Canvas@Illinois , Enrollment Status and Management for Instructors

This article describes the differences between enrollment status in Canvas, and how to manipulate the enrollments in a Canvas course.


A Canvas course enrollment, or "seat", can be in one status out of several. When enrolling in a course, a student will enter the course with the enrollment status of "Active". While in this status the student has normal "student access" to the course. If the student un-enrolls or is dropped from the course their enrollment status will change to "Deleted". While in this state the student will not have access to the course and the course will not show on the student's course listing. The student will also not be listed in the main people listing, nor in the grade center.

As a Teacher, how do I manually drop a student from my Canvas course?

There is no "drop" or "un-enroll" within the Canvas environment. To remove a student's enrollment from your course you need to "Conclude" the enrollment:

  • Navigate to the "People" tab in your course
  • Click the student's name you wish to remove from the course
    • this brings displays a "fly out" menu on the right side of the browser window
  • Click the student's name in this menu
  • Click "Conclude" for any section you wish to complete the enrollment

As a Teacher, how do I see these "Deleted" enrollments in my Canvas course?

Teachers do not have direct access to "deleted" enrollments. However, they can see "Concluded" enrollments which they (or another teacher in the course) have initiated by following these steps:

  • Navigate to the "People" tab in your course
  • Click the "3 dots" menu in the upper-right hand corner
  • Choose "View Prior Enrollments"
  • The students that have a deleted enrollment will show here.

What can I expect following these changes?

  • groups within a course will no longer contain dropped enrollments
  • course analytics will be more accurate as they will no longer include these completed enrollments
  • due dates for items specific to a section, in which a student was enrolled, will be accurate, no longer defaulting to the "earliest" due date

As a Teacher, how do I "Restore" a student's deleted enrollment in my Canvas course?

Teachers are not able to restore "Delete" enrollments within your course by visiting the "Previous Enrollments" area. You will need to perform one of the following actions:

      • Invite the student back to the course in the correct section(s) through the "People" menu. Once they accept the invitation any work is restored to its original state.
      • Put in a ticket with Technology Services to have the enrollment(s) restored (consult@illinois.edu) requesting same.