Due to some technical aspects of the way that Canvas connects with our Student Information System, the manner in which wait-listed students are processed is slightly different than it has been in either CATE or Moodle.

In Canvas, all students are added to the Canvas course roster, whether they are wait-listed or not. This is good, since wait-listed students who are hoping to become permanent members of the course will need to keep up with the course work until then.

The main concern is for the student who is on the wait list, completing course work in Canvas, and is ultimately dropped from the course. Access to the course content and work he/she has completed will be removed. It would be important for this student to understand from the start that this might happen. 

If you are an instructor who does not accept all wait-listed students into your course, it is strongly recommended that you communicate that with your students at the beginning of the semester. Something like this, either posted to the course Announcements, or emailed through the Portal, might be helpful:

Students on the wait list for this course may be moved up to the normal roster as others drop the course. You will continue to have access to the Canvas course material until (date), at which time (all/some) students who remain on the wait list will be officially dropped. If you are dropped, you will no longer have access to the course material or any work you have completed.

Please see Board Procedure 3.14.5P for more information. In particular, you may want to note:

If the instructor determines that some or all of the wait listed students cannot be accepted, the instructor must drop those students as soon as possible following the close of the first class meeting, or after 11:59pm Pacific Time of the first day of the class for classes that meet online. Any wait listed students not dropped will automatically be accepted into the class, without needing add codes.