(Admin) Inactive Student in SIS returning to Active Status - How to proceed in Canvas?

[LuzzetteSlough]

We use FACTS SIS and we have occasional situations in which students are marked inactive in the SIS for a period of time and then return to school and active status.  The Canvas Audit Report gives this warning for the inactive students:  Warning: Unenrolled student has a grade difference (not imported). 

• Should I delete the user in Canvas?
• If I delete the user in Canvas and reinstall them, will their grades come back? 
• Should I just ignore the warning until s/he returns? 
• What should his/her instructors do in their Canvas gradebooks for these students during the inactive period?  (Leave the grades blank, enter zeros, mark excused, or something else?)
• What should I do (if anything) in Canvas when the student returns to active status in the SIS?
• What should the instructors do in Canvas when the student returns to active status in the SIS?
• Once the student returns to active status in the SIS if I have not changed anything in Canvas, will everything sync properly once the instructors begin filling in the missed grades (even from previous terms)?

[melodyc_lam · Accepted solution]

@LuzzetteSlough Welcome! While my district doesn't use FACTS SIS, I do work at a large district with a lot of students leaving and coming back (sometimes years apart) so the answers should be applicable: 

• Should I delete the user in Canvas?
  • It is not a good idea to delete user accounts in Canvas if the student could come back as an active student. The student becomes a "new user" to Canvas if you delete them and then they come back.
  • If you don't have an SSO method like Google, ClassLink, Clever, etc. you could "suspend" the user and then unsuspend to prevent them from logging in.
• If I delete the user in Canvas and reinstall them, will their grades come back? 
  
  • Grades are attached to an Enrollment object, which stays in the course. This enrollment object is probably connected to the Canvas account. If you delete the user account, the link between the Enrollment object and the user might be broken, and their grades might be gone.
  • Now, if you delete their enrollment in the course, and then the student re-enrolls, it will restore their grades and submissions. But deleting an enrollment in a course is much different than deleting an actual user account in Canvas.
• Should I just ignore the warning until s/he returns? 
  • I think it would be OK, although I would investigate if there's a way to have the student be marked as 'inactive' or have their enrollment in the Canvas course deleted instead (this depends on your SIS integration). That way if the student comes back during the school year the grades also come back.
• What should his/her instructors do in their Canvas gradebooks for these students during the inactive period?  (Leave the grades blank, enter zeros, mark excused, or something else?)
  • See above for the best way to handle students coming and going, but I would defer this question to your district to decide.
• What should I do (if anything) in Canvas when the student returns to active status in the SIS?
  • They should just come back and their Canvas account should still be available -- but if the identifier(s) of the student have changed, then you may need to mitigate through either merging accounts, reconciling identifier changes, etc. This is highly dependent on your institution's Canvas and SSO setup.
• What should the instructors do in Canvas when the student returns to active status in the SIS?
  • Nothing, probably -- if your SIS controls enrollments when the student re-enrolls they should be in the course and the instructor can now continue with the student's submissions as needed.
• Once the student returns to active status in the SIS if I have not changed anything in Canvas, will everything sync properly once the instructors begin filling in the missed grades (even from previous terms)?
  • It should sync probably, but note that again, based on your Canvas and SSO setup you may need to do some mitigation to get their account squared away (this usually happens if there's an ID number change, for example, or student email change.)

Hope this helps!

[melodyc_lam · Accepted solution]

@LuzzetteSlough Welcome! While my district doesn't use FACTS SIS, I do work at a large district with a lot of students leaving and coming back (sometimes years apart) so the answers should be applicable: 

• Should I delete the user in Canvas?
  • It is not a good idea to delete user accounts in Canvas if the student could come back as an active student. The student becomes a "new user" to Canvas if you delete them and then they come back.
  • If you don't have an SSO method like Google, ClassLink, Clever, etc. you could "suspend" the user and then unsuspend to prevent them from logging in.
• If I delete the user in Canvas and reinstall them, will their grades come back? 
  
  • Grades are attached to an Enrollment object, which stays in the course. This enrollment object is probably connected to the Canvas account. If you delete the user account, the link between the Enrollment object and the user might be broken, and their grades might be gone.
  • Now, if you delete their enrollment in the course, and then the student re-enrolls, it will restore their grades and submissions. But deleting an enrollment in a course is much different than deleting an actual user account in Canvas.
• Should I just ignore the warning until s/he returns? 
  • I think it would be OK, although I would investigate if there's a way to have the student be marked as 'inactive' or have their enrollment in the Canvas course deleted instead (this depends on your SIS integration). That way if the student comes back during the school year the grades also come back.
• What should his/her instructors do in their Canvas gradebooks for these students during the inactive period?  (Leave the grades blank, enter zeros, mark excused, or something else?)
  • See above for the best way to handle students coming and going, but I would defer this question to your district to decide.
• What should I do (if anything) in Canvas when the student returns to active status in the SIS?
  • They should just come back and their Canvas account should still be available -- but if the identifier(s) of the student have changed, then you may need to mitigate through either merging accounts, reconciling identifier changes, etc. This is highly dependent on your institution's Canvas and SSO setup.
• What should the instructors do in Canvas when the student returns to active status in the SIS?
  • Nothing, probably -- if your SIS controls enrollments when the student re-enrolls they should be in the course and the instructor can now continue with the student's submissions as needed.
• Once the student returns to active status in the SIS if I have not changed anything in Canvas, will everything sync properly once the instructors begin filling in the missed grades (even from previous terms)?
  • It should sync probably, but note that again, based on your Canvas and SSO setup you may need to do some mitigation to get their account squared away (this usually happens if there's an ID number change, for example, or student email change.)

Hope this helps!

[LuzzetteSlough · Accepted solution]

Apologies for posting this here before I sought an answer from Canvas Support.  Here's what Canvas Support suggested:

Dear  Luzzette,

Thank you for reaching out to Canvas Support. My name is Emese, I will be assisting you today.

I checked the options you can do and it might be the easiest if the student was set inactive in Canvas to match their status in your SIS:

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-deactivate-an-enrollment-in-a-course/ta...
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Resource-Documents/Canvas-Enrollment-Status-Comparison/ta-...

You could still view their grades, but they would not be included among the students who need to complete tasks in their courses:
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-view-grades-for-inactive-or-concluded-s...

Please let us know if this helps with your situation or if you have further questions.

best regards,

Emese
L1 Canvas Support
------------------------
support@instructure.com