Auditor role in Canvas
The Auditor role can be used to provide a user with read-only access to a subject.
The Auditor role is the name used at the University of Melbourne for Canvas' Observer role. It is ideal for people who are wanting to view the content of a subject or monitor the progress of a student. The role is unable to participate in assignments or discussion, etc.
Use cases for the Auditor role include:
- Providing mentor access to a Canvas subject for mentee guidance
- Allowing guest instructors from a different Faculty read-only access for collaboration purposes.
Description
The Auditor is a custom-designed role in the University of Melbourne's Canvas LMS. Its purpose is to grant eligible users read-only access (student level) to a subject in Canvas.
Staff Auditor
Refers to a University of Melbourne staff member who may be required to audit the content of a subject for quality control purposes without needing to make any edits.
Student Auditor
Refers to students who may be interested in viewing the content of a subject without needing to enrol or seek credit.
Auditors cannot participate in any subject activities, ie contribute to discussion forums or submit assessments, and therefore cannot seek credit if they enrol in a subject as an Auditor.
Process
Users requesting Auditor access to a subject in Canvas must have written permission from the Subject Coordinator (refer to handbook) or the Faculty LMS Representative.
The written permission needs to state that the user requires access, but is not officially enrolling in the subject in StudentOne, and is not seeking, or will be awarded academic credit as an Auditor.
The request and written approval need to be sent to the Teaching and Learning Innovation team by the Subject Coordinator to be processed.
This guide was last updated 07 Oct 2025.
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