Limit student users to only see fellow section users by API

[ninafox]

  This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

  Idea will be open for vote Wed. August 5, 2015 - Wed. November 4, 2015  Learn more about voting...

We would like to request the addition of the ability to modify the student privileges in a course to toggle the ability of a student to only see their fellow section users via an API call.  It would also be nice to be able to do this by section directly form the UI interface.

  Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the Canvas Production Release Notes (2015-12-19)

[anthonem]

This would be great! Currently there's not an easy way to restrict student access section rosters in cross-listed courses...this causes a serious grey area for FERPA concerns. Here's our guide, attempting to comply with FERPA in cross-listed Canvas courses: Guide - Complying with FERPA in Merged Courses.pdf: Canvas Help Center

[ninafox]

Thanks Mark Anthony, this is great!  I hope you do not mind if we modify and use your guide to help with this effort while we wait for more votes.  It does seriously affect the level of our ability to comply with our interpretation of FERPA and yet help the faculty with managing their course materials.

[anthonem]

Hi ninafox​ -- feel free to reuse! Let me know if you run into questions it's always helpful to get feedback on documentation.

[cms_hickss]

So, you're looking for a System/Course/Sub-Account setting that basically says: Restrict Students to Their Own Section

And you don't want students in different sections interacting in:

• People
• Discussions
• Mail/Conversations
• Peer Review

[ninafox]

Hi Susan,

    Yes, exactly.  The students are in different physical locations and are not truly attending the same course/section and are not interacting with one another but the instructor teaches the same material to all sections and does not want to have to maintain 2 - 10+ versions of the same online content.

[helenc]

SO important! This will save so many faculty time and reduce FERPA compliance risk across so many institutions. If you're not doing this yet at your institutions, you should.

Let's vote this up, Canvas Admins!

[RobDitto]

Community managers, would separate ideas need to be opened for the following, or are they covered in this idea?

• Limit users to see students from their section only via SIS import (of interest in "limit this user to only see fellow section users" )
• (Sub-)account setting to force this without specifying per enrollment, as cms_hickss​ may be suggesting above

[arovner]

Yes please!  Honestly I had never considered the FERPA implications of cross-listing but so important!  Also by limiting students to their own section groups, Discussions can remain more manageable and they have a better chance of getting to know their classmates when only 25-30 of them are posting vs. 50-60.  A much better way to create a rich online community.

That said, I was just talking to my colleague who teaches cross-listed courses with students from different programs that need to interact (such as I-BEST students and ones who have tested out) as one class.  So - perhaps a toggle option??

Thanks!

Amy

[curtain]

This is critical.  In even medium sized enrollment courses it makes discussions, Inbox conversations and the groups work very confusing.  In large courses it is a nightmare and since you can only set it one person at a time and instructors have to know what and why to do it.

Please consider doing this Canvas

[straussi]

We could support this if it were available to the instructors with the UI call. We already use our SIS to determine if sections are combined in one course site, or each given their own site.