Question of the Week

This Week's Faculty Question

Q:  I teach a large course with several Tutorial sections that I've cross-listed (combined) into my main lecture section in Quercus. I added the TAs to their sections before I cross-listed them into the main lecture course. If I look at the People page in my course, I can see that each TA is properly assigned to their corresponding tutorial sections. However, all of them told me that they can still see all the students in the course, both on the People page and in the Gradebook. I want the TAs to be able to see and grade only the students in their assigned sections. Is there a setting for that?

A:  Yes, definitely! In Quercus, you can restrict your TA or Grader's access to be only to specific section within your course. By restricting access to only their section(s), they will not be able to see or grade students in other sections of the course. However, as you've observed, when cross-listing multiple sections into one Quercus course, TAs can view information about the students from all the cross-listed sections. To restrict their access to their assigned sections, go to the People page in your course and follow the 2 main steps below.

Step 1: Confirm that the TA or Grader is Assigned to the Correct Section(s)

From the People page in your course:

1. Select the three dot icon to the right of the TA's name, 
2. Select  Edit Sections, 
3. Confirm that the TA or Grader has been assigned to the correct sections of the course and make any necessary changes (see: How do I edit sections for an enrollment in a course?)
4. Select  Update to save your changes.

Step 2: Limit TA or Grader Access to their Assigned Section(s)

From the People page, select the TA/Grader's name and then:

1. Scroll to the Membership(s) header on the page that opens, 
2. Under Privileges, select  limit this user to only see fellow section users.  This will limit the TA/Grader to only their section.

NOTES 

Limiting section access sometimes takes a couple of tries to 'stick'. If you've done the above and TAs or Graders can still see all course sections, repeat Step 1: Confirm that the TA or Grader is Assigned to the Correct Section(s) to update the section selections again. 

To learn more, please see the following Canvas Instructor guides:

• How do I edit sections for an enrollment in a course?
• How do I limit a user to only interact with other users in the same course section?

For additional assistance, please contact the EdTech Office or book a consultation.