Canvas API to Enroll Multiple Students to Sections

I see Canvas has an API endpoint for bulk enrollments (Enrollments - Canvas LMS REST API Documentation).

However, this is only used to enroll students to a COURSE and not for a SECTION.

Is there a way to 'push' bulk enrollments to sections? There is an API endpoint to enroll a user into a section, but need to speed up the process, especially when there's 200k+ enrollments.

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Comments

Chris

Hi @unr_edm,

For that number of enrollments, I'd really look at using SIS Imports via API instead. You do need to generate CSV files for that, but I think it would be the easiest method if it would work in your circumstance. Have you considered this? If you have and it will not work, could you perhaps provide more detail here as to why? It may help us brainstorm some other alternatives.

-Chris

oneilllj

Hi @unr_edm

I note you have mentioned the use of sections - do you use blueprints at all? If enrolments are linked to a course, you can then associate the course/s to the BP and all the information is shared accordingly.

There are pros and cons to sections and blueprints from all users perspectives, however, for admin the enrolment into sections is very time consuming and requires as Chris has mentioned more SIS imports, CSV files and APIs.

unr_edm

Thanks for the feedback @Chris and @oneilllj!

Our institution has been using SIS Imports, however, it was decided to replace this process with API. I was able to manage courses and sections with API & GraphQL pretty quick. Unfortunately, it's taking way too long to manage enrollments! It takes 1 Hour+ to pull enrollments for 5k courses (using query) and most likely it will take longer to 'push' 200k enrollments individually.

Anyone on community, that has replaced SIS Imports with API?

Chris

Hi @unr_edm,

I would say if you're attempting to do a custom project for this (no sis imports, no oneroster or other official sync tool), when going the API route you're really only going to want to send changes. I think that suually means adding some triggers to your database so that as soon as a add/change/remove is done to a section, enrollment, etc in your SIS that it will fire off appropriate API calls to Canvas to make the change instantly. I am fairly confident you do not want to be doing 200k enrollments at a time via api at any sort of regular interval. Others may have a differing opinion though…

Could you maybe tell us why you decided to move away from sis imports? Is it that you want more immediate changes in Canvas, or some other reason?

-Chris

Robert

Even with multiple threads/concurrency, it will take hours to complete that many API calls.

SIS Import jobs are split into multiple jobs server side and and run in parallel against the database.

The best way to reduce that without CSV files, as @Chris is suggesting, is a local delta/merge and only sending the changes, that way you can encumber the bulk of 200k+ enrollments at the beginning of a term, and then deal with daily changes, likely in the 100s-1ks.

Just for clarity, sending CSV files through the API, is still using the API… if maybe the objective is to stop manually importing files via the UI.

michael5

I think what you're really trying to do is not replace SIS imports but automate them? The best way to bulk-import anything into Canvas is by using the SIS import method in the Canvas API: https://www.canvas.instructure.com/doc/api/sis_imports.html

Don't dabble in writing iterative methods that push users to sections or courses, especially not when you have that many enrollments. Sections are an integrated part of the enrollments CSV - see here under enrollments. All you gotta do is create the enrollments.csv file and use the API to import it into Canvas. This is the best way to do it and Canvas was designed with this in mind.

Basically our architecture is: Server pulls data from our database > uses Python code to format this into a Canvas CSV file > uses Canvas API to perform a SIS import of said data. We don't even have a traditional SIS, but we still use SIS imports as that is the only way to bulk upload data to the system (at least in my experience). Instructure just calls it "SIS imports" in the interface and API to make it clear that this is where data exports from the SIS are supposed to be uploaded (as is, following specific formats). But really, it's just a bunch of data that has to be formatted in a specific way and then Canvas knows what to do with it.