Create Course with API

[jdmendoza]

When I'm creating the course through the API, I can't get the sis_course_id to persist and when I check the database sis_source_id is empty even though I'm passing the course[sis_course_id] on the data to post, it picks up everything else, so what am I missing?

Post body:

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Thanks

[MattHanes]

I just tried your exact setup in my test instance and it worked. The sis_course_id was not null in the return object. Just grasping at straws here, but is it possible you're missing the permission to "Manage SIS Data"?

[jdmendoza]

I'm trying to do it with the Teacher role, so that Teacher's can sync(create) their courses from the current SIS.

In order to create it with the sis_course_id the user would have to have the Administrator Role?

[MattHanes · Accepted solution]

Before I attempt to help further, I would like to note that I am, most definitely, not a software engineer. I'm just a normal Canvas admin. But maybe someone else can chime in if I butcher this! :smileygrin:

"Manage SIS data" is an account level role and not a course level role. I believe you would need an administrator token to accomplish your task. I'm not 100% sure on this though.

If you are building a course creation tool for a teachers, you could leave out the part about sis_course_id and do that as a separate call using an administrator token. Maybe something like this:

1. POST to create the course without sis_course_id using the teacher's role.
2. Store the returned "id" field into a variable.
3. PUT the sis_course_id into the course using an administrator token and the course id variable that was returned in Step 1.

I'm probably missing a much more elegant solution than this, but I'll let someone smarter than me weigh in on that.

[jdmendoza]

That sounds like a viable solution. Do you know how to produce an admin token?

[kona]

 @jdmendoza , I know WAY less than (the awesome) Matt Hanes, but I do know that to get an admin token you need a Canvas admin to generate it for you. Do you know who the Canvas Admin is for your Canvas Environment? If so, then that's the person to talk with.

[MattHanes]

Here are the instructions for producing a token: How do I obtain an API access token for an account?​

[jdmendoza]

Thanks a lot  @MattHanes ​ &  @kona !!!

[MattHanes]

I should also note that the token generation process takes the role of the person who generated the token.

[kona]

Which is why the Canvas Admin is needed.