Canvas Course User Roles

Canvas comes with five basic user roles, each with different levels of access and permissions in a course. Two of those are assigned at the Banner level during enrollment: Teacher and Student.

We've also created a few extra roles when one didn't completely fit what we needed.

Teachers are able to add people into their courses and select an appropriate role. Here is a quick snapshot of the options we have available.

Teacher-Based Roles

Teacher

Highest level of course access

Can create content, grade submissions, enroll users, and change most course settings.

Can share to and import from Canvas Commons

TA

High level of course access

Can create content and grade submissions. Can't enroll users or change many course settings.

Can share to and import from Canvas Commons

Designer

Moderate level of course access

Used for creating and editing content. Can't grade or enroll users. Can change course settings.

Can share to and import from Canvas Commons

Course Trustee

Low level of course access

Used for sharing courses with another teacher. Can't edit course content but can import content into another course.

Can share to and import from Canvas Commons

Student-Based Roles

Peer Mentor

Moderate level of course access

Like a TA only without grading access. Can create and edit some content but can't change course settings.

Can share to and import from Canvas Commons

Course Assistant

Low level of course access

Like a Peer Mentor but cannot create or edit much content. Helps facilitate student groups and class discussions. No grading access.

Can't share to or import from Commons

Student

Low level of course access

Access and permissions determined by Teacher. Typically can submit assignments and interact with other students.

Can't share to or import from Commons

Observer

Lowest level of course access

Read-only access to your course content. Can't submit assignments or interact with others in the course.

Can't share to or import from Commons

Complete Roles and Permissions

For a detailed list of all Canvas course user roles and permissions, check out our Canvas Permissions table.