Designer
    Designers are permitted to access, create and delete course content, including announcements, assignments, discussions, and quizzes etc.  Designers cannot access student data but can see student discussions.
  • Copy 
    This is similar to the Designer role, however the Copy role cannot delete course content. Like the Designer also, it cannot see student data. You can think of it as a Read-Only Designer role. Use this role if you want a fellow instructor to see your course structure, maybe copy it into their course.
  • Student
    This is the basic role for student participation  Student permissions are restricted, but they have enough permissions to access and interact with published course materials and assets.
  • Private
    Same permissions as Student, however, users with the private role cannot see or interact with other students in the course. Can be used when enrollments in the course need to be kept confidential.
  • Observer
    This user role can be linked to a student user enrolled in a course. For example, parents, guardians, and/or mentors may wish to be linked to a student to view their course progress. Observers  have the fewest permissions.