How do I add someone as an observer?

[erfeltes]

I am an instructor. I would like to add a student who will be participating in some classes as an observer to my course's Canvas page. I cannot see instructions for how to do this.

[james-f-patton]

I also would like to add an SI to my student list. And I would like the SI to have communication access to all students.

[kblack · Accepted solution]

Hi erfeltes Welcome to the Canvas Community. There is an online lesson on that very topic here: How do I add users to a course?  My general tip is that if the user already has an account at your institution, you should be sure that when you add them you check the Add Existing Users heading on that page, because you should see his/her name spelled out in that dialog box.  Also, be sure to select the right Role, as shown under the Select User Details heading.  

For both erfeltes‌ and  @james-f-patton ‌, not all institutions allow instructors to add people, so if that online lesson does not seem to work for you, you will have to contact your local support.  Jim, I'm not sure what an SI is at your institution, so you may have to check into this with your local support, anyway.  Institutions can assign/change specific rights to roles and/or define their own role (such as SI in your case!) and you will have to ensure that an SI has the ability to communicate with students at your institution.

I hope this helps both of you, a bit!