Inactive enrolments

From May 2023, when students are unenrolled (via EduRec) from academic courses, they are considered inactive enrolments.

Inactive enrolments cannot access the course.

The inactive tag following their name is how Canvas displays it, and the students cannot be removed nor hidden from People.

Rationale for the change

We introduced this to prevent data loss associated with user removal and subsequent reinstatement.

Instead of completely removing a student and their associated data from the course (as it was prior to May 2023), their enrolment status is changed to inactive. This enables seamless and complete reactivation, if a user needs to be reinstated.

Notes on inactive Teachers and inactive sections displayed

Unintended effects of move to display student inactive enrolments:

Instructors removed from a course (via CMIS) are listed also as inactive i.e. they will appear like student 1 in the inactive enrolments screenshot above.
Previous sections for users (staff and students) are still displayed i.e. they will appear like student 2 in the inactive enrolments screenshot above. As of 22 May 2024, inactive sections are indicated with an Inactive text tag.

Who sees inactive users?

While instructors see inactive users in People, students cannot see inactive students nor inactive instructors. This can be verified by using Student View in People.
Also, for instructors who have been removed from a section, the students do not see the instructor in that section any more.

The students do not inactive users nor sections. They do not see the wrong information.

How inactive students are treated in a course

The tables below summarise how inactive enrolments are treated in an active course, and what occurs if a previously inactive student is reactivated.

Student enrolment configured as inactive

Inactive students have no access to the course.

Tool	Effect
People	Teachers can see inactive students marked as inactive in People.
People	Teachers can see the course activity of inactive students in the student access report via People.
Groups	Teachers cannot assign unassigned inactive students to groups.
Groups	Teachers see inactive students already in groups marked as inactive.
Grades	Teachers can view names and grades of inactive students, if Show Inactive Enrolments is enabled in Grades.
Grades	Teachers can export names and grades of inactive students, if Show Inactive Enrolments is enabled in Grades.
Grades	Teachers can edit grades of inactive students, if Show Inactive Enrolments is enabled in Grades.
New Analytics	Inactive students are not shown in New Analytics.
Inbox	Teachers cannot send messages to inactive students via Inbox.
Assignments	Inactive students are removed from Assign To in Assignments. If the assignment is assigned solely to inactive students, the Assign To dates are removed.
Assignments	Teachers can view and download assignment submissions of inactive students. To do this, there must be at least one active student in the course. In SpeedGrader, the inactive student's attempts are only shown if Show Inactive Enrolments is enabled in Grades.
Assignments (Turnitin)	Teachers can view and download Turnitin submissions of inactive students.
Quizzes (Classic)	Teachers can view attempts and responses of inactive students in Classic Quizzes.
Discussions	Teachers can see inactive students marked as inactive in Discussions.
Attendance (Roll Call)	Inactive students are not shown in Attendance (Roll Call).
Calendar	Scheduler appointment slots reserved by inactive students are released but are unavailable for other students to select.
Calendar	Messages cannot be sent via Edit Appointments to inactive students for appointment slots restricted to one student, taken by the inactive student.

If a previously inactive student is reactivated

Reactivated student access the course normally.

Tool	Effect
People	Teachers view the previously inactive student without the inactive tag.
Assignments, Grades, Groups, Quizzes	Teachers can view submissions and responses of reactivated students.
Assignments	Teachers can view the reactivated student in the respective assignment which s/he was originally assigned to (assuming they were assigned to the assignment individually).