SHORT DESCRIPTION
Policy describing rights of access to courses managed in the College’s learning management system.
PURPOSE
To inform the TC community of when and how students have access to courses in the College’s learning management system (LMS) to reduce security risks and stay in compliance with government regulations related to FERPA.
SCOPE
This applies to anyone requesting access to credit and non-credit courses in the TC LMS.
POLICY
There are multiple roles that students can have in a course in the LMS. Each role has different levels of access and is added through different processes.
1. Student
1.1 Students with a UNI (University Network ID)
When students register for a course through the TC Registrar, they will automatically be added to the course in the LMS. Students need to register for at least one course before being added to the LMS.
To keep the course roster current with the Registrar’s list of enrolled students, the LMS roster is automatically synchronized with the Registrar’s official list of students multiple times each day.
Each instructor decides if and when to make the course available to students in the LMS. Students will automatically lose access to the course in the LMS two years from the start date of the course. The instructor has the option to close the course in the LMS at any time without notice. It is the responsibility of students to download and save all of their work to a non-Teachers College storage platform before the course ends.
If a student would like access to a course after it is closed in the LMS, they will need to make a request to the instructor. The instructor can then open the course again.
1.2 Students without a UNI
Students who enroll in a program that does not require a UNI are manually added to the course by the Digital Futures Institute (DFI).
These participants will continue to have access to the LMS for up to four months after a course is finished, however, the instructor has the option to close the course in the LMS at any time without notice. It is the responsibility of participants to download and save all of their work to a non-Teachers College storage platform before the course ends.
2. Auditor
If a student is auditing a course, the instructor can manually add the student into the LMS as a “participating auditor.” Participating auditors do not appear in Banner. Participating auditors have access to the same course material and LMS features as a Student.
3. CA/TA + Grades
In order to ensure that the College is in full compliance with FERPA and other privacy laws and regulations, only official Course Assistants (CA) and Teaching Assistants (TA) may be given full access, including assignment grading and discussions, to a course for which they were hired in the LMS. For a full description of the CA and TA roles, please refer to the Student Employment Guidelines in the Policy Library. Note that students registered in the course may not be hired as a CA or TA for the same course.
The designation in Canvas for full access is "CA/TA + Grades." The Service Desk can manually add CA/TA + Grades to a course. DAAs, other departmental administrators, or faculty members need to confirm that a student has been officially hired as a CA or TA before they are added to the course.
Responsible office TCIT
Effective Date: December 1, 2022
Last Updated: November 18, 2022