In Permissions, Separate "Manage (create/edit/delete) course sections" into 3 permissions

Please change each the "Manage (create / edit / delete) course sections" from a single setting to three separate settings.

 

Current:

Manage (create / edit / delete) course sections

 

 

Should become:

  • Create course sections
  • Edit course sections
  • Delete course sections

 

One reason for this request:

This would allow you to set a Sub-Account Manager or Course Designer (or other roles) to having only the permissions needed for that role instead of none of them or all of them. For example, the ability to create course sections but not to edit or delete them.

 

Note: There is this one as well, In Permissions, Separate Manage (add/edit/delete) courses into 3 permissions  (this is for the same thing but with courses and not sections)

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

For more information, please read through the  Canvas Release Notes (2021-06-19).

27 Comments
admin_brake
Community Participant

For delegated administration, we want college admins to be able to edit course sections as the teachers can so they can change start/end dates and other course/section settings.

Without this detailed level of permissions, we must give our college admins permission to delete course sections in order to let them edit course sections (so we don't!). This creates a poor model for security. And sets the stage so delegated admins must ask teachers to perform some actions for them.

Creating this granular permissions would enable us to let delegated college admins edit section settings (like dates) but not the ability to create nor delete these sections (they are created by the SIS integration). This would be very valuable.

BROEKERC
Community Novice

I agree.  This would be a very valuable enhancement!

Jeff_F
Community Coach
Community Coach

Yes, please!  If at all possible the Delete permission should to be separate. 

Currently we must provide manage (create/edit/delete) sections permission to a sub account admin group as otherwise they would not be able to view unpublished content within the Modules.  I must assume the capability to publish content in a section you are not an enrolled as instructor is tied to this permission.  We would much prefer not providing the  delete section permission.

cms_hickss
Community Coach
Community Coach
Author

Just in case you haven't seen this one (as it's a newer request):   (this is for the same thing but for courses instead of sections)

BROEKERC
Community Novice

Rationale: this functionality is needed allow to eliminate accidental deletions.

cdoherty
Community Participant

Rationale for Stanford: To prevent accidental deletions.

millerjm
Community Champion

We have faculty who need to be able to add a new section in the case of an incomplete grade to give access past the student access date for a student (or multiple students).  We do not want them to be able to edit or delete SIS-created sections. 

It's possible that we may need to allow a program manager to edit the dates on the sections for odd-term sections, which would be for just one subaccount's permissions, not the entire root account. 

Taking away the edit and/or delete button from anyone who doesn't need it just makes sense, especially since it would affect the students in a course.  We have a lot of accidental deletions that happen due to "goblins" in team taught courses.  We do not currently allow faculty to add/edit sections since they can mess up the SIS imported enrollments.  If they have an incomplete student, they have to contact our office to have that section created. 

csalazar
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

It seems like most of the concerns regarding this permission are related to the deletion of course sections. If users were limited from deleting SIS created sections, would that solve the problem without further changes?

Jeff_F
Community Coach
Community Coach

It would be helpful, yes.   But no, not fully.

millerjm
Community Champion

No, that wouldn't solve the issue.  Edit is also a problem because they can change dates, section names and crosslist courses.  We handle crosslisting in a different way.  We also don't want them adding their own sections.